LAWRENCE, Mass. — Central Catholic is picking its spots, and picking them well.
The Raiders (16-4) only had five hits yesterday, but that was more than enough to defeat Wakefield 6-3 in the Division 2 North quarterfinals. They'll face the winner of today's matchup between Arlington Catholic and unbeaten No. 1 seed Concord-Carlisle in the semifinals, likely on Tuesday.
After giving up a run in the top of the first, the Raiders took control in the bottom of the inning with three runs on just two hits. After three walks, Carla Borrelli singled home two runs and a double by Karissa Forzese brought home another.
An RBI single by winning pitcher Kayla Maloney in the second made it 4-1. After Wakefield (11-11) scored twice in the fourth to make it 4-3, a solo home run by Tina Eringis and a pinch-hit RBI double by Corrine Gosselin in the fifth gave the Raiders their final two runs.
For Eringis, who hit five home runs last year, it was her third home run in three games and fourth of the season.
"I've been working on pitch selection and it's helped a lot," said Eringis, who is headed to Bryant University next year. "I was too anxious before."
While the Raiders were giving a clinic on clutch hitting (all five hits drove in runs), Maloney was doing some clutch pitching.
The freshman from Windham gave up a leadoff inside the park home run in the first and then cruised into the fourth before she ran into control problems with three walks and two hits, giving up two runs. But, with the bases loaded, she struck out the next two batters to limit the damage.
From there, Maloney retired nine of the next 10 batters.
"I think Kayla was a little tired, but she pitched a strong game," said Central coach Stacy Ciccolo. "Wakefield is a good-hitting team, so I thought she did a nice job."
The win was the seventh straight for the young Raiders, who won the D2 North last year with a veteran team.
"We knew we had talent, but we didn't know how far we could go," said Eringis. "Everything seems to be coming together."
Central Catholic 6, Wakefield 3
Division 2 North Quarterfinals
Wakefield (3): Fiorenza rf 4-1-1, Cronin cf 2-1-0, Vargas ss 3-1-1, Hankard c 3-0-1, Purcell 2b 3-0-1, Mercurio p 0-0-0, Allen p 1-0-0, Reed 1b 2-0-0, Hartrey 3b 2-0-0, Lapierre lf 2-0-0, Page ph 1-0-0. Totals 23-3-4
Central Catholic (6): Martin cf 4-0-0, A.Borrelli ss 3-0-0, Hebert ph 0-0-0, Maloney p 3-0-1, Ratte pr 0-1-0, Eringis 2b 3-2-1, Swarbrick c 1-0-0, Kfoury pr 0-3-0, C.Borrelli 1b 2-0-1, Forzese 3b 2-0-1, Howe ph 0-0-0, Lesiczka rf 2-0-0, Gosselin ph 1-0-1, DeFusco lf 3-0-0. Totals 21-6-5
RBI: CC — C.Borrelli 2, Forzese, Maloney, Eringis, Gosselin
WP: Maloney; LP: Mercurio
Wakefield (11-11):1âÇ0âÇ0âÇ2âÇ0âÇ0âÇ0 — 3
Central Catholic (16-4):3âÇ1âÇ0âÇ0âÇ2âÇ0âÇ0 — 6
Solomon on their minds
Central Catholic is keeping Becca Solomon in mind as it advances through the tournament. Solomon, a senior teammate, died in a recent car accident.
"We're not dedicating it (playoffs) to her, but we're playing for her and playing like she did," said Central sophomore Brianna Martin, who often got a ride home from practice from Solomon. "When we practice, we're working our rear ends off, just like she did."
Added senior Tina Eringis: "She was always going 100 percent out there, so we're trying to do the same thing."
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