In high school softball, having your star pitcher slide into a groove can send your team off on a long and incredibly productive winning streak. And Londonderry High senior stalwart Ila Brown has been showing that to her fellow Lady Lancers and the rest of Division I of late.
Brown put forth two superb performances and had both her offense and her defense support her tremendously last week in helping her 9-1 LHS contingent bag its seventh and eighth consecutive victories.
The Nashua South Lady Purple Panthers were absolutely no match for the Lady Lancers in a contest at LHS last Wednesday, May 2, in which Londonderry pummeled its guest by a 13-0 tally.
Brown threw a two-hitter and struck out some 10 Nashua batters, and her teammates Sarah Fawcett and Cassidy Raza both laced three-run home runs in a 10-run-rule contest. Alivia Proulx contributed two hits and drove in three runs on an afternoon during which the home-standing squad smacked out a total of 11 safeties.
The Londonderry offense wasn’t quite as prolific three days later when it faced off with those arch-rival Pinkerton Academy Lady Astros in Beeman Trophy play on a beautiful spring day at LHS. But a 7-0 success and more masterful pitching work from Brown left coach Wayne MacDougall and his charges all kinds of happy.
And as things worked out, that ended up being Londonderry High’s lone victory in Beeman Trophy play out of seven varsity games played against Pinkerton crews during that week.
Brown hurled another two-hit shutout, striking out some 12 would-be hitters and working on a no-hitter until the top of the sixth inning when Pinkerton’s number nine hitter Ellie Cashman slapped a single to center field with one out.
“Ila had a great game. She had everything going again,” said coach MacDougall.
And the longtime Lady Lancer coach was just as pleased with the manner in which his offense produced its seven runs on some 14 hits.
“We scored all seven runs with two outs,” said MacDougall. “And that has to wear an opponent down when you do that.”
Londonderry plated the only two runs it would end up needing to best 7-4 PA – which came into the Saturday contest having dropped two of its previous three games – in the latter half of the second inning.
After Pinkerton pitcher Alyssa Ouellette got the first two Londonderry hitters out, Loey Misiaszek drew a walk and Alivia Proulx hammered a home run over the fence in center field to make it a 2-0 game.
The hosts left two runners stranded on base in the second without scoring more, but their lead bulged to 4-0 in the fourth when Sarah Fawcett thumped a two-out single, Gia Komst followed with a double, and Brown helped her own cause by sending both teammates scurrying home with a single.
The Lancers then finished the day’s scoring by plating three more markers in the fourth on four hits, with Misiaszek and Proulx each lacing run-scoring doubles and Fawcett whacking an RBI single.
Proulx finished just a triple short of hitting for the cycle, Fawcett was good for three singles, and Raza and Misiaszek each smacked two hits on a big day for the Lady Lancers.
Londonderry started this week confident but facing a Monday challenge from a visiting Salem High Lady Blue Devils’ bunch which boasted a 7-2 season record.
And the locals snared yet another shutout in the form of a 3-0 blanking of the tough Salem High opponent.