Difficult Ending For Senior-laden St. Bernard

By Vickie Fulkerson, Day Scholastic Sports Writer

Published on 06/07/2007 by The Day

East Lyme — The thing that hurt the most for coach Andrea Gaines is that for this group of St. Bernard High School softball players, on the cusp of reaching the Class S state tournament finals almost their entire careers, there had always been next year.

“I've always been able to say, 'We'll get 'em next year,'” Gaines said of a senior-laden team. “Now I can't say that.”

Coginchaug of Durham, the two-time defending champion, ended St. Bernard's Class S title hopes late Wednesday afternoon by scoring five runs in the top of the seventh inning for a 5-2 victory.

Just when St. Bernard put forth a vintage St. Bernard performance, complete with errorless defense, stolen bases and ground balls to the right side to drive in runs, things came undone in the seventh.

No. 2 Coginchaug (22-3), which has now eliminated St. Bernard from the tournament in three consecutive seasons, twice in the semifinals, scored five times in the seventh on three hits and two errors, mixing in a few fielder's choices and a sacrifice fly.

The Blue Devils will meet No. 9 Lyman Memorial in the championship game either Friday or Saturday at DeLuca Field in Stratford.

“We've had a fabulous defense,” said Gaines, who recently returned second baseman Stacey Suplicki from an injury, making the defense even tighter. “We've been impeccable.”

But ...

“You gotta play seven innings, not six,” Gaines said. “There's a reason (Coginchaug's) a dynasty. They know how to win ballgames.”

Coginchaug stranded five runners in the first three innings, with St. Bernard getting out of a jam in each of those innings with wily defense, coming to the aid of senior pitcher Marissa Thomas.

In the first, Christine Yeomans led off with a double and Allie Muzik was hit by a pitch. Brittany Hill then grounded back to Thomas, however, who threw to third to get the lead runner, then induced fly balls for the second and third outs.

Jess Robison and Marissa Hewitt had back-to-back singles with one out in the second for Coginchaug, but St. Bernard again made the defensive play when No. 9 hitter Brittany Sayers attempted a sacrifice bunt. Saints catcher Alyssa Curcio picked up the bunt quickly and fired to third for the second out and Thomas got Yeomans to ground out to end the inning.

In the third inning, it was St. Bernard first baseman Hope Brigham who picked up a bunt attempt and got the runner at third. That was after consecutive singles by Muzik and Hill to start the inning.

“We have tough defense,” said Curcio, who was an All-Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division catcher this season despite not hitting because of a hand injury. “We prepare our defense for these situations. We had so much confidence.”

St. Bernard took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a double by Casey Brigham, a wild pitch and a ground ball to the pitcher by Hope Brigham. On the play, Casey Brigham came halfway down the line on the grounder back to the mound, but Hill, the Coginchaug pitcher, chose to throw to first, allowing the run to score.

The Saints then manufactured a run in the sixth to make it 2-0, getting a leadoff single by Felicia McGarry and a stolen base, on which the catcher's throw sailed into center field to allow McGarry to reach third. Rachel Greene grounded out to first base to score the run.

Three outs away from the victory, however, St. Bernard began to unravel.

Robison, the No. 7 hitter, singled to lead off the seventh and Hewitt doubled to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Sayers hit a ground ball to second base and Suplicki threw home, but didn't get the runner, leaving the tying run at third with still nobody out.

Yeomans hit a ground ball to short on which Sayers interfered with the fielder, temporarily delaying the inevitable for St. Bernard. Muzik then chopped a ball in front of the plate and reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases with one out.

Hill settled things with a dunk shot down the right-field line to score two runs and give Coginchaug a 3-2 lead. Tori Delvecchio hit a ground ball to shortstop to drive in another run and Lane hit a sacrifice fly to left to make it 5-2.

Hill retired St. Bernard in order in the bottom of the seventh.

Coginchaug will now attempt to win the 10th state championship in program history.

“Some balls you just can't get to,” Curcio said of the decisive seventh. “The bloopers they hit. ... This has happened every year we've been here and it just sucks. We've worked since our freshman year to get to this point.”

Coginchaug knocked St. Bernard out of the Class S tournament in the semifinals in 2005, winning 3-1 in eight innings and going on to beat Thomaston in the finals. The Blue Devils beat the Saints in the second round last year, 6-1, and defeated Hale Ray of Moodus 1-0 in the championship game.

“We always wished we could get back that game sophomore year,” Curcio said.

“It's disappointing when you fall short of your goal,” Gaines said. “... (In the seventh inning), you could see their shoulders slumping with every pitch. The tears started falling before they even left the field.”

Robison had three hits for Coginchaug.

St. Bernard, the ECC Small Division champion this season, finished 19-5.

Said Coginchaug coach Ann Benjunas, whose team finished with nine hits: “One (run) wasn't good enough, but we came up with some clutch hits. ... I feel we're most deserving (of going to the finals) the way we've been playing.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com or 701-4392

Montville