Eagles come out swinging, win 16-5

The Kennett High softball bats were hotter than the weather Monday afternoon as the Eagles pounded out 18 hits on their way to a 16-5 Opening Day victory at Pelham. It was a nice way for the girls from Conway to open Class I play."It was cold, but a good way to open," Peter Ames, Eagles' head coach, said. "We hit the ball pretty well. That was one area where I didn't know what we would do, but everyone swung he bat well."Kennett had three innings where it scored at least four runs and opened the contest, getting on the board with a pair of runs courtesy of a Lindsey Keefe single in the first inning. From there the Eagles took flight. Ashley Gutowski belted a home run; Sophie Ostroski had a pair of hits; Jacky Haynes had three hits; Mariah Palmer and Makenzie Keene each had two hits; and Brandy Ames drove in three runs on the afternoon.The offense was more than enough support for sophomore Alex Shackford, who worked seven solid innings on the mound to collect the win. "By in large it was a good way to start the season," Ames said. "(Pelham) isn't a great team, but they had been out on their field for two weeks so you never know what can happen."The Eagles are back on the road Wednesday when they travel to Hollis-Brookline."I think it will be a step up for us," Ames said. "I think they made the quarterfinals in the tournament last year so they should be pretty solid."