Lady Devils Win Regional !!!!!
Hall 2 Seneca 0
BCR web article
May 23, 2009
SPRING VALLEY — From the Hall Lady Red Devil’s perspective, a softball championship celebration was way overdue. For softball veterans Cally Kowalski, Erin Polte, Sara Smoode and junior pitcher Claire Faletti, Saturday was a softball Mardi Gras. And Faletti was front and center in the victorious conga-line.
After Faletti’s 11th and final strikeout against the Seneca Irish,
the junior’s glove flew skyward, her feet left the earth in a
basketball-type leap and her wide smile wiped away years of near
misses in past regional play as the Lady Red Devils advanced to
softball sectional action for the first time in 16 years with a 2-0
victory over the Irish at the Spring Valley Class 2A Regional
Championship.
“Its been 16 years, but this was very much worth it,” Faletti said. Hall seniors Cally Kowalski and Erin Polte scored the game’s only runs as the eventual champs mastered one of high school softball’s cardinal rules — get the lead-off batters on base and get them across home plate.
Kowalski opened the fourth inning with an opposite-field triple to right field and promptly scored after Johnna Schultz’s single. Ahead 1-0, the Lady Devils cushioned their lead in the fifth when Polte led off with a single, stole second base and headed home on Smoode’s RBI safety.
With a 2-0 lead, Faletti sealed the deal. With an ace-like
performance — including the double-digit strikeout day — Faletti
walked no Irish hitters and worked out of trouble in the pivotal
sixth and seventh innings.
While Hall was 2 for 7 in leading off innings, Seneca left six
runners in scoring position.
“Claire pitched a great game,” said Hall coach Pete Kasperski. “She
got in a couple jams — a bases loaded jam, and they had a runner on
third a couple of times and didn’t score. Even in the last inning,
they had the bases loaded and didn’t score. We put the ball in play
enough to score some runs. My seniors came through. Cally Kowalski
had that triple and scored. Cally came through big; our seniors
came through big.”
Hall’s dream of a regional title became reality after the
tournament hosts snuffed out one final Seneca threat. Miranda
Peterson and Coley Baker started the seventh with singles, and the
Irish loaded the bases with two out, but Faletti fanned Stephanie
McCormick for the game’s final out.
“In that last inning, even when with the two batters (reaching)
and with the bases loaded, I just needed to pitch my strikes, and I
knew my defense would help me out,” Faletti said.
Hall’s postseason continues Wednesday with a sectional semifinal
contest against the Coal City Lady Coalers at Coal City Sectional.
Game time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Check out all of the softball 2A brackets at -
