Softball: Clippers Claim State Championship With Comeback Win Over Mounties

It was everything a championship game should be. There were incredible defensive plays on both sides and the biggest lead throughout the game was by only one run. Both teams laid it all on the line and the competitiveness was evident throughout.

The Mounties took on the Clippers from Cumberland High School on Tuesday night at Rhode Island College in the Division I Softball State Championship Game. Cumberland had defeated Mount 15-3 on , forcing another game, with Mount Saint Charles' first loss in the post-season. The Mounties led for most of the game, but could not extend their lead to more than one run. Ultimately, Cumberland won 3-2 in nine innings of play.

In the bottom half of the first, the Mounties got on the board. Junior Aria DiMeo's double to right field drove in the game's first run. She was stranded at second base.

Cumberland wasted a grand opportunity to score in the 4th inning. With runners at the corners and two outs, Mounties junior Olivia Hendricks struck out the last batter of the inning. She finished with six strikeouts on the night and pitched all nine innings.

"I thought Olivia outpitched Beth tonight," Mounties coach Cliff Matthews said of the two opposing pitchers.

The Mounties failed to produce a run in the bottom of the fourth, despite loading the bases with one out.

"We had chances to score and couldn’t capitalize on them," Matthews said.

In the fifth inning, the team squandered another chance to score, leaving runners on first and second base. Overall, they stranded nine base runners during the game, and 6 of of them were left in scoring position.

The Clippers battled back and took the lead in the sixth inning. Co-captain Christina Speroni and senior Kaitlyn Pluta each picked up an RBI, giving Cumberland a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom half of the seventh, the Mounties had a chance for a walk-off hit. Freshman Briana Castro had tied the game with an RBI on an infield single. They had runners on second and third with two outs, but Clippers starting pitcher, senior Beth Paul, struck out the next batter, and finished with 11 strikeouts in nine innings of work.

"Beth was phenomenal out there tonight," Clippers coach Marty Crowley said.

The hero of the night would prove to be Cumberland sophomore Rebecca Geddes. In the top of the ninth, her sacrifice fly to right field gave the Clippers a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom half of the ninth, the Mounties had a runner on third base with no outs, but failed to score. In extra innings both teams begin the inning with a runner on second base, because of the interscholastic league rules. Hendricks was selected as the runner and advanced to third on a past ball.

Paul struck out a batter and the final out of the game was a grounder back to the mound. She calmly flipped the ball to first base and Cumberland had won the state championship, defeating Mount two days in a row.

"It was a hell of a season and I am very proud of the girls," Matthews added.

"I can’t say enough about our freshman pitcher Kristen Rodrigues, She won about eight games for us and without her we [wouldn't have] made it here," the coach said.

Crowley spoke about the strategy of being the away team and batting first. "We wanted to be the visitors because if we got to extra innings we would have the opportunity to score first and put the pressure on the other team," he said.

"Our kids were resilient all long and I am proud of them," the coach added, "Our seniors led the way tonight."

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