Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Softball eyes FCIAC title


By Sam Wood - Although the rain last week was like a flood for the town, it made a drought for the Blue Wave Softball team. With all the postponements, the schedule for the team became very jumbled. The game against Westhill was moved from Monday (May 16) to Sunday (May 22), and the game against Bridgeport Central was postponed from Wednesday (May 18) to Saturday (May 21). Wave’s game against Fairfield Warde was the only one that was played on time, Friday (May 20). The softball girls had had nothing but practices for seven days straight, which is unheard of this late in the season. After that drought the team had a tough time getting back into the rhythm, and they lost to Warde 1-0. With solid pitching and defense, the Mustangs shutdown the FCIAC's best offense and pulled out a close win. Junior Jessica DeMaio was the tough loser, scattering five hits over six innings. Senior captain Nicole Buch and sophomore Emma Hamilton were the lone bright spots offensively with two hits each. But the Wave was able to pick it up with the game against Bridgeport Central the next day, where it won 19-2 in five innings. The team had 13 runs in the first inning, where it went through the batting order twice. Junior Kelly Nicoletti got her first varsity win of the season with nine strikeouts. With the win, Darien locked up the #2 seed in the FCIAC tournament. This pitted them against Westhill, the #1 seed in the FCIAC, the next day. But the outcome on Sunday was anything but exciting. After two solid innings, Westhill exploded for a five-run third inning, highlighted by Allison Macari's three-run homerun. Nicoletti went five innings, giving up eight runs, four of them earned. Junior Emily Blosio was two-for-three with the Wave's only run. Junior Kelly Fahey reached base three times, and Nicole Buch and junior Olivia Gozdz each reached base twice. With this huge upset, the Wave tries to put the pieces back together as it heads to the FCIAC tournament. The rematch against Fairfield Warde, scheduled for Monday (May 23) was postponed, to be played at home 4 p.m. Tuesday (May 24).
Photo: Kelly Nicoletti pitching against the Warriors (photo courtesy Darien Patch)

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