Lady Panthers Defeat Mistake-Prone Patriots

One of the oldest sayings in softball/baseball is "you will go as far as your ace takes you." On May 21, Johnston's ace, Alaina DeNoncour, pitched a gem.

The Panthers took advantage of errors by the visiting Pilgrim squad to post three unearned runs and the game, 4-0. The Lady Panthers improved their season record to 9-4 in league play, second in Division II Central.

Through the first two innings, both teams had only one hit, and the pitchers had combined for seven strikeouts.

Johnston got on the board in the bottom half of the third inning, when Panthers junior Danielle Gawlik notched an infield single, producing the game's first run. She stole second base on the next pitch.

Gawlik proceeded to score when she stole third base and Pilgrim's pitcher Hannah Pickering threw the ball past the third baseman, upping the Panthers lead to 2-0.

Johnston scored two more runs in the bottom of the 4th, on two errors by the Patriots. Bianca Rossi led off the inning with a triple and scored following a bad throw to first base when the next batter bunted. Senior Indy Cantone singled and the Panthers scored again on a bad throw to home plate, extending their lead to 4-0.

It was all of the run support that Johnston senior Alaina DeNoncour needed. She pitched a complete game shutout, only allowing three hits, and striking out 10.

"She was strong throughout the whole game," Pilgrim's coach William Aquilante said.

Pilgrim junior Carly Cabral notched 9 strikeouts in 6 innings, and gave up 4 runs, but only one of them was earned.

Johnston's coach, David Iannuccilli, spoke about the team's defense and aggressiveness on the basepaths.

"We reaped the benefits of working hard on Friday on defense," he said. "My girls are very aggressive on the bases."