The Kearsarge Regional High School softball team entered Thursday’s Class I game against Bow trying to end a 79-game losing streak. After Bow scored 12 runs in the top of the first inning, it looked like that streak would continue.
It turned out to be Kearsarge’s day, however, as the Cougars rallied for a 21-14 triumph. It was the program’s first victory since 2004, when Kearsarge beat Raymond and John Stark and completed its season with a 2-13 record.
“The funny thing is, we haven’t had horrible teams,” Kearsarge senior pitcher Lauren Violette told the Concord Monitor. “I mean, obviously we weren’t going to win some of those games, but there were a lot (of games) that we were in until the late innings.
“Just bad luck, I guess.”
It was an improbable win for the Cougars, who overcame a 12-run deficit without staff ace Lauren Josefiak and head coach. Dave Kasregis. Josefiak was on vacation with her family, and Kasregis missed the game because of a field trip.
Despite the poor start, Kearsarge was within two runs, 13-11, when Violette exited the circle after four innings. Freshman Ally Whelan held Bow to one run over the final three innings.
Kearsarge received three hits from both Taylor Owen and Molly Quigley. Angie Waring and Katie Levesque each collected two hits and scored twice.
“I told them they couldn’t give up, and if they really wanted it they were going to have to go out and take it,” Kearsarge assistant coach Dave Yazzie said. “No one was just going to hand it to us on a platter.”
Baseball: Cote looks unhittable
Winnisquam Regional’s Jordan Cote batted .547 and had a 5-1 record on the mound as a freshman, and it didn’t take him long to make headlines in his sophomore season either.
Cote pitched a perfect game to lead Winnisquam to a 5-0 victory over rival Gilford on Friday. He struck out 14 and threw 69 of his 95 pitches for strikes.
“He was overpowering,” Gilford coach John Lord said. “We hit two balls hard – that was it.”
Cote raised his record to 3-0 and helped Winnisquam improve its Class M record to 5-0. Gilford, which averaged more than eight runs per game in its first three contests, dropped to 2-2.
Softball: Perfect 10
Although the regular season is a little more than two weeks old, the number of unbeaten softball teams in the state has already been reduced to 10.
Concord (6-0) entered the week as the only undefeated team in Class L. The list of unbeatens includes Portsmouth (5-0 in Class I), Laconia (4-0 in Class I), Kennett (3-0 in Class I), Bishop Brady (3-0 in Class I), Berlin (6-0 in Class M), Conant (4-0 in Class M), Franklin (3-0 in Class M), Wilton-Lyndeborough (5-0 in Class S) and Lisbon (4-0 in Class S).
Boys Lacrosse: Pinkerton remains unbeaten
Brian Estes scored four goals to lead Pinkerton Academy to an 11-10 victory over Exeter on Thursday in a matchup between two of best programs in the state.
The victory raised Pinkerton’s record to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in Division I. Bishop Guertin (6-0 in Division I) is the only team ahead of Pinkerton in the Division I standings.
Exeter, which trounced Kennebunk, Maine, one day earlier, dropped to 3-1 in Division I.
