on 05-06-2008 14:13

“A lot of the teams that beat us earlier in the year -- Bay View, La Salle, Toll Gate -- are at or near the top (of the standings),” added SRA coach Mo Jackson, whose crew is now a game under .500. “Did we expect to lose those games? No. We obviously wanted to go out and be competitive, but we just weren’t playing with any urgency.
“But the last three or four games, we’ve been on a roll. The girls have been into the game more, and again, they’re playing with a sense of urgency. We also changed a few things around and everything’s working out. Right now, we’re 4-5, but we could easily be 7-2, but I’m happy. We just want take things one game at a time and see what happens.”
Lotti didn’t walk any batters, allowed just one batted ball to reach the outfield, and faced just 23 batters (two above the minimum) in her fabulous performance against an Oakers team that came into the contest with a 6-3 record and huge victories last week over then-unbeaten Bay View Academy and third-place Cumberland High.
The two batters that reached base were No. 9 batter Shannen Pelletier, who reached first when her bunt with two outs in the third was thrown away for an error, and losing pitcher Elise Fortier, who broke up Lotti’s no-hit bid with a one-out single in the fourth that just glanced off the top of second baseman Kara Hennigan’s glove and landed in right field.
“Danielle has pitched phenomenal this year,” added Jackson. “She doesn’t have a lot of speed, but she’s crafty, she mixes her pitches and spots them well, and she has pinpoint accuracy.”    
Fortier, who ended up with a four-hitter and six strikeouts, was also solid through the first five innings, allowing just a pair of first-inning walks and base hits to Angela Palladino in the third and Kyllie Magill in the fifth, but the hosts ended up victimizing Fortier in their third trip through the lineup.
Magill led off with a sharp single that just deflected off the top of the glove of shortstop Katelyn Carroll and into left field, and after she advanced to second on a slow grounder to second by Hennigan, she stole third base on the second pitch to the next batter, Lotti.
Two pitches later, Lotti dropped a bunt that rolled halfway up the first-base line. Fortier quickly pounced on the ball, and instead of throwing the ball to first, she looked Magill back, but Magill was only a few feet away from third.  
Jackson then went to his bench and used Kara Sharples as a courtesy runner for Lotti. She instantly stole second with ease on the first pitch to the next batter, Jen Tartaglia, and on an 0-2 count, Tartaglia reached out for a low change-up by Fortier and softly lined it into center field to drive in Magill and send Sharples to third.
Emily Wilcox then tried to drive in Sharples with a soft grounder in front of the mound, but Fortier again fielded it and tried to catch Sharples straying too far off third base, but Sharples dove back to the bag in time.
That loaded the bases for Palladino, who laced a sharp grounder to first baseman Alycia Broccoli. She fielded the ball and threw a low strike to the plate to nab Sharples, but by the time catcher Lynn Pesola snagged the low throw out of the dirt, Sharples had her foot on the plate.
Fortier then wiggled off the hook by striking out the next batter she faced and getting her next one to fly out along the right-field line, but the damage was already done.
Less than 24 hours before Monday’s game, the Saints trekked across state lines for a non-league showdown against Taunton High, the defending Division I state champion and the top-ranked team in the Eastern Mass. standings.
The Saints turned in an exceptional performance against the Tigers and their standout ace pitcher, Erin Wade, but ended up dropping a 2-1 decision in extra innings. Magill went 4-for-4 to lead the Saints’ attack.