Thornton Academy’s Louisa Colucci delivers a pitch on Saturday. Colucci allowed just one hit in the victory. TAMMY BELANGER PHOTOGRAPHY
The Golden Trojans fired on all cylinders, getting nine hits at the plate and 21 runners on base in the shortened game. Pitcher Louisa Colucci was impressive in the circle, allowing just one hit with six strikeouts on the day.
“It was a nice complete game. Offensively we were fine, defensively we didn’t have to make too many plays. Louisa was on,” said TA coach John Provost after the win. “She’s big for what we’re going to want to do. We’ve got a couple kids who can throw but if Louisa continues to throw like that we’ll be fine.”
Colucci, who also went 1-for-1 with an RBI and three walks, was excited to get the opening day win with her team, and feels that she is peaking as a player entering her senior season.
“It’s going to help our confidence a lot. There’s a lot of good competition (in the conference) and I feel that we can hold our own against them. We have a really good team this year,” said Colucci. “I feel like I’m seeing the ball better and pitching I feel renewed. It’s very nice having (good hitters) because I know that they’ll have my back even if we make an error in the field.”
TA jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Colucci and Jenica Botting each hit RBI doubles while Olivia Paradis added and RBI single. Amanda Bogardus drove a run in on a groundout.
The Trojans continued to pour it on in the third inning, doubling their lead thanks to four consecutive RBIs from Paradis, Sarah Casey, Madi Vachon and Kaitlin Verreault.
“We have the ability 1-to-9 to hit. We scored runs early and it’s contagious. The girls up front hit and everyone just follows,” said Provost on his team’s ability to rack up runs.
TA’s biggest inning came in the top half of the fourth when it scored seven more runs. Botting would hit a bases-clearing double while both Bogardus and Olivia Howe added RBIs. Two runs were also walked in to set the score at 15-0.
“We expected that — that’s why they’re one of the top teams in our league and in the state,” said Biddeford coach Mike Fecteau of TA’s performance at the dish. “They’re a hitting machine, you can’t give them more than three outs. We had plays where we didn’t get the groundball, the flyball, you can’t give that team extra outs because 1-to-9 they can hit the ball. It was a wake up call.”
Katie Stewart got the start in the circle for the Tigers, going 2 2/3 innings with a strikeout. Maddy Dineen pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief. Olivia Whittaker earned Biddeford’s only hit on the day with a single in the third inning.
Despite the loss, Fecteau believes the Trojans can learn from the lopsided defeat.
“Confidence-wise it’s going to help out … seeing what a great softball team is like and competing against,” said Fecteau. “We just need to get better making the plays, we’ll build on this game, there were some good things that happened.”
— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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