Selevitch, DiFraia lead softball team past Marblhead, 4-3

The Revere High softball defeated Marblehead 4-3 last week in extra innings. Sara Selevitch earned the win on the mound with a superb six hit pitching effort through all eight frames.

Ashley DiFraia was the hero at the plate for the Lady Patriots, scoring the tying run in the seventh and then plating the winning tally in the eighth. Ashley tripled and then scored on a passed ball to send the game into extras, and lined a shot up the middle the following inning to send home teammate Jackie Noel, who had reached on a base hit, with the game winner.

“Sara pitched very well,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello. “She worked very hard in the off season and it’s really paying off for her. As for Ashley, she continues to show why she’s one of the top hitters in the league.”

Michelle Johnson was credited with two RBI with base hits to account for the other Revere runs.

Two days later, Selevitch was back on the mound at Swampscott and once again was in top form, as she limited Swampscott to just four hits on the day. The contest was a real pitcher’s duel with both teams scoreless through five frames.

Revere then broke the deadlock with a run in the sixth when DiFraia doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored when the Swampscott infield misplayed a popup by Paige Licata, allowing Ashley to race home.

However, the Lady Patriots’ lead proved shortlived when Swampscott rallied for three runs in the bottom of the inning to move out to a 3-1 lead which is how the game ended.

“Sara pitched another great game, but we only had three hits ourselves against the Swampscott girl who is one of the best in the league,” said Ciccarello.

Still, Ciccarello was pleased with his team’s performance this past week.

“We played solid softball,” said the coach. “Having Paige back at second base has been a big lift for us,” he added, referring to the return of his all star second baseman and team captain, Paige Licata, who has missed the entire season ‘til now with a knee injury she suffered last fall that also kept her off the basketball court.

“We’re hoping we can build on these games and close out the final two weeks of the season with some strong outings,” Ciccarello concluded.

The Lady Patriots played Lynn Classical this past Monday and were set to travel to Beverly today (Wednesday). They will wrap up the 2010 campaign next week with three home games against Lynn English on Monday, Peabody on Wednesday, and the season finale Thursday evening under the lights against Everett.