The fifth-seeded Fitch Falcons knocked off top-seeded Waterford to advance to face No. 2 Norwich Free Academy for the Eastern Connecticut Conference Division title.
Fitch topped Waterford, 3-2, in one ECC semifinal on Wednesday while NFA rolled to a 17-2 win over Ledyard in the other.
The two teams are scheduled to play for the title at 7 p.m. at UConn’s Burrell Family Field.
In Division 2, fifth-seeded Montville knocked off top-seeded Wheeler by a 7-2 tally and No. 6 Bacon Academy stunned No. 2 Lyman Memorial by a 9-1 count.
That means Montville will face Bacon Academy for the title at 4:30 p.m. today at UConn.
Here’s a look at the semifinal games:
DIVISION 1
FITCH 3, WATERFORD 2
The Falcons scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to turn a two-run deficit into a 3-2 win over Waterford.
It was Katie MacPherson’s lead-off home run in the sixth that provided Fitch with the winning margin.
The Lancers had taken a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Gabby Fontaine singled, Ava Waddington doubled and both scored when Paige Jessuck roped a base hit to left field.
Fitch simply chipped away until it had the lead.
In the fourth, Grace Cosmopoulos opened the inning with a single and she later scored on an error.
One inning later, Emma Robinson opened the inning with a single. She was sacrificed to second base by Mallory Bogle and scored on Jaedyn Steffens’ single to left field, tying the game at 2-2.
The next inning, MacPherson’s homer would give Fitch the lead.
The Falcons had seven hits in the game from seven different players, including Maerin Lyon, who had a double. Hailey Merrill and Kayla Ribson also had hits.
Merrill spun a nifty game in the circle, going all seven innings and giving up two earned runs with five strikeouts and a walk.
Brielle Kenney was the hard-luck loser for Waterford. She went seven complete, gave up seven hits, as well, striking out 13 and walking just one.
All seven Waterford hits also came from seven different players with Waddington’s double being the lone extra base hit.
NORWICH FREE ACADEMY 17, LEDYARD 2
The Wildcats exploded for a combined 12 runs in fifth and sixth inning to pull away from Ledyard in an ECC semifinal on Wednesday.
NFA hit four home runs in the game. They came off the bats of Autumn Romains, Chloe Green, Brooke Stringer and Amelia Driscoll.
Romains’ blast was a grand slam that ended the game via the mercy rule with nobody out in the sixth.
Driscoll was 4-for-4 with three doubles, two runs and four RBIs for NFA while Green was 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and four RBIs. Stringer was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Aubrey Martin had two hits and scored two runs.
Winning pitcher Dakota Bourdon went six innings, giving up six hits. She walked two and struck out five while giving up just two runs.
For Ledyard, Faith Dalton and Mia Starling had two hits each. Alexia Lemmon doubled and Sadie Bordeleau singled.
DIVISION 2
MONTVILLE 7, WHEELER 2
Abby Daniewicz gave up one earned run over seven innings, striking out nine while walking two, leading Montville to the win over Wheeler and a berth in the Division 2 finals.
Jainna Lesniewski was 4-for-5 with a double, 4 RBIs and a run scored for the Wolves. Alanna Noonan and Michaelina Anton were both 3-for-4 with two runs scored each, as well.
For Wheeler, Abby Dutremovic had three hits with an RBI while Isabella Deledda had two hits. Both players had a double each.
BACON ACADEMY 9, LYMAN MEMORIAL 1
Riley Stolzman pitched a one-hitter, striking out 12 and giving up just one walk and one unearned run as Bacon Academy advanced to the finals.
Gabby Russso was 4-for-5 with three doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored to lead the way. Stolzman was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run and Reina Hill scored three times from the lead-off spot in the line-up.
For Lyman Memorial, Emily Torres had the team’s lone hit and scored the only run.
Leave a Reply