4/17 - SOFTBALL: King Philip @ North Attleboro
The Breakdown:
North Attleboro and King Philip meet in an early Kelley-Rex title showdown. The teams are the heavy favorites to take home the large school title in 2013 and both have gotten off to strong starts to the season. The Rocketeers are still unbeaten at 4-0 and have yet to give up more than a single run in any game this season. King Philip lost its second game of the season against reigning D1 state champions Milford, but has responded with back-to-back blowout wins.
The story of the game, as it usually is in softball, is all about the pitching. KP senior Anna O’Neill and North junior Meg Colleran are teammates during the summer and have been outstanding this season. The teams will be very familiar with each pitcher’s repertoire, but both pitchers excel at mixing things up and keeping hitters off-balance. Expect the two stars in the circle to dominate once again.
Just because the pitchers are the stars does not mean that these teams can’t hit. All-state caliber second baseman Tori Constantin and O’Neill power the KP offense and the Warriors have scored in double digits in each of their three wins. Against Shannon Smith and Milford, head coach Norm Beauchemin was upset with his team’s approach, so expect KP to be focused on making Colleran work and trying to get the ball in play.
North has been explosive in the early going, led by Colleran and her all-star catcher Meghan Wynn. Coming into the season, North’s offense was expected to be one of the team’s strengths and it has lived up to the billing so far. The 2-1 win over Taunton also showed the team’s ability to grind out runs when needed. The key for O’Neill will be keeping the top of the North line-up off-base and not allowing Colleran, Wynn, or Jackie Del Bonis the opportunity to bat with runners on.
It is still just three weeks into the season (and Franklin is also off to a 5-0 start), but this already feels like a battle of the top teams in the league and will give someone a leg up in the Kelley-Rex title hunt.
The story of the game, as it usually is in softball, is all about the pitching. KP senior Anna O’Neill and North junior Meg Colleran are teammates during the summer and have been outstanding this season. The teams will be very familiar with each pitcher’s repertoire, but both pitchers excel at mixing things up and keeping hitters off-balance. Expect the two stars in the circle to dominate once again.
Just because the pitchers are the stars does not mean that these teams can’t hit. All-state caliber second baseman Tori Constantin and O’Neill power the KP offense and the Warriors have scored in double digits in each of their three wins. Against Shannon Smith and Milford, head coach Norm Beauchemin was upset with his team’s approach, so expect KP to be focused on making Colleran work and trying to get the ball in play.
North has been explosive in the early going, led by Colleran and her all-star catcher Meghan Wynn. Coming into the season, North’s offense was expected to be one of the team’s strengths and it has lived up to the billing so far. The 2-1 win over Taunton also showed the team’s ability to grind out runs when needed. The key for O’Neill will be keeping the top of the North line-up off-base and not allowing Colleran, Wynn, or Jackie Del Bonis the opportunity to bat with runners on.
It is still just three weeks into the season (and Franklin is also off to a 5-0 start), but this already feels like a battle of the top teams in the league and will give someone a leg up in the Kelley-Rex title hunt.
Poll:
The Pick:
HockomockSports.com Picks | ||||||||||
Ryan Lanigan |
Josh Perry |
Dan Libon |
John Botelho |
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HockomockSports.com Staff | ||||||||||
King Philip @ North Attleboro Wednesday, 12:00 |
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Baseball | Lanigan 1-0 | Perry 1-0 | Libon 0-1 | Botelho 1-0 |
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Softball | Lanigan 1-0 | Perry 1-0 | Libon 0-1 | Botelho 1-0 |
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Total | Lanigan 2-0 | Perry 2-0 | Libon 0-2 | Botelho 2-0 |
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