METHUEN – A couple of days after defending its own turf against Merrimack Valley Conference unbeaten Tewksbury, league-leading Central Catholic showed just how the offense could do on the road, pounding Methuen, 19-2, on Wednesday night at Burnham Road.
The Raiders, who improved to a still-perfect 6-0 in the conference, followed their 13-run barrage against the Redmen by testing the fence-free environment here in Ranger country with a series of shots that zoomed deep into the night. Central pounded 15 hits, half of which went for extra bases, including home runs by Chloe Salerno and Meg Maresca.
Salerno went all five on the mound, picking up the three-hit win with five strikeouts, and the Raiders just feasted at the plate.
“I think we are the hardest-working team in the MVC. We practice every day hitting, in the cages, outside hitting. We’re always working hard. Nothing ever comes easy for this team,” said Raider senior Ava Perrotta, a Methuen resident who roped back-to-back triples against some of her closest friends on Wednesday night. “From the top of the lineup to the bottom of the lineup, we’re all working as hard as we can. We take nothing for granted.
“We’re a good returning hitting team. We’ve still got some power.”
Staying perfect in the league is important to Central, of course, but the Raiders, who’ve grown into a statewide power with back-to-back final four trips, know there is work to be done.
“We’ve got some defensive problems that we’ve really tried to work on, compared to what we were say last year,” said coach Stacy Ciccolo. “We have a really tough schedule, so we’re trying to put together really good at-bats. When we get to Lincoln-Sudbury, King Philip, St. Paul’s, we have to find a way.
“We need to do a better job on the defensive side. We’re putting together some runs, but we have to pitch a little better, and we have to defend a little better. We’re working really hard, but we have to keep improving.”
The rebuilding Rangers managed only the three hits on the night: an RBI-single by Ava Nartiff and base hits from Addie Campbell and Melany Reyes.