Shepherd Hill 6, Holy Name 3

Junior Shelby Stracher�s home run sparked a three-run fifth inning and fifth-seeded Shepherd Hill held on to upset top-seeded Holy Name, 6-3, in a Central Mass. Division 1 softball semifinal Tuesday night at Worcester State. The Rams (15-7) will face No. 3 Marlboro (16-6) in the final at 7 p.m. Saturday at Worcester State. Holy Name (18-2) was clinging to a 3-2 lead when Stracher�s one-out blast hit the scoreboard in left-center field. That was only the beginning for Shepherd Hill, which added two more runs in the inning. �(The ball) just looked like a big watermelon,� Stracher said. �I think (Holy Name pitcher Kelsey Saucier) tried to throw a curveball, but she just missed. We�ve had trouble against her the last couple of years. We seem to be on with our bats.� After the game was delayed briefly when the lights went out, junior Emily Hanson and senior Megan Gosselin delivered consecutive singles to load the bases. Senior Kelsey Mosher followed with a bloop single to center to score Hanson � Reynolds tried to score, too, but was thrown out at the plate � and senior Emily Bagley�s double to right plated Gosselin.

»Shepherd Hill schedule/results

»Holy Name schedule/results