Seymour’s Raeanne Geffert pitches vs. Oxford in last season’s NVL title game . (Catherine Avalone – New Haven Register)
One win down, two more to go for Seymour in its attempt to reclaim the NVL tournament championship.
The top-seeded Wildcats (20-0) edged No. 8 Woodland 1-0 in the quarterfinals behind senior pitcher Raeanne Geffert’s perfect game. Geffert struck out 13, including the 1,000th of her career.
Seymour will face No. 4 Oxford in Monday’s semifinals at 6 p.m. in Naugatuck. Oxford defeated the Wildcats 2-1 in eight innings in last season’s championship game. Seymour is in search of its 16th NVL title.
“It’s a lot about redemption,” Geffert said. “We lost last year, and we really want to take it home this year because I think we’re a good enough team to do that.”
Seymour defeated Oxford twice this season. Should the Wildcats reach the final, they will face either No. 2 Holy Cross or No. 3 Torrington, which play their semifinal Monday at 4 p.m.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Geffert said. “We played good games against them. They’re both really good teams with good pitchers, and I think they’re good competition for us.”
The Wildcats earned victories over Torrington by scores of 4-0 and 6-0 this season. In the latter, Geffert tossed a perfect game. Seymour defeated Holy Cross 11-0 in a much-anticipated showdown on April 30.
The Wildcats won their first 19 games this season before losing to Westhill 4-3 this past Thursday. Seymour quickly rebounded and refocused on its effort to win the NVL championship.
“That’s very important,” Seymour coach Ken Pereiras said. “It’s one of our main goals, to win the NVL and then go to the states. Losing (Thursday), it puts a bitter taste in our mouth, but we’re going to be ready for NVLs. This will wake us up a little bit. So, now we got to maybe work a little bit harder.”
Geffert, one of the state’s top pitchers, incorporated a screwball into her arsenal this season. Despite the hiccup against Westhill, Pereiras has been pleased with his team’s performance this season.
“Up to now, we’ve hit the ball well, we’ve played good defense, and Geffert has been great,” Pereiras said.
Wild finish for Westhill
Westhill knocked off previously unbeaten Seymour by scoring twice with two outs in the top of the seventh inning.
“This is huge for us,” Westhill coach Tom Pia said. “We’ve played some teams from up state, but they’re the best team we played all year long. By far. They’re well-coached. They have a great organization; great kid on the mound. We happen to hit the ball. We hit the ball, that’s what we’re known for down our way.”
Senior Adriana Gambino had two doubles and two singles, and drove in the game-winning run.
“We knew they were a good team,” Gambino said. “We were ready for the challenge. We just always want to play hard and beat whoever we play against.”
Gambino also earned the win in relief. Gambino entered the pitching circle with her team trailing 3-2. Gambino kept the Seymour hitters off-balanced with her array of off-speed pitches.
“I’m usually the closer, like one or two innings at the end of the game,” Gambino said. “Whenever he (Pia) wants me to come in, I’m ready. I’m glad my change up was working for the most part. I know they’re a good hitting team by their record.”
SCC Pairings Released
Pairings for the SCC tournament were released Sunday. The schedule for Wednesday’s quarterfinals: No. 8 Guilford at No. 1 Cheshire, 3:30 p.m.; No. 7 West Haven at No. 2 Lauralton Hall, 4:30 p.m.; No. 6 Hand at No. 3 Foran, 3 p.m.; No. 5 Amity at No. 4 East Haven, 3:30 p.m.
The semifinals are on Thursday at 5 and 7 p.m. at Biondi Field in West Haven.
The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. at Biondi.
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