The Londonderry High School softball team took one step closer to a chance at the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Division I title after winning their quarter-final game against Windham High School on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Lancers are slated as the number-one seed in the state championship and are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak as they moved toward the school’s first-ever Division I title.
After sitting out the first round of the playoffs on a bye, Londonderry was able beat the Jaguars 8-1 for a chance to play in the semi-finals against Pinkerton Academy (#5 Seed) on Tuesday, June 4.
Since moving up to Division I back in 2011, LHS has never made the finals. Before that, as a Class L team, Londonderry made three appearances in the finals, in 2001, 2007, and 2010, but fell to Salem in all three attempts.
In the victory against Windham, on Saturday, June 1, the girls allowed the only Jags run of the game in the top of the first, but then quickly came back with four of their own in the first, on route to their seven-run win.
Senior Olivia Cutuli and sophomore Elizabeth Kearney shared duty in the pitching circle, with Cutuli notching her ninth win of the season.
It only took her two innings to qualify for the win, but she more than helped herself at the plate, going three for three with two homeruns and four runs batted in.
Kearney was also a force at the plate, getting a homerun of her own and going two for two with two RBIs.
The two pitchers had a combined 10 strikeouts, gave up two hits, one run, and zero walks.
Kearney and junior Abby Austen each had doubles in the game.
The Londonderry offense knocked out Windham’s starting pitcher in the second inning and had a total of 10-hits.
The four-run first inning for Londonderry featured a two-run homer over the fence in right for Cutuli, a one-run double for Austen and a single by Shannon Crowley to drive in the fourth run.
Cutuli’s second homerun of the game came in her second at bat, this time to centerfield for two more runs.
Kearney’s homer came in the fifth inning to drive in the final two runs of the game.
Both of the final games in the playoff will take place at Plymouth State University.
If the Lancers are able to beat the Astros in the semi-finals on Tuesday, after the Londonderry Times deadline, they will move on to play the winner of the game between Winnacunnet (#2) and Bishop Guertin (#11) taking place on Saturday, June 8, starting at 7 p.m.