STORRS—It was the top of the second inning and the 13th-seeded Sheehan Titans, the closest thing to a Cinderella team at this year’s CIAC state tournament championship Saturday, was ready to strike.
Two plays changed everything.
In a still scoreless game, the Titans had runners on first and third with nobody out.
Sheehan coach Sarah Miller did what any coach would do—send the runner on first to second to get two runners in scoring position.
Many times, defenses will take two avenues in this scenario: They will either opt for the defensive indifference plan of letting the runner have the extra base, or maybe throw to a shortstop or second base cheating in hopes the baserunner on third makes a blunder and races toward the plate.
Woodland took a slightly different, albeit well-coached route.
As the Sheehan run broke for second base, Woodland catcher Julia Rowley delivered an Oscar-worthy pump fake as if throwing the ball to catch the stealing runner. (See picture above).
Just as quickly, she cocked her arm for a second and gunned the ball to third baseman Breanna Thurston, who tagged out Sheehan runner for a pick-off.
“We were working on that in practice yesterday,” Rowley said. “We know that state championship game, the teams are going to be aggressive and they’re going to try to get every extra base they can. So, we worked on that play—first and third—to fake it to second and throw to third, and as soon as that tag was made, I think that just changed the energy and it gave our team more energy coming in to hit.”
Woodland coach Loren Luddy knew the play could be chalked up to her team being prepared for the moment.
“We knew they were aggressive on the bases and we spent an hour and a half practicing what to do with runners on base,” Luddy said. “(Friday), we practiced pickoffs at every base. We changed up what we do for our pickoffs. We had a couple new plays, and we were ready to use them to keep them from scoring runs the way they had been scoring and they executed it perfectly.”
Seconds later, though, a play that was just as big occurred.
As Sheehan’s Rylee Brunelle delivered a single into the hole at second base, Woodland second baseman Paige Chiaramonte dove to knock the ball down.
The play forced Sheehan’s runner to stop at third instead of scoring a sure-fire run.
Woodland got out of the inning and in the home half of the stanza, the Hawks scored three runs to take the early lead it would never relinquish.
Said Luddy: It was all about preparation.
“I sent a (former UCLA pitcher) Lisa Fernandez quote about being prepared,” Luddy said. “Preparation wins championships.”
A Well-Deserved MVP Honor
Ella VanAlstyne won the game’s MVP award, and her numbers were quite deserving.
She scattered five hits over 7 innings, striking out 5 and walking just to get the win in the circle. At the plate, she was 3-for-3 with a walk, with a run scored and three RBIs, as well.
No bad for a kid who wasn’t feeling in the week leading up to the game.
“I mean she did a good job of getting herself healthy, resting, being ready to go, and she was confident today,” Luddy said. “She was confident today. Julia was confident in her and they knew what they were going to throw. We knew their batters. They feel confident. When I give them a big sheet with all the details on the batters, it makes them feel more confident and we had lots of details, and they knew what to do and they executed perfectly.”
Rowley said VanAlstyne’s screwball was especially devastating against Sheehan
“Today, it was her screw ball,” Rowley said. “It’s where it moves to the outside part of the plate and before the games, we scout the other team so that way we know what to throw them.”
VanAlstyne was honored to receive the MVP honor.
“It means a lot,” she said. “It just shows how much I’ve tried and the effort that I put in, it’s paid off for the season and I’m so happy this (plaque) is going to go on my wall.”
Sheehan’s Eyes Turn To The Future
The Titans were not going to let Saturday’s loss derail their future, according to head coach Sarah Miller.
Three seniors graduate from this squad, but Miller—just wrapping up her eighth season at the Wallingford school—feels her team is ready to take the next step.
“I think we had an incredible season,” Miller said. “It’s a season that is going to be extremely memorable on the program and make a huge impact on the future of the program. I think we’re seeing that Sheehan softball is going to be a force of nature in the future to continue to work like this, and the hope is to be back here next year.”
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