NORTH ANDOVER – On paper, with both teams winning their openers convincingly, Central Catholic and North Andover should have been an interesting softball battle to watch on Wednesday afternoon.
In the end, it was the Raiders, who dominated, pulling away for a 10-1 win.
Central grabbed a 2-1 lead early with Zaynah Wotkowicz and Olivia Moekel both scoring runs.
Caitlin Miller had an RBI hit there, and a double-steal plated the other.
For the Knights, Jenna Roche singled in Emily Rondeau, who had doubled.
“I feel like it took an awful long time for us to get in the groove and really string some hits together. So, it was a little disappointing at first, but we were able to kind of bounce back and make some things happen,” said Central coach Stacy Ciccolo.
Olivia Boucher and Milner had RBI hits in the fifth to make it 4-1, and the Raiders broke it open in the seventh with Milner’s 3-run double highlighting the frame.
On the day, Milner was 4 for 5 with six RBIs for the Raiders, who pounded 15 hits.
“I was happy to hit the ball hard. I was able to stay calm. I think my nerves were a lot better this game. I was confident,” said Milner. “Tomorrow, this will be yesterday and we are only focused on the next game.”
For the second straight game, Julia Malowitz was in charge on the mound for the Raiders. She went five strong, yielding the lone run before freshman Elizabeth Kearney came on to close it out.
Rondeau finished with two hits for the Knights, who had only four total in the game.
Friday, 1-1 North Andover travels to Chelmsford, while the 2-0 Raiders get right back to work on Thursday, hosting Sam Ryan and the Tewksbury Redmen on Hampshire Street.
Central Catholic 10, North Andover 1
CC (10): Malowitz p 3-0-1, Boucher 2b 5-0-1, Perrotta 1b 4-2-1, Moeckel c 5-3-2, Wotkowicz rf 3-3-3, Milner 3b 5-1-4, Fox ss 5-0-0, Shea lf 4-0-1, Boyer cf 4-0-2, Ovalles ph 1-1-1, Totals 38-10-15
NA (1): Mangiameli cf 2-0-0, Roche c 3-0-1, Bernard ss 3-0-0, Gaffny p 2-0-1, Mancuso 1b 2-0-0, Crosby 3b 3-0-0, Oliveto dh 3-0-0, Iglesias rf 3-0-0, Rondeau 2b 3-1-2, Totals 24-1-4
RBI: CC — Milner 6, Wotkowicz, Shea; NA — Roche
WP: Malowitz; LP: Gaffny
Records: Central Catholic 2-0, North Andover 1-1