Senior Lorelei Stancavage’s clutch two-strike, two-out, two-run double gave Bristol Central a dramatic quarterfinal win over St. Jospeh-Trumbull on Friday. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
There were twos all over the Bristol Central softball scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh inning of Friday’s Class L quarterfinal against St. Joseph-Trumbull.
There were two strikes, there were two outs and the second-seeded Rams had two runs on the board to three for the Cadets. It was No. 7, senior catcher Lorelei Stancavage, that changed the scoreboard and the fortunes of the seventh-seeded visitors.
Stancavage ripped a two-strike, two-out, two-run double to give Central a stunning 4-3 walk-off victory over St. Joseph. The Rams will play third-seeded Jonathan Law-Milford, a 12-0 winner over sixth-seeded Rockville, on Monday or Tuesday in a Class L semifinal game at a site to be announced. It’s the second straight state semifinal for Central, which beat Danbury in last year’s Class LL semifinal to reach the state final, where it lost to Southington.
The final rally Friday began when sophomore Desiree Nickerson ripped a one-out triple. With two outs, freshman Lillian VanNostrand was intentionally walked, which put runners on first and third and brought Stancavage to the plate for the final confrontation.
Central led, 2-0, after four innings, but St. Joseph scored three runs in the fifth to claim a 3-2 lead. Ram senior pitcher Sophia Torreso fanned the side in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the deficit at a run.
Central will be looking to reach its second straight state final when it plays in the semifinal round this coming week.
