Some games are won on the mound with exemplary pitching; others are won at the plate with clutch RBIs. For the North Branford softball squad, it was a 1-2 combo punch of both items that propelled them to a 9-0 Shoreline Conference victory over Westbrook at home on April 20. The Thunderbirds shut out the Knights behind 13 strikeouts from senior pitching ace Meagan Halligan and her teammates provided plenty of runs to work with due to RBIs from freshman catcher Deanna Gallo (4), junior third baseman Tori Ramada (3), and an one each from junior shortstop Sam Monaco and senior outfielder Brittany Reshotnik.

"All of my pitches have been working very well," Halligan said. "Of course, I also had my teammates backing me up with solid defense."

Following Halligan's perfect performance versus Portland on April 11, the Knights (2-6) made sure they were not the next victims of softball history as Jessica Forrest hit a bloop single into right field to lead off. North Branford (6-2) then got on the bags when Knights' starting pitcher Kaitlin MacMillan issued two walks and the Thunderbirds took advantage after Gallo smacked an RBI single. Following Halligan striking out the side in the second and third innings, North Branford added insurance when Ramada drove home two Thunderbirds with a single up the middle to make it 3-0. After she stole second and reached third on a passed ball, Ramada came home to make it 4-0 following an RBI bunt single from Reshotnik.

The Thunderbirds and Halligan continued their dominant defense after retiring six of the seven Westbrook batters in the fourth and fifth innings. The Thunderbirds further added to their advantage when Monaco hit an RBI single to make it 5-0. It became 6-0 after Ramada hit an RBI single into left field and the lead grew to seven when Monaco reached home after a wild pitch. After North Branford went down in order in the fifth, the Knights' sophomore second baseman Jordan Shamas hustled for an infield single, yet any such threat of ending the shutout was thwarted when Halligan got Forrest to ground out to end the frame.

After Halligan, Monaco, and sophomore first baseman Kayla Nowak got on base with no outs in the sixth, Gallo continued her run production with a two-RBI single up the middle to score the final two runs and seal the T-Birds' 9-0 victory after Halligan worked a 1-2-3 seventh.

"Our offense worked very well today," said Head Coach T.J. Schatz. "We made solid contact with the ball and had great defense and pitching with another shutout. We are right up there and where we want to be in the conference with big wins [1-0 in eight innings April 16] over Coginchaug and HK."