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Sports

Scarlet Knights' Report Card: Baseball and Softball

North Andover Patch gives the NAHS baseball and softball teams their final grades for the season.

North Andover Patch will give each NAHS varsity spring team a report card grade throughout the week. This is part one of three part series.

The baseball team had a historic season winning 23 consecutive games sandwiched around a pair of devastating losses. The softball team had an up and down year which ended on a sour note in Wilmington.

Baseball

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According to head coach Todd Dulin, there were two games this season where the Knights could not field a ground ball. In game number one against Andover, the against a team they fully expected to beat.

Then in , the Knights imploded and lost to a strong squad from Plymouth North in the MIAA Division 2 State Semifinals.

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This  season was one that will never be forgotten around these parts. In between those two tough losses, the Knights had a 23 game winning streak that had them ranked among the top teams in the state.

The streak started in early April on a Saturday afternoon in Lawrence when the Knights edged  the Lancers 2-1. Win number five came at home against Amesbury when the .

Win number 13 came in mid May when the at home. The streak continued throughout May and into June when the Knights started off the playoffs by . In the quarterfinals, the Knights took care of business with a.

With the beautiful LaLacheur Park hosting, the to advance to the sectional championship game. Brandon Walsh pitched a gem in the title game as the at Fraser Field. That was win number 23, and the final win that the Knights would achieve in 2011.

Plymouth North got to Knights’ ace Mike Weisman early and the Knights fell to a perennial Division 2 powerhouse.

Final Grade: A

Though the season ended on a sour note, North Andover equaled its best playoff run in school history.

Softball

The softball Knights had a rough go of it throughout most of their 2011 campaign. North Andover finished the season with a record of 8-12.

The Knights opened up and ended the season against the Wilmington Wildcats. At home in mid April, the Knights crushed Wilmington 9-0. To end the season, the Knights fell 6-0 at the hands of the Wildcats at the end of May.

After North Andover’s first win, the Knights suffered the first of three different three game losing streaks on the year. At Andover on Patriots Day, by the Golden Warriors.

North Andover recovered and reached the .500 mark with consecutive wins against Masco and Lynnfield. Unfortunately, another three game skid followed.

A win against Manchester Essex in early May ended that skid but three more losses followed. North Andover did manage to beat Masco twice this season, which is always a nice side note. The Knights also had some success against Georgetown, going 2-0 in the two games they played against each other.

The Knights’ final win of the season came against Georgetown in the North Andover Tournament’s consolation round. North Andover edged out a 2-1 win thanks to freshman Morgan Coakley. She was the winning pitcher and provided North Andover with the two runs batted in that got the Knights’ the win.

Final Grade: C-

Missing the playoffs and an 8-12 record is just below average. The Knights will be back with a vengeance next year as they will lose only one senior () and players , Kim Crucioli, and Morgan Coakley will lead the way. 

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