Published July 30, 2020
NORTH READING — They say strong pitching and defense is a winning formula. That may be true, but when you add a relentless offense to the equation a team can be hard to beat. The North Reading Hornets summer softball team had all three elements on display on July 21 against visiting Saugus and on July 22 against Winchester.
For the second game in a row, North Reading jumped out to a fast start against Saugus. After a 1-2-3 top of the 1st inning, junior leadoff hitter Adrianna Vittozzi drew a walk, stole second and promptly scored on an RBI double from junior shortstop Julia Howse. Senior co-captain Emma Lord would follow with an RBI double of her own to plate Howse. With two outs and Lord still on second, junior Shea Hanson launched a two-run homer over the right centerfield fence and just like that the Hornets were up 4-0.
Things were not easy for Saugus hitters as Hanson would pitch three innings of no-hit ball fanning seven of the nine batters she faced. Freshman Mia Vittozzi took over in the 4th inning and went on to scatter five hits over four innings while striking out one.
Contributions came from up and down the Hornet lineup with hits from Kaeleigh Arington, Alyssa Demetri, Abby Gerber, Rose Morelli and Adriana Vittozzi.
Gina Mulik (1-for-3, 2RBI) and Kristen Galvin (1-for-3, 1RBI, 1 Run) would help add to the lead in the middle innings. Howse and Hanson would each finish the day 3-for-3 while Emma Lord and Mia Vittozzi added 2-for-3 performances. Hornet hitters would tally 17 total hits in another double-digit margin of victory.
North Reading traveled to Winchester to match up with a Middlesex League opponent the following night. It was clear early in the game that the balance of power favored North Reading who got contributions throughout the roster.
Once again, the top of the Hornets’ lineup did early damage against Winchester with consecutive hits from Mia Vittozzi, Julia Howse, Sarah Gerber and Shea Hanson. It was 2-0 after the first inning and the Hornets never looked back.
North Reading added six more runs in the top of the 2nd inning with a Rose Morelli walk, an Alyssa Demetri hit-by-pitch and more bases-clearing power supplied by Howse and Gerber with each player going 2-for-4 and Gerber notching her 3rd home run of the summer season.
Winchester was blanked through the first two innings with Shea Hanson in the circle. Hanson yielded one hit and one walk with six strikeouts before exiting in favor of Mia Vittozzi. Vittozzi would not issue a walk to any Winchester hitters while allowing five hits and striking out five Sachems in four innings of work.
Junior catcher Kaeleigh Arington contributed two hits along with senior Julia DiNapoli and junior Adriana Vittozzi. Sophomores Shivani Srikanth and Rose Morelli picked up RBI’s with timely hits and junior Alyssa Demetri finished the day 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Maria Pierce added an RBI single and a run scored. The Hornets were 3-0 sitting in first place atop the USA Softball High School League summer standings after that win.
