Alvirne of Hudson's Taylor Carbone entered her senior season as the reigning Gatorade New Hampshire Softball Player of the Year and the top pitcher for the Division I defending champions. So it came as a surprise when Londonderry posted a 11-5 win against Carbone in Alvirne's third game of the season. “We were on that day and she wasn't,” said Londonderry head coach Wayne MacDougall. “We probably would have hit anyone that day.”

UMass-Amherst-bound Carbone and third-ranked Alvirne (16-4) get a shot at revenge today at 5 p.m. when they face the second-seeded Lancers (18-3) in the first of two Division I semifinals at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. Top-ranked Salem (21-0) and fifth-seeded Merrimack (13-7) play in the nightcap at 7.

Londonderry's six-game pre-season trip to Florida likely gave the Lancers an edge over Alvirne in their early season matchup, admits MacDougall.

“I think tomorrow will be a totally different game,” said Alvirne head coach Sarah Brisk.

Following the Londonderry defeat, Carbone lost just once and finished the regular season with 13 wins, a 1.02 earned run average and 131 strikeouts in 96 innings. She's coming off a 4-0 shutout of Concord in the quarterfinals. “Obviously Taylor is a leader on the team,” Brisk said. “She's done an excellent job on the mound and at the plate. And we have a lot of depth.”

Eleven players return from last year's team that beat Concord in the title game. Carbone hit a scorching .581 with 28 runs batted in and 24 runs scored during the regular season. Chelsey Drew also hit over .500. Nicole Abreu impressed as a standout catcher. “Our entire lineup, 1 through 9, hits the ball,” Brisk said. “There's not a weak spot.”

Londonderry has no weak spots, as well. The Lancers batted .375 as a team in the regular season. Leadoff hitter Lindsey Bolduc has hit a school-record 12 home runs. Rightfielder Colleen Clark batted .446 during the regular season and has gone 8-for-11 so far in the post-season. “We kind of go up and down the lineup,” MacDougall said. “There are no easy outs.”

Sam Corey starts for Londonderry. Corey, who shut out Winnacunnet of Hampton, 10-0, in the quarterfinals, is 16-2 with a 1.32 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 111 innings. The Lancers have reached the semis in four straight seasons, but have not won a championship. Salem beat them in the 2009 title game.

The Blue Devils topped Dover, 6-2, in the quarterfinals, the first time a team had scored against them since May 16.

Salem shut out today's opponent, Merrimack, twice during the regular season, including a 15-0 drubbing during a three-game stretch in April when Salem outscored its opponents 48-0.

Salem starter Nicole Gubellini ended the regular season 13-0 with a miniscule 0.61 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 98 innings, and batted .493 with 24 RBIs. Merrimack is led by pitcher Brittany Camera, who gave up three hits and struck out seven in a 2-0 shutout of Exeter in the quarterfinals.

Email cliadis@unionleader.com