Following a May 6 loss to fellow perennial power Concord, Salem softball head coach Harold Sachs spoke of his team’s need to improve its play in the field.

“We’re still very frustrated,” said Sachs. “We believe we should be playing much better defense.”

One month later, half of that statement remained true.

Salem cleaned up its defensive game, entered the Class L postseason as the No. 5 seed with a fine 15-4 record, then shut out Nashua South in the first round on June 3, 3-0. However, frustration lingers after a 2-1, 10-inning, quarterfinalround loss to fourth-seeded Dover on Saturday, June 6.

Sachs credited Dover’s stellar starter, Sarah Morse, with shutting down a Salem attack that produced 168 regular- season runs, including six games scoring in double figures.

The locals’ only sustained attack gave them a first-inning lead. Stephanie Cabral opened the game with an infield hit. Nora Galvin lashed a single to right field with one out, and Cabral scored following an error on the play.

That was it for Salem’s bats, as Morse scattered seven hits in a complete-game effort.

However, the defense kept the Blue Devils in the contest, including throwing out the potential winning run at the plate in the ninth inning, before Dover broke through in the 10th.

Salem loses its starting pitcher against Dover, Dominique Heres, to graduation, as well as fellow captains Erica DePinto and Jen Cabral, and their classmates Ashley Relf and Beth Storie.