MILFORD—The Foran Lions are the best version of themselves when pitcher Abigail Corris stays cool, calm and collected in the circle. Even when the butterflies in her stomach are fluttering at high speed.
Last spring, Foran rode Corris’ ice-in-the-veins style through 28 straight wins, all the way to the Class M state championship.
On Saturday, the Lions opened the 2026 season, taking part in the SCC-FCIAC challenge. The powers that be in the cross-conference scheduling set up a showdown that pitted Foran and Corris against FCIAC runner-up Darien, a team that boasts left-handed pitcher Vivian Knott, the Stanford-bound junior who some people believe might be in the best pitcher in the state.
When all was said and done at Danni Kemp Field, however, it was Corris and the Lions who pulled out a 4-1 victory.
“It’s pretty awesome, but it’s just another game,” Corris said of the highly touted matchup. “This obviously was a very good competition, with two very great pitchers and two very good teams.”
Sure, Corris (3-hitter, 14 strikeouts, one walk) might have out-dueled Knott (9 strikeouts, 2 walks, while giving up 4 hits in just 4 innings of work), but it was the Lions’ offense which found a way to push four runs across the plate to get the win.
Foran struck for two runs in the home half of the first inning to set the tone.
Lead-off hitter Norah Bove opened the inning with a walk and she would later score when Emily Speringo laced a single to center field.
Speringo went to second on the throw and scored when Ariella DiOrio singled to right field off Knott, giving the Lions a 2-0 lead.
“I was just trying to see the ball the best I could,” said Speringo, who was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs. “I’ve been excited for this game since the schedule came out. I was like, ‘Oh my God, great pitcher I get to hit off.’ Anytime there’s a really good pitcher, I’m so excited to get out there and hit off them.”
After retiring 12 of the first 13 hitters she faced, Corris was able to escape from a jam in the top of the fifth to keep the Lions in the lead.
Darien’s Kate McCloskey beat out an infield single to lead off the inning and with one out an error on a fielder’s choice put another runner on.
Corris, however, settled down and struck out the next two batters to escape the jam.
“She was fantastic. She hit all her spots. I can’t think of a better person and pitcher I’d want to catch for,” said Diorio, Foran’s catcher. “It was just another Abby Corris performance. I mean going into this we knew Vivian, we knew how she’s one of the best pitchers in the state, if not the country. We knew. So we just went into it saying it’s just another game, just another pitcher.”
Corris was just as impressive, though, as Knott’s own coach pointed out.
“Even though the score wasn’t a bad score, we were never in the game,” said Blue Wave boss Nick DeMaio. “We never challenged. It’s credit to her (Corris). She knows how to pitch. Besides having the physical pitches, the combination of velocity and location, she also knows how to pitch. And so our batters were for the most part over matched by her.”
Trailing 2-0 entering the fifth inning, Darien opted to pull Knott after just 75 pitches, turning to Claire Willing instead.
DeMaio explained that was the game plan going into the contest.
“We wanted to see how that formula’s going to work,” said DeMaio. “As big as people might have thought this game was, it’s a non-league game. game of the year, and I wanted to see how that formula worked. I wanted to see how the team adjusted going from one to the other, especially when the velocity changes like that. Is it going to affect them? I’m not sure what we’re going to do going forward.”
Foran greeted Willing with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.
This time, Bove—who reached base in all four of her at-bats (one single, 2 walks, fielder’s choice)—singled before stealing both second and third.
With one out, Speringo singled to make it a 3-0 game. Later in the inning, she scored on a wild pitch, pushing the Foran lead to 4-0.
The Blue Wave did get an unearned run in the top of the seventh.
Bella McCarthy reached on an error and with two outs was singled home by Annie Franzese, who had two of Darien’s three hits.
Corris—who is taking her talents to Central Connecticut State University in the fall—notched her 14th strikeout of the game to end it with no further damage.
While Corris looked cool, calmed and collected over all seven innings, the pitchers’ competitiveness certainly kicked in while facing an opponent like Knott, according to Foran head coach Gina Georgetti.
“I think in order to be a good athlete, you got to have a little bit of nerves to kind of push you,” she said. “You can’t be relaxed at all. You kind of want that nervous energy. It shows that you care, but as soon as she gets in her zone, she’s calm, she’s collected, and then she knows when to turn it on and when to be nervous, which is great. Speaks volumes of her as a player.”
The season-opening victory was Foran’s 29th straight win, but Georgetti has no interest in talking about that.
“Our message from the start of the season is it’s a new season,” the coach said. “Every team is different. We are different. People grow over the summer. So just having them reset is a big thing that we’re working on this year.”
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