No. 6 Cheshire softball celebrates its 3-1 victory over No. 3 North Haven Monday, May 6, 2019 at Cheshire.
CHESHIRE — For nearly a month, all-state pitcher Lauren Card and the North Haven softball team hadn’t surrendered a single run, including a 1-0 victory over SCC rival Cheshire back on April 24. The Indians were unbeaten and skyrocketed to No. 3 in the latest Top 10 poll.
That all changed with just a couple swings of the bat from the top of Cheshire’s batting order in Monday afternoon’s SCC rematch at Cheshire.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, all-stater Mia Joudaitis smacked a single — her second hit of the day — into right field to produce the tying run. Then Bri Floyd followed by tucking a single just inside the right-field line to drive in two more.
The two-run lead proved enough for the No. 6-ranked Rams. Two innings later, Bri Pearson rewarded her teammates by striking out Caitlin Ranciato looking with two aboard to deliver Cheshire to a 3-1 victory.
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Card, a virtual pitching machine who had just three earned runs all season coming into the game, was human after all.
“This feels good,” said Joudaitis, Cheshire’s leadoff hitter who was 2-for-3 and had a double in her second at-bat. “We’d been practicing against her and what she pitches, so it’s good to finally get a few hits off her.”
Cheshire improved to 12-2, its only losses coming against North Haven and current No. 1 St. Joseph, 3-0, on consecutive days in late April.
Here’s Cheshire’s 3-run rally in the fifth-inming to beat Lauren Card and North Haven, 3-1.
Mia Joudaitis and Bri Floyd (2 RBI) with the run-scoring hits #ctsb pic.twitter.com/YTCyA4AlZa— GameTimeCT (@GameTimeCT) May 6, 2019
After being shut out by Card in the first meeting, Cheshire’s batters moved up in the box and recalibrated their swings.
“Our game plan was to go in there and make quicker adjustments,” Cheshire coach Kristine Drust said. “With a good pitcher like that, you’ve just got to get in there and make sure your timing is right and you’ve got to make adjustments.
“We caught that energy in the bottom of the fourth inning and I knew, coming into the fifth, that we needed to get right back in there — we had a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning — and those adjustments would start coming together.”
North Haven fell to 13-1 with its first loss since last year’s Class L first round.
“One loss, so it’s only going to make us stronger,” North Haven coach Karen Castagnola said. “Sometimes it makes you human, you know? Brings you down a notch.”
And here’s Cheshire’s Bri Pearson with the game-clinching strikeout with the tying runners aboard. Cheshire 3-1 over North Haven #ctsb pic.twitter.com/oXZO9htsTv
— GameTimeCT (@GameTimeCT) May 6, 2019
Sarah Lombardi’s shot off Pearson cleared the fence in right to put North Haven up 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Considering Card’s history, it could have been enough.
But with one out in the fifth, Jade Barnes hit a single up the middle, setting in motion Cheshire’s winning rally. The Rams strung together five-consecutive hits to take the lead.
No. 9-batter and freshman Grace Lurz put two aboard with an infield single. Joudaitis followed with her single to right, but the relay throw went to second base and North Haven was too late and too high on the throw home to catch runner Ella Watson’s tying run. The remaining runners advanced into scoring position.
“They’re a good team. You can never count Cheshire out,” Castagnola said. “We had a couple miscues they took advantage of, which is what good teams do.”
Sarah Lombardi smokes a solo hone run to right-center. 1-0 North Haven mid 4 #ctsb pic.twitter.com/QB94Wu4GyC
— GameTimeCT (@GameTimeCT) May 6, 2019
As quickly as the game’s complexion changed, Floyd’s two-run single changed it again. Her hit to right just barely fell fair, putting Cheshire ahead for good, 3-1.
“I was running down the first base line saying, please be fair, please be fair,” Floyd said. “It was awesome. Seeing my teammates get on base before me made me really pumped up to get a hit.”
It set the stage for the seventh, where North Haven put two aboard but couldn’t bring them home against Pearson, whose game-ending strikeout of Ranciato was her eighth of the game.
“I knew one run wasn’t going to be anything for us,” Pearson said. “I knew our offense would come through. We were making adjustments really quickly. It’s awesome, the energy on our bench, the percussion we have on our bench is just awesome. The energy’s unreal.”
Card finished with seven strikeouts, but allowed seven hits. Pearson surrendered just four while earning the victory.
“At least they didn’t lay down and die,” Castagnola said. “They never give up, these kids. And we weren’t hitting. We weren’t hitting well today. But it’ll be all right.”