Panthers muscle past Huskies for mercy-rule win

By Ryan D. Murray
Posted 5/25/17

For the Sun Rise The Johnston Lady Panthers crushed the Mt. Hope Huskies, 10-0, on Tuesday afternoon. It took just five innings for the Panthers to end the game by way of the 10-run rule. Johnston junior Madison Plouffe and freshman

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Panthers muscle past Huskies for mercy-rule win

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The Johnston Lady Panthers crushed the Mt. Hope Huskies, 10-0, on Tuesday afternoon. It took just five innings for the Panthers to end the game by way of the 10-run rule. Johnston junior Madison Plouffe and freshman Jenni Aubin combined for a complete-game, one-hit shutout, and sophomore Sophia DaCosta and junior Lauren Civetti each had two hits and two RBIs.

“We did our job,” Sophia DaCosta said. “You just gotta do your job every day. And it’s about being better on the day than the teams out there. We’ve lost some tough games this season, and I think that when we come back to those teams, we can definitely beat them. This was a good game to go into the playoffs with because it really boosted our confidence. I think we can surprise some teams. I think we can beat any team in this division on any given day.”

Due to a shin injury to one of its girls earlier in the season, Mt. Hope played only eight players.

Plouffe started the game in the circle and struck out the first two batters that she faced. Then, junior Carissa Rego blasted a two-out triple to center field. Nonetheless, Plouffe got Haley Teixeira to hit a bouncer back to the circle before Plouffe threw her out at first for the final out.

Junior Caitlyn Moniz pitched the entire game for Mt. Hope. The pitcher gave up a leadoff bunt to Jordan Moretti. Then, Civetti reached base when she hit a grounder to the shortstop. With runners at the corners, DaCosta launched a double down the third base line, scoring Moretti and giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead. With one out, junior Katarina St. Angelo knocked in Civetti to put the Panthers up, 2-0. With two down, sophomore Emily Raposo hit a triple to center to score DaCosta, giving Johnston a 3-0 lead. Then, Kelsey Scott, a sophomore, hit a single to center, knocking in Raposo to go up 4-0.

In the top of the second, Plouffe struck out the leadoff hitter on her way to a 1-2-3 inning.

Civetti blasted a double to left field with two outs in the bottom of the second inning. Shortly after, Civetti crossed the plate after DaCosta put a ball in play that resulted in an error at first base, increasing Johnston’s lead to 5-0.

Aubin came on in relief for Plouffe in the top of the third and retired the side in order, earning back-to-back strikeouts before getting the last hitter, Aliyah Vieira, to fly out.

With one out in the bottom of the third, Samantha Febus struck out, but the sophomore center fielder reached base after an error by the catcher. Plouffe followed it with a walk, putting two runners on. Then, Moretti hit a double past the shortstop to score Febus, extending the Panthers’ lead to 6-0. With runners at second and third, Civetti smashed a shot to center, plating both Plouffe and Moretti, increasing Johnston’s lead to 8-0.

Aubin had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, and in the top of the fifth, she did the same. The freshman struck out Teixeira and Hannah Ayers before getting Yvey McDowell to fly out to the second baseman, Civetti.

DaCosta lifted a double to right with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Next, Gianna Vizzacco hit a single up the middle to score DaCosta, putting the Panthers up 9-0. Freshman Megan Philbrick came in to pinch run for Vizzacco at first. Then, St. Angelo hit a single to left, putting runners at first and second. That’s when Raposo lifted a fly ball to right field, which was misplayed by the right fielder, enabling Philbrick to come home with the game-winning 10th run.

It was Johnston’s final game of the season, and it finishes with a league record of 12-5. Mt. Hope falls to 1-12.

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