The CT Softball Blog

MOODUS—There are games in May that feel like paperwork, another checkmark on a long regular season calendar.

Then there are games like this one, where last year walks onto the field wearing a fresh uniform.

A season ago, Coventry pitcher Meghan Doherty, then a sophomore, stood in the circle as Hale-Ray ended the Patriots’ postseason run in the CIAC Class S quarterfinals. At the time, Doherty was still growing into a new role, still learning how to navigate pressure against one of the state’s premier small-school programs. The moment, perhaps, felt a little too large for an inexperienced pitcher suddenly carrying a championship-caliber program.

Thursday afternoon, there was no sign of that uncertainty.

Doherty was composed from the opening pitch to the final ground ball as Coventry edged Hale-Ray, 3-2, in a matchup between two of Connecticut’s top Class S contenders.

The Patriots improved to 16-1 and extended their winning streak to 10 games, while Hale-Ray dropped to 15-4 in its penultimate game of the regular season.

More importantly for Coventry, the game served as a reminder that the pitcher who endured last year’s playoff heartbreak has evolved considerably in a year’s time.

“Meghan is not Meghan from last year,” Coventry coach Jeff LaHouse said. “Meghan has matured so much in one year. She’s a very precise pitcher and she’s finally figured out that you’ve got to move the ball around. And she’s figured out how to keep the kids off balance.”

Doherty did exactly that against a dangerous Hale-Ray lineup, striking out seven, walking just one and scattering eight hits over seven innings. Even when the Noises threatened late, the junior never appeared rattled.

“I don’t feel different,” Doherty said. “I mean, coming out of championship seasons, there’s a little bit of pressure (replacing Elizabeth Mitchell) but this year it’s a little bit better.”

That calmness showed itself most clearly in the seventh inning.

Holding a 3-1 lead, Doherty allowed a leadoff single to Briella Dean before Fenway Jankowski added another base hit with one out. PJ Riccio then lined a single off the shortstop’s glove to load the bases and suddenly the tying and winning runs were both aboard.

Faith Kalisz cut the deficit to 3-2 with a sacrifice fly, and after Hale-Ray star Lily Jahne was intentionally walked to reload the bases, Coventry found itself one swing away from disaster.

Instead, Lily Harkins calmly fielded a ground ball at third and stepped on the bag herself to end the game.

While the final out sparked a celebration for Coventry, catcher Brooke Blouin said Doherty’s demeanor never changed, even with the pressure mounting.

“Poker face on the mound,” Blouin said. “No one knows what’s going on inside and that’s the best part. She doesn’t let her emotions take over her pitching. She pitches the same no matter if there’s no one on, what team we’re playing, which is exactly what you need her to do, especially in a tight game like this.

“This is the team that beat us in the quarterfinals last year. This was a big game for us and she played it like it was a playoff game with no nerves and the straight face,” the Patriots catcher added.

The game itself unfolded exactly like a late-May showdown between two elite Class S teams should: tense, crisp and decided by tiny details.

Coventry manufactured its first run in the opening inning without recording a hit.

Lilah Talaga drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a passed ball and advanced to third on Emma Vertucci’s sacrifice bunt before scoring on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.

Hale-Ray answered in the second. Jahne led off with a single and Jaymarie Woods followed with another hit one out later. After Coventry recorded the second out, an error allowed Jahne to score and tie the game at 1-1.

From there, the matchup became a pitcher’s duel between Doherty and Jahne, two of the best arms in Class S.

Jahne was dominant despite taking the loss, striking out 11 while allowing just two hits and three walks. Only one of Coventry’s three runs was earned.

“I told them that we’re two tough teams,” Hale-Ray coach Michele Atkins said. “We played really well. We try to work on small wins in a tough situation, in a tough game like that.”

For five innings, neither team could find the breakthrough hit.

Then Coventry created chaos in the sixth.

Talaga again ignited the rally with a leadoff walk before Vertucci followed with one of Coventry’s two hits on the day. The pair then executed a double steal to move into scoring position.

Doherty attempted to bunt Talaga home, but Hale-Ray cut down the runner at the plate for the inning’s first out.

The Noises appeared poised to escape the jam.

Instead, Vertucci scored moments later on a wild pitch to give Coventry a 2-1 lead, and Doherty later raced home on a passed ball to stretch the advantage to 3-1.

It was hardly flashy offense, but against a pitcher of Jahne’s caliber, Coventry took whatever openings it could create.

“We watched a lot of film on Hale-Ray and we looked at each batter individually,” Blouin said. “We go through the lineup a bunch, look at their videos from other games, just looking at where we can pitch them that we have the best shot.

“We know our defense is really good when Meghan throws pitches that give them weak contact, which obviously we saw today. Our defense was really locked in today, which definitely plays a big key.”

LaHouse appreciated the playoff-like intensity his team encountered with the postseason looming.

“Proud of this game,” he said. “A lot of times you play those easy games and that could screw you really in the end. So I’m glad that we showed up and showed out here tonight.”

Hale-Ray, meanwhile, left believing it can still make another deep postseason run despite the narrow loss.

“I think we just need to pick up our mental game as a whole as a team,” Atkins said. “We pick Lily up, we pick the team up and that’ll work for us. I think our energy is what makes us better.”

And if Thursday night proved anything, it’s that a potential postseason rematch between these two programs would carry plenty of intrigue.

Last year’s game belonged to Hale-Ray.

This one belonged to a more mature Meghan Doherty.

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