Warde Softball Falls Short Against Unbeaten Waterford

The Fairfield Warde softball team came up one game short in its quest to reach the state finals Monday night at West Haven High School.

The Mustangs fell, 4-1, in the CIAC Class L semifinals to an undefeated Waterford team that is used to playing for  championships.

The top-seeded Lancers (26-0) advanced to their fourth consecutive final and will be seeking their second straight title against Bristol Eastern, which beat Brookfield, 3-2, in the first game of Monday's doubleheader.

At the other end of the field, the Mustangs' players weren't behaving like a team whose season had just ended.  Judging by the post-game smiles and cheerful demeanor, one might have expected the 4-1 final on the scoreboard to be
reversed.

"We had a really great season," said Warde senior pitcher Gina Treglia, who made her final appearance in a Mustangs'  uniform. "We had a really great bunch of girls this season. We had a lot of fun. We came up a little short, but we played our hardest this game. That's all you can expect from the girls."

Playing in the state semifinals for the first time in the program's history, the fourth-seeded Mustangs finished at 18-6, while Treglia completed her senior campaign at 15-5.

Both Treglia and Warde coach Gary Quiricone acknowledged that the Mustangs were jittery early - understandable since they never had been this far in the tournament.

In the bottom of the first, Treglia hung a curve that leadoff hitter Alyssa Hancock laced over the head of center fielder Bianca Passaniti for a double. The Lancers scored their first run when right fielder Summer Anderson lost Jessica Ryder's fly ball in the sun.

"We get out of that inning, it's probably a different ballgame going into the middle innings," Quiricone said 

 However, playing with a nothing-to-lose mentality, the Mustangs settled down and tied the game in the third. Nikki Schettino led off with a double and scored
when Lauren Ward's push bunt reached shallow left field.

Never mind beating Waterford, just scoring off the Lancers is an accomplishment in itself,  as they had 17 shutouts  during the regular season.

However,  Quiricone said the push bunt is a play that Ward has executed in four straight games.

"We hope we get that situation when she comes up, and it was there," Quiricone said. "You saw them move their infield in a little bit. She spots it perfectly between the shortstop and the pitcher. They came in so quick on it, the ball went into left field and I sent Nikki home."

However, the turning point came in the bottom of the third when the Lancers answered right back with two runs.
 
Mattie Brett led with a double and scored on Jessica Ryder's infield single. The second run of the inning came on a  fielder's choice play at the plate.

Waterford got its final run in the fifth when Ryder  tripled and scored  on an RBI double by winning pitcher Kelly Connors. Treglia surrendered eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Virtually unhittable for most of the season, Connors tossed a perfect game in Waterford's second-round win over Wilton and pitched a two-hitter in an eight-inning quarterfinal victory over Lyman Hall.

Yet Connors didn't look unhittable Monday, as she was walked three and gave up five hits.

"She definitely was not on her 'A' game tonight," Waterford coach Liz Sutman said.  "She threw a lot of pitches tonight. She normally doesn't have that high of a pitch count. 

"She was getting behind  natters, which she nornally doesn't do, so she definitely wasn't on her game, but def (Warde) played a great game against us. They put some pressure on us."

Starting in the fourth, the Mustangs put two runners on base in three straight innings, but couldn't get the big hit.

"Our bats didn't come through like they normally would have in key situations with runners in scoring position," Quiricone said. "I think that was the difference in the game."

Schettino was the only Warde player with two hits.  

"We're just excited that we had the season we had," Treglia said. "We loved the team this year and we hope the girls can continue the tradition next tear."