Senior Impact: Red-hot Pinkerton sending five girls to play college ball

May 22—Winners of eight straight, Pinkerton Academy girls softball has surged toward the top of the Division 1 standings at 11-4 with just one week to play in the regular season.

Regardless of how things pan out for coach Tom Wall's team, it's evident that this senior class will continue to leave its mark on softball fields, not just locally but all over New England.

Five Astro seniors are headed to play college ball next year, and the sixth? Well, she's pretty much shooting for the stars.

The Mason Twins, Olivia and Lily are headed in separate, but not so distant, directions. and neither is taking responsibility for breaking up this dynamic, Division 2-bound duo.

"I had my heart set on (Saint Anselm) before she committed to (Southern New Hampshire University)," said Lily. "It's where I wanted to be."

Teammates for so long, the Masons will instantly become Northeast-10 Conference foes.

"We've always played together, and now we're rivals. That will definitely be one of the biggest games of the year, now, no matter what," Lily added.

"I went to visit and watched St. A's play. I liked the team's overall love for the game, and I thought I could fit in."

Olivia won't be far away at any time, just on the other side of Manchester. Being there is important, and so were the Penmen's sparkling facilities.

"It's close to home so my parents can't see the games," Olivia said.

Longtime teammates and friends Ashleigh Lemay and Carlie Panas are sticking together and should immediately energize the New England College softball program up in Henniker, N.H.

"I'm excited to go and for a new challenge," Panas said. "I'm also excited to be able to play with one of my best friends."

Interestingly, the girls will go from one of the Northeast's largest public high schools to a small, private college.

"I liked the size," Lemay said. "I didn't want to go any bigger a school than Pinkerton, and I liked the area."

A softball challenge was a bigtime factor for Paige Ouellette.

"I've played a lot of other sports in my life, and I haven't loved any other like I've loved softball," said Ouellette, who will leave the Granite State to play at Central Maine Community College.

"My travel coach contacted them for me. They went to nationals this year. It's very competitive softball, and that's important to me."

The sixth member of the class, Rachel Keisling, is still contemplating softball at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.

A top scholar-athlete, she earned a prestigious "J-100" full scholarship from the Air Force Junior ROTC program with the hopes of someday becoming a fighter pilot.

The Division 1 All-State selection as a junior is ranked No. 8 in the class of 780 at Pinkerton.

It's that kind of drive — both in the classroom and on the field — that have the Astros in the thick of things, hunting a top spot in the 14-team Division 1 playoff bracket.

"We're all competitive. We all love the sport. We're all friends, we all love each other. To me, that's an important part of winning," said Ouellette.

Team unity is fine, but it's been the explosive offensive barrages of late that have hopes high as well.

"We've clicked as a team, and our bats have been on fire recently," said Panas.

The leadership with so many character veterans should help when things get tight, too. Concord may be unbeaten — now 15-0 into the final week — but Exeter, Londonderry, defending champ Salem, the Astros and Goffstown all are looking to put things together in the playoffs and punctuate things with a special final act.

"Our record doesn't show how good we are," said Lily Mason. "When we work together, we're unstoppable."

And Lemay added, "We can win a state championship if we continue to play the way we have been."

OFFENSE TOP TO BOTTOM

Greater Lawrence Tech's softballers have certainly had their hitting shoes on all spring as coach John Delaney's club hits the final week of the regular season with 10 girls — yes 10! — swinging it at a clip of .300 or above.

"I don't think I've ever seen a whole lineup hitting over .300 in a season," the veteran coach said.

Junior hit machine Jayda Marshall came out of the blocks hacking away and hasn't stopped. Marshall is 31 for 49 on the year (.636!) with five homers, 31 RBIs and 27 runs scored in 16 games.

There is plenty of balance, though, as the Reggies are sharing the wealth. Caroline Lavallee leads the club in runs scored with 30 and is batting .513 (20 for 39) with five homers and 15 RBIs. Brenna Croteau is next at .465 (20 for 43) with four homers, 26 RBIs and 27 runs scored.

Emmy Galan (.391), Jaeda Flores (.387), Ayesha Paula (.385), Kerrianny Rojas (.333), Gisele Acevedo (.333), Jashley Lopez (.310) and Alyshia Caraballo (.300) are all doing their part as Greater Lawrence makes one final push toward a potential spot in the postseason.

The Reggies are still a bit of a long shot. They were 59th in Division 3 in the latest MIAA power ranks, but have won three straight since pull up the regular season mark to 7-9.

They hit the final week of the regular season with a chance to make a tourney, needing three wins in the final four. That's a major accomplishment for Delaney and his club in his first year at the helm on River Road.

METHUEN

INVITATIONAL SET

The Methuen Invitational Softball Tournament is set for the holiday weekend over on Burnham Road, and it features some truly interesting matchups, per usual.

Friday night's semis are Andover vs. Amesbury at 5 p.m., followed by Methuen and North Andover at 7 p.m.

Amesbury features Boston University-bound left pitcher Olivia DeLong. The Indians reached the state finals in Division 3 a year ago and have plowed through the Cape Ann League unscathed this season.

Methuen and North Andover hooked up in a good one last week with the Rangers pulling out a 3-1 thriller on the road.

The consolation game is Saturday night at 5 p.m. with the championship game at 7.

TOURNEY TALK

The Merrimack Valley Conference races are all but decided.

To nobody's surprise, it's Lowell in Division 1 and Tewksbury in Division 2 at the top.

The conference continues to show up well in the MIAA power rankings, too.

Lowell (3), Central Catholic (6) and Methuen (7) have been mainstays in the top 10 all season long.

North Andover (11) is qualified, and so is Haverhill (20), while Chelmsford is all but in.

Andover is 2-14 but the strength of the conference gives the Warriors, who face a four-game week, a fighting chance to qualify on strength of schedule. They were 34th in the D-1 rankings. The top 32 in the power rankings, plus any other teams with .500 records or above get in.

Billerica, the Division 1 North champ a year ago, and Tewksbury are 1-2 in the Division 2 MIAA rankings. Dracut is at No. 13.