knew we were going to face a very hot SPF team. They are young team who just made a great run in the Union County Tournament who we already played a tight game against earlier this season. Both teams played well and should be proud of the performance they put on but I think what gave us the edge was our defense.”
From her catcher’s position, Friscia gunned down Puglise attempting to steal second in the top of the first inning but after Scipioni retired all three Raiders she faced in the bottom of the inning, the Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Heflin curled a one-out double down the leftfield line and scored on Quinlan Doherty’s lined RBI single to right-centerfield.
The Blue Devil defense turned the first of two double plays in the Raider second inning. DiSalvo led off the inning and was hit by a pitch. Courtesy runner Sam Marcolina took her place at first base.Angelina Valente’s grounder to short provoked a throwing error, putting runners on first and second. Llano hit a sharp liner to shortstop Laguna, who quickly tossed to Heflin at second to double up Marcolina. Scipioni then corralled Harper Shimko’s grounder back to the mound and fired to first for the third out.
The Westfield third began with Reilly bouncing a single into leftfield. Reyes attempted a bunt but it was popped up and third baseman Maddy Bendert was there to grab it for the first out. Puglise looped a single into shallow center. Erin Doherty hit a high popup between home and third. The ball was dropped and there was a play made but the infield fly rule was in effect. In the confusion, both runners advanced. Laguna was hit by a pitch to load the bases but DiSalvo got Heflin to pop up to short for the third out.
DiFabrizio led off the Raider third by getting hit on the helmet. Julia Friedrichs’ sacrifice bunt moved DiFabrizio to second then Friscia drilled an RBI single to leftfield to tie the score.
The Blue Devils pulled off their second double play in the fourth inning. Llano hooked a one-out single to left-center. Shimko’s shallow popup in front of the plate was caught by Reilly, who alertly tossed to first baseman Grace D’Angelo for the third out.
Opportunity knocked again for the Blue Devils in the fifth. Puglise drew a one-out walk and stole second base. Laguna then arced her RBI single into shallow leftfield. Insurance came one inning later when the Blue Devils scored twice to take a 4-1 lead. After DiSalvo retired the first two Blue Devils, Naomi Kamins rapped a single just inside the leftfield line. Reilly tapped a grounder to third. After the throw, the first baseman dropped the ball and both runners slipped into scoring position. Reyes stepped to the plate and whacked her two-run double to deep leftfield.
Scipioni retired all three Raiders in the sixth and DiSalvo yielded just a walk to Laguna in the seventh. The Raiders’ last chance began with a pop out to short. Heflin made a chestdiving snag of Shimko’s popup in front of second base then DiFabrizio grounded out to third.
“We knew that we needed to capitalize with runners on,” Coach Cheddar explained. “Cat and Quinlan manufacturing a run for us in the second was huge to score first. Gi’s steal was beautifully executed and Alex came up big with a single in that spot to put us ahead. Kayla’s two-RBI double was so clutch. That was exactly the cushion that we needed to stay loose in the 7th inning.”
The Blue Devils would face the second-seeded Watchung Hills Warriors in the semifinal round. The Warriors defeated the Franklin Warriors, 9-0, in their quarterfinal round.
Coach Cheddar concluded, “Both teams played great. SPF is going to be a strong competitor and a team to watch out for over the next few years.”
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