The year was 2000.
Bill Clinton was President of the United States, the New York Yankees claimed a third straight world championship, and many of the current St. Paul softball players were babies.
Why is 2000 significant to the Falcons?
That was the last time St. Paul appeared in a state semifinal game. After reaching the quarterfinal round in 1999, the Falcons got to the semifinal in 2000. St. Paul was the No. 5 seed and beat No. 21 St. Bernard-Uncasville and No. 4 Shepaug Valley-Washington on the way to the semifinals. The Falcons lost 5-2 to No. 8 Cogcinchaug Regional-Durham, the eventual state runner-up.
Thanks to wins over St. Bernard, Stafford and East Granby, the 2017 version of St. Paul is back in the Class S semifinals. The ninth-seeded Falcons play No. 12 Coventry.
Here’s more about Tuesday’s semifinal game:
No. 9 St. Paul vs. No. 12 Coventry
At Frank Biondi Softball Field, West Haven
Monday, 7 p.m.
The road to the semifinals: St. Paul — No. 24 St. Bernard 8-1, No. 8 Stafford 7-0, No. 1 East Granby 7-3; Coventry — No. 21 Wolcott Tech 12-1, No. 5 Notre Dame-Fairfield 11-4, No. 13 Lyman Memorial 4-3.
Run Brigid, run: St. Paul’s offense always gets a boost when senior speedster Brigid Johndrow gets on. The leadoff hitter has a knack for using her speed to her advantage, either when hitting the ball or running the bases. Johndrow is a big key for the Falcons.
Milardo the Magnificent: St. Paul senior Alessandra Milardo allowed one run in the first two rounds, then held top-seeded East Granby to three on Saturday.
Balanced batting: St. Paul showed against East Granby that it can be balanced in the batting order. Johndrow, Abby Poirot, Brooke Perez and Katelynn Oullette each had two hits against the top seed in Class S.
