By Chris Paul
The Londonderry High School Softball team had three convincing wins in the second week of the Division I spring season to keep their record at a perfect 5-0.
The team started their 2022 season with wins against Winnacunnet and Manchester Central and continued the streak with a close 8-7 victory in Exeter, followed by a 3-0 win at Timberlane and a 8-2 victory at home with Trinity-West.
On Monday, April 18, in Exeter, the Lady Lancers trailed early, with the Lady Blue Hawks taking a 6-1 lead after three innings, but LHS took the lead late in the game and held on for theie third win of the season.
Starting pitcher Olivia Cutuli only latest one and two thirds inning in the circle, allowing two runs with Sarah Woodruff giving relief for an inning and a third, giving up four, and Mya Gaspie got the win with her four inning pitched and just one run allowed.
Londonderry got on the board in the first, with Olivia Chau getting on base with two outs and stealing three bases.
Exeter quickly erased the lead with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the first.
The EHS lead mushroomed to 6-1 in the second, on five singles and a homerun.
Chau got her second unassisted run in at bat in the fourth with a single and an error.
Londonderry fought back to a 6-5 score in the sixth inning with doubles by Chau, Samantha Minton and Lauren Laudani.
The Lancers took the 8-6 lead, with three more runs in the top of the seventh, by virtue of a centerfield homer by Cutuli, scoring Emily Rivera and Nina Corvino, who were on base with singles.
Exeter got one back in the bottom of the final inning, but LHS held on for the one-run win.
Chau had three hits and three runs to lead the team in the game.
In the second game of the week, against the Lady Owls on Wednesday, April 20, at Timberlane Regional High School, Cutuli pitched seven scoreless innings for a three-run shutout by the Lancers.
Chau gave her team the lead with a two out, home run to centerfield in the fifth inning.
The Lady Lancers added two more insurance runs in the seventh for their fourth victory of the season.
Chau and Rivera had two hits in the game and Zoey Nelson hit the only double in the game.
Cutuli had nine strikeouts, seven hits and three walks for the win.
The Lady Lancers got their fifth win on Friday, April 22, when they faced Manchester West-Trinity and took an 8-2 victory.
Gaspie and Woodruff split services in the circle with Gaspie pitching three and Woodruff tossing four. Both girls gave up just one run and Gaspie got the win.
The visitors took an early 1-0 run in the first, but Londonderry took the l;ead for good in the third with three runs with two walks two doubles and a hit-by-pitch.
Cutuli’s double plated all the runs the Lancers would eventually need for the win. Chau also doubled in the inning.
Manchester got one back in the fourth, but LHS scored three more in the bottom of the inning with three doubles helping their cause.
Cutuli was three for four with a homerun and had four RBIs in the game.
The team had six doubles and 13 hits for their fifth straight win. Chau had two, Laudani, Gaspie, Cutuli and Rivera each hit doubles.
The Lancers will have a big test on Wednesday, April 27, when they play Concord High School at home. Concord has a 6-0 record and have only given up six runs and have scored 64 so far.