Erin Dighello singles to give Sheehan 2-1 lead over SHA in 4th #ctsb pic.twitter.com/TS4R3pKHH0
— Mike Madera (@MikeMadera2) May 10, 2016
HAMDEN – In a battle of two teams fighting to make the postseason, both Sheehan and Sacred Heart Academy felt it would come down to who made the least amount of mistakes.
Sheehan won that battle, along with knocking around 14 hits, on its way to a 5-3 Southern Connecticut Conference victory over the Pacers at Sacred Heart Academy Tuesday afternoon.
With the win, Sheehan improved to 5-9 on the season and needs to win three of its last six games to play in the postseason.
“They are finally starting to settle in,” Sheehan coach Jocelyn Chang said. “They are not hanging their heads. They are picking each other up and they continue to fight.”
For the Pacers, their offense consisted mainly of the long ball, two solo homers which brought the team even after four innings of play. But, Sheehan responded, using small ball in both the fifth and sixth innings to score three times for a 5-2 lead.
“They were able to find our weakness today in the small ball and they executed,” Sacred Heart coach Al Ramelli said after his team fell to 5-9 with its fourth loss in its last five games. “Every time they tried to score, they put the ball in play. You have to give them credit. They executed with the small ball today.”
The Pacers twice rallied from one-run deficits early in the game, only to see Sheehan respond in its next at bat.
With the game even at two entering the fifth inning, the Titans took the lead for good. Sara Pisanelli led off with a single, and after Marissa Gonzalez reached on a fielder’s choice to put two runners on, Kelly Brosnan reached on a bunt single to load the bases.
Gabby Fiedler bunt produces 2 runs to give Sheehan 4-2 lead over SHA in 5th #ctsb pic.twitter.com/UpgXg5ASqs
— Mike Madera (@MikeMadera2) May 10, 2016
Gabby Fiedler then grounded to Sacred Heart pitcher Bernadett Kingsburry with one out, but Kingsburry’s toss home on an attempted forced sailed high, allowing both Pisanelli and Gonzalez to score for a 4-2 lead.
“This was a very important game for us,” Pisanelli said. “We still need three more wins. We never quit today. We never gave up. Everyone was in it to win it. We have made the states all three of my years. This would be great to make it all four of my years.”
The Titans extended the lead to 5-2 in the sixth as sophomore Carolyn Biel singled to lead off and pinch-runner Tory Martino advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on an infield single by Pisanelli. When Gonzalez grounded to second, Martino scored for a 5-2 advantage.
“We work on hitting every practice,” Chang said. “They all take extra hitting. It feels good to see all their hard work pay off.”
The Pacers got within 5-3 in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring single by Kingsburry, but never got closer as Sheehan sophomore pitcher Erin Dighello struck out Katelynn Grieco with runners on the corners to end the frame.
“I thought she pitched well,” Chang said of Dighello. “We had a night game last night so she is not even on 24 hours between games. I thought she did a nice job.”
Sheehan never trailed in the game, taking a 1-0 lead in the third when Biel walked with two outs, Hunter Selvaggi was hit by a pitch, and Pisanelli singled to score Martino, who ran for Biel.
A homer by Brittany LaChance in the bottom of the inning evened the game for the Pacers, but Sheehan responded again in the fourth with another run on Dighello’s run-scoring single.
“This was a game we had on the schedule we felt we needed to win to get closer to eight,” Ramelli said. “We have to fight back tomorrow and get a win against West Haven to get a better chance at winning eight.”
The Pacers again responded in the bottom of the inning when Caitlyn Naperkowski lined a two-out homer to left.
Dighello went the distance for Sheehan, allowing six hits, while striking out 11 and walking one. Brosnan led the Titans with four hits, while Pisanelli and Biel each had three.
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