Colonial power trips Wachusett; Offense backs Aditays 3-hitter.

Byline: Mike Grimala

SHREWSBURY - Senior pitcher Amanda Aditays didn't exactly need the excessive run support, but she was thankful for it nonetheless. Aditays held Wachusett to three hits in a 14-1 win yesterday.

Top-ranked Shrewsbury scored three runs in the first inning, setting the tone for the offensive onslaught to follow. The Colonials (6-0, 4-0 in Mid-Wach A) scored six in the third inning, and four more in the fourth.

"We're a good hitting team," Shrewsbury coach Phil Chevalier said. "One through seven, I think, they can all really swing the bat and do some real damage."

Leadoff hitter Kristen LeMay kicked things off by splitting the left-center field gap with the first pitch she saw from Wachusett starter Michelle Babineau. LeMay ended up on third with a triple, and she came around two batters later on a two-run homer by Christine D'Amico.

"I let two pitches right down the middle go by," D'Amico said. "I was just looking to make contact, and she threw one inside and over the plate and I got a good swing."

D'Amico's round-tripper would prove to be enough support for Aditays, who dominated the Wachusett batters with her blend of power and control. Consistently working ahead in the count, Aditays was able to use a good riser to put batters away after the count ran to two strikes.

Aditays struck out 13 in seven innings, throwing 118 pitches (85 for strikes). She induced 47 swings-and-misses from Wachusett batters.

"She's really in a zone right now," Chevalier said. "I think she's pitching at a college level. It seems like every day she gets a little better."

Aditays has started every game for Shrewsbury this season, compiling a 6-0 record.

"We like to work on different things when we're out there," Aditays said. "(Catcher Lindsi Panarelli) calls a good sequence, mixing up my pitches. The riseball was working really well today, and throwing the fastball inside was effective."

After D'Amico's first inning homer, Chelsi Panarelli and Lindsi Panarelli stroked back-to-back doubles to make it 3-0. The Colonials went in order in the second inning, then exploded for a half-dozen runs in the third.

Kaitlyn Duval led off with a triple and came home on a D'Amico single. Four batters (and four more consecutive hits) later, Shrewsbury had a comfortable 9-0 advantage for Aditays to work with.

"We wanted to be aggressive and swing early," D'Amico said. "We didn't want to let the pitcher get ahead of us and make us swing at her pitches."

Shrewsbury put four runs on the board in the fourth inning, beginning with a D'Amico single and a Chelsi Panarelli home run.

NAME: SHREWSBURY HIGH SCHOOL; WACHUSETT REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL