Panthers rout Cavaliers to move above .500

By Ryan D. Murray
Posted 4/27/17

For the Sun Rise The Johnston Panthers blanked the Juanita Sanchez Cavaliers, 16-0, on Monday evening at Mazzulla field. Madison Plouffe pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out six over five innings. Sophomore Sophia DaCosta led

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Panthers rout Cavaliers to move above .500

Posted

The Johnston Panthers blanked the Juanita Sanchez Cavaliers, 16-0, on Monday evening at Mazzulla field. Madison Plouffe pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out six over five innings. Sophomore Sophia DaCosta led the offense with three hits and 4 RBIs, and junior Lauren Civetti added three hits and knocked in three runs. The game concluded by way of the 10-run rule.

With the win, Johnston improved to 4-3, while Juanita Sanchez fell to 0-5 in its first season in Division II.

“Not many negatives at all,” Johnston head coach Manny DaCosta said. “They played a really good game...The top of our order batted really well. They knocked in a lot of runs.”

Plouffe was untouchable all evening while yielding just four hits and one walk.

“She pitched fantastic,” Manny DaCosta said. “She threw strikes all day. A lot of strikeouts.”

Plouffe fanned the first hitter that she faced, sophomore Natalya Gomez. Then, the right-hander walked Eriesmi Germosen. Next, Plouffe struck out Heather Lind for the second out. Then, Ridgshana Nonau bunted safely to put runners at second and third for Juanita Sanchez. Plouffe would get Yarelin Vasquez to ground out to end the top of the first.

Freshman Julisa Hernandez started in the circle for Juanita Sanchez in the bottom of the first. Johnston junior Jordan Moretti led off with a successful bunt. With Civetti at the plate, Moretti stole second. Civetti then hit a double to left field to score Moretti, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Next, Sophia DaCosta hit a single to right to score Civetti, putting Johnston up 2-0. With runners at first and second, Emily Raposo hit a single to score DaCosta, giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead after one inning.

After letting up a leadoff single to Emily Cortorreal in the top of the second, Plouffe earned back-to-back strikeouts on Hernandez and Yoanka Molina. Plouffe got out of the inning when she got Yissely Acosta to hit into a forceout at second base.

With two down in the bottom of the second inning, Sophia DaCosta drilled an RBI double to center to put the Panthers up 4-0. Next, catcher Gianna Vizzacco followed suit, hitting an RBI double of her own to score DaCosta, making it 5-0.

Johnston added on five more runs in the bottom of the third. It started with a leadoff double from sophomore Kelsey Scott. With runners at the corners, Samantha Febus hit a single to score Scott, increasing the Johnston lead to 6-0. Then, Moretti earned a walk to load the bases. Civetti would hit a single to score Raposo, making it 7-0. Then, Febus stole home on a passed ball to put the Panthers up 8-0. Soon after, Moretti scored on a passed ball. With runners at second and third, Vizzacco hit a single down the third baseline to score Civetti, giving Johnston a 10-0 advantage.

Juanita Sanchez got a pair of singles from Nonau and Germosen to start the top of the fourth. But, Plouffe would get Cortorreal to pop up and Hernandez to line out to Moretti, who flipped to third base for the double play to get out of the inning unscathed.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Febus and Plouffe worked back-to-back walks. Next, Moretti hit a single to load the bases. Then, Civetti hit an RBI single to score Febus, putting Johnston up 11-0. The Panthers went up 12-0 after Plouffe scored from third on a passed ball. Then, Sophia DaCosta drilled a single to right to score both Moretti and Civetti to go up 14-0. With DaCosta at first, Vizzacco hit a double down the third baseline, putting runners at second and third. Shortly after, Katarina St. Angelo, the junior first baseman, walked to load the bases. Moments later, Raposo hit a single to right field to score two more runs, giving the Panthers a 16-0 lead.

“We’ve got a good young team,” Manny DaCosta said. “We look forward to the playoffs and all that this year and we continue to improve.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here