(Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
Holy Cross softball won the Class S state championship in 2017, its third in a row.
The fourth straight championship was far from a given, and even an appearance in the final seemed doubtful at times. The Crusaders lost key pieces from the 2017 team, then senior first baseman Alex Lombardo was lost for the season with an injury. Holy Cross had five losses in the regular season, the most since 2015, when it also finished 15-5. The Crusaders were convincingly ousted by Watertown in an NVL Tournament quarterfinal.
Holy Cross wasn’t playing its best softball. Then the state tournament came around, and the Crusaders have turned it on since Nicole Strielkauskas tossed the first pitch of the first round game against East Windsor on May 29. Strielkauskas has faced some good offenses and not allowed more than four runs.
Offensively, Holy Cross has gone off, with its fewest runs scored coming in a 7-3 comeback win over St. Paul in the quarterfinal round. The contributions are from up and down the lineup, starting with the Brown sisters Hannah and Allie at No. 1 and No. 2. Val Nobrega has been solid at No. 3. Jenna Mowad and Lizzy Diorio have made for a great No. 4 and No. 5 in the order, and Brandi McIntosh has been no slouch at No. 6. The DeFoe sisters Bryn and Carley and Julia Joyce make sure the bottom of the order is no breeze for an opposing pitcher.
The Crusaders rode their red-hot offense past Coventry into the state final, and now their fourth straight state championship is a win away.
Standing in the away of the four-peat is a tough challenge in top-seeded Stafford. The Bulldogs (23-2) have lost just twice this season, 4-1 to Coventry on April 12 and 5-2 to Ellington in the semifinals of the North Central Connecticut Conference Tournament on May 24.
Pitching has been stellar for Stafford. The Bulldogs started the Class S state tournament with five perfect innings from Abbe Minor in the first round against Weaver. Hannah Davis tossed five no-hit innings against Sacred Heart in the second round. Minor allowed one hit over seven innings in a 10-0 quarterfinal win over Old Saybrook.
Stafford ran into trouble against fourth-seeded Wamogo in the semifinal round. Davis gave up four runs on four hits over seven innings, but only one run was earned. Davis wound up with nine strikeouts, three walks and a hit batter. The Bulldog offense came up big behind the bats of Hannah Fish and Emily Padiegemas. Fish had a two-run double in the second inning to tie the game at 2-2, then Padiegemas’ two-run double in the seventh won the game 5-4. Julia Milnes homered to score the other run.
Stafford took advantage of walks and errors in the first three wins, though they did pound out 15 hits in the win over Sacred Heart in the second round.
Holy Cross knows its in for a challenge, but the Crusaders have seen their fair share during this 2018 season. This is just another challenge, on the state’s biggest stage. Holy Cross has been here before and that experience will certainly help them when the first pitch is thrown on Friday night.
Here’s a story about Holy Cross’ semifinal win over Coventry.
CLASS S STATE FINAL
NO. 7 HOLY CROSS VS. NO. 1 STAFFORD
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field, Stafford
Records: Holy Cross 20-5, Stafford 23-2
Road to the Final: Holy Cross — No. 26 East Windsor 15-0, No. 10 Thomaston 11-4, No. 2 St. Paul 7-3, No. 3 Coventry 11-4; Stafford — No. 32 Weaver 17-0, No. 16 Sacred Heart 16-0, No. 25 Old Saybrook 10-0, No. 4 Wamogo 5-4
Championship history: Holy Cross — 7th appearance (4-2); won in 2017, 2016, 2015, 1989; lost 1992, 1986; Stafford — 2nd appearance (1-0); won in 1976
Previous postseason meetings: None
