STORRS—When the season began, they were the question marks in Coventry’s quest to repeat as the CIAC Class S champions.
On Saturday, in the aftermath of the Patriots’ 16-3 win over Holy Cross for that second straight title, one of them was holding the game’s MVP award while the other freshmen players were feted in helping Coventry win a second straight title.
Meghan Doherty, Lilah Talaga, Emma Vertucci, Meghan Rodgers and Lily Boisvert are the five first-year varsity players who made the Coventry team this spring.
“You know what? The freshmen are physically really talented, athletic, but these big games here, we all know the pressure level is up here,” Coventry coach Jeff LaHouse said, holdling his hand above his head to punctuate the pressure felt by these players. “And Lilah got the MVP. She’s a freshman. My center fielder is a freshman. My first baseman’s a freshman. These girls did phenomenal, so I couldn’t be more proud of the way that they competed our team. We had just a handful of kids coming back. We knew we’re good, but we needed their help and they did a really, really good job.”
Even a “good job” might be a understatement.
Talaga, pictured above, won her MVP as Coventry’s lead-off hitter and all she did against Holy Cross was go 4-for-5 with a double, two triples, score four runs and drive in two.
“I mean, going into this, I was a little nervous being a freshman, but as I got here, my nerves started to cool down and it’s just a great experience,” Talaga said. “We were really welcomed when we came in. We were very loved. Everyone kind of embraced us and it was just a great team to be a part of.”
Senior pitcher Elizabeth Mitchell watched her freshman grow over the course this season and she knew they were going to be ready for the title tilt.
“They definitely had to mature pretty quick,” Mitchell said. “I got on them early in the season. I said, you guys have to step up in a big spot. They’re amazing. The way they step up in those big spots, they act like it’s nothing. And honestly, they were a little nervous before the game and as soon as they stepped out on here, they were dancing to the music, and I knew they were going to be alright.”
Doherty, hitting behind Talaga, was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI; Vertucci was 1-for-4, but reached on two errors and scored three runs; and while Rodgers was 0-for-4 she played error free at first base.
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Fixing The Body, Fixing the Mind, Fixing the Swing
Before Mitchell poked her two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning she got some sage advice from somebody in the Coventry dugout.
“My first at-bat wasn’t great,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t love what I did, so I came in and talked to a few people.”
One of them was Hadley Marchand, a former softball player from Endicott College is interning with the Coventry athletic training staff.
“She told me I needed to be conservative in my swing and just see it through the zone,” Mitchell said. “I know (the umpire) not calling (high pitches) so I’m looking down at my knees and I got the pitch almost over the middle of the plate and I just swung as hard as I could.”
After the ball bounced off the top of the fence and over for a home run, Coventry had a 5-1 lead and never looked back from there.”
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A Touching Tribute
Coventry junior Sarah Miller paid special tribute to a fallen state police officer during Saturday’s game, bringing blue ribbons for her teammates to wear in the game.
State Trooper Aaron Pelletier was killed by a hit-and-run driver during a traffic stop on Interstate 84 back in May.
The news hit home for Miller because in 2018 her father, Kevin, also a trooper, died in similar fashion back in 2018.
“We are keeping Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier in our thoughts,” Miller told Lori Riley of the Hartford Courant after the game. “I’m so appreciative of this team. It’s been a hard week and a half, but they’ve been there for me. They’re always picking me up when I’m feeling down. I want the Pelletier family to know that me and the Coventry High School softball team, we are thinking of them.”
Miller was injured with a torn ACL during Coventry’s 2023 Class S title run, so being on the field and getting to honor Tropper Pelletier meant a lot to her.
“Every single hit, I thought of doing it for him, for his family,” Miller told the Courant. “It’s funny because I came into this season wanting my comeback with my ACL injury, wanting to come back stronger than ever. But it became more than that.”
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