Holy Cross junior standout pitcher Sarah Lawton was the best she could be Wednesday on Joan Joyce Field at the Municipal Stadium complex in Waterbury.
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| Holy Cross junior Sarah Lawton was perfect Tuesday in an 11-0 win over Sacred Heart. |
In fact, Lawton was perfect against Sacred Heart in an 11-0 victory. Here’s Lawton’s line:
7 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 hit batters, 20 STRIKEOUTS
Crusader center fielder Hannah Brown snared the only ball put in play by the Hearts, a fourth inning fly out by Erin Keeley.
When it was all set and done, Lawton had faced 21 batters and set down 21 batters. After the fly out ended the fourth inning, Lawton retired the final nine batters on strikes. She did the same to the first 11 batters of the game.
Lawton delivered strikes on 63 of her 91 pitches. It was a masterful, make that perfect, performance. And oh yeah, Lawton recorded her 500th career strikeout during the game.
Lawton certainly didn’t need to worry about support from her offense. Holy Cross tallied three runs in the first inning and two runs each in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Alexandra Lombardo was 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBI, Hannah Brown had three RBI, and Aubrey Defoe was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Allie Brown (2 runs scored), Lawton, Lombardo and Defoe each had two-hit games. Lawton led the team with three runs scored. Becca Anderson, Defoe and Lawton all had doubles.
It was a dominant effort for Holy Cross, and one that it needed following back-to-back losses to St. Paul and Seymour last week. The Crusaders improved to 11-2 on the season with the victory. Weather permitting, Holy Cross is back on the diamond tomorrow at 3:30 against Wilby at Bucks Hill Park.
