It’s time to ask that question again. Is this the year that the Londonderry High softball squad claims the first state championship in its program’s history?
LHS has had many extremely good teams since the program’s inception in the late 1970’s, but perhaps none better than the one which longtime coach Wayne MacDougall has fielded this spring.
MacDougall’s 2018 mob finished up its regular season last week with a pretty astounding 18-1 record, having won no less than 17 consecutive contests.
Consecutive wins numbers 16 and 17 came last week against Manchester Memorial and Nashua North, and the Lady Lancers headed into the state tourney with a truly massive head of steam.
The locals kept their winning ways rolling forward last Wednesday, May 23, with a big 10-3 trouncing of the host Manchester Memorial Lady Crusaders on that opponent’s home field in Saint Anthony’s Park in the Queen City.
“The offensive spark came from my number nine hitter Miranda Galan, who launched two home runs,” said proud coach MacDougall. “The big blast was a three-run homer turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead that we did not relinquish. We scored five (runs) in the seventh to ice it.”
Along with Galan’s offensive heroics, the Lancers received three hits from Cassidy Raza and two hits and two runs batted in from Ila Brown.
Lefty pitcher Nina Perry got the start against the scuffling Memorial mob and did fairly well.
“She went 4 1/3 before I brought in (star hurler) Ila to finish,” said MacDougall. “We were up 5-3 and Memorial had a runner on third with one out and she pitched out of it. She struck out 7 of 10 that she faced.”
The LHS crew – which got the top tourney seed – capped off its regular season with a 7-2 trouncing of Nashua North in Londonderry on Friday May 25, with Emily Nelson thumping a three-run homer and Raza hammering four hits in four trips to the dish. Sarah Fawcett contributed two safeties, including a solo homer, and star hurler Brown bagged another win by holding the Titans to six hits while striking out 11.