NEWPORT- The Hanover Marauders softball team traveled to Newport to take on the Tigers under the lights Tuesday, and left with a loss, 16-3.
After an uneventful top of the first, Newport came to bat in the bottom half of the frame. Kendall Hamilton would score on an error after bunting her way on, to put the Tigers on top 1-0. A bunt from Alyssa Burr would drive in another, and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hailey Perry would increase the lead to 3-0.
Hanover would go down in order in the second. In the bottom of the inning, an inside-the-park homerun off the bat of Jenna Maheu would make it 4-0 Tigers.
Newport would continue to tack on runs in the third, as a bunt from Burr would again score Stacia Dame, and a Perry bunt would score another. The inability of the Marauders to defend this was a problem all night. “He played his field well, with the sun in the first baseman’s eyes,” said Hanover Head Coach Mariruth Graham. “We just did not adjust.” Back-to-back singles from Megan Howard and Erin Seagrove in the inning would stretch the lead to 8-0.
In the top of the fourth, Hanover finally got some offense going. Newport’s pitcher, Lacey McNeel, would load the bases with one out. An errant pickoff attempt from the catcher would score one, making it 8-1. A single from Becca Wilson would drive in two more, closing the gap to 8-3. But this was as close as the Marauders would get.
Dame would score for the Tigers, bringing the score to 9-3. A single from Megan Howard made it 10-3, and Maheu would drive in two more for her third RBI of the game, putting Newport up 12-3. A Hamilton single would make it 14-3, and then Dame would step up and hit a two run bomb, raising the score to 16-3.
“The girls were being more patient,” Newport Head Coach Sam McNeel said of his squad’s impressive offensive output. “It is really nice to see the bottom of the lineup start hitting.”
Hanover would go down 1-2-3 in the fifth, and the Tigers would complete the win. The victory brings Newport to 6-0 on the season. When asked what will be most important to the success of the team moving forward, McNeel focused on the offense. “If we continue to get good swings, and do some smarter base-running, we will keep winning.”
The Tigers are back in action Wednesday at home versus Kearsarge, while the Marauders will take their 1-6 record up north to face White Mountains.
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