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06/11/2014 12:00 AMThe No. 7-seeded East Haven softball team has battled its way through the Class M State Tournament all the way to the semifinal round, beating No. 26 Valley 14-0, No. 10 Griswold 5-4 in walk-off fashion, and upsetting No. 2 Northwestern 5-0 along the way. The group is getting stronger as the tournament progresses with its best showing coming against Northwestern on the road in a 5-0 quarterfinal victory.
East Haven faced No. 3 St. Joseph in the semifinal on June 9 and if it won, would face either Seymour or Rocky Hill in the final this weekend at DeLuca Field in West Haven.
"It was kind of about confidence because they play in a league with a lot of smaller schools," Head Coach Ed Crisafi said about going into the Northwestern game. "I wasn't scared by their 20-1 record. They were intimidated by us. They knew we played in the SCC and they knew that they were in trouble."
First Team All-State starting pitcher Talia Loda made sure East Haven advanced by tossing a one-hitter, including 10 strikeouts in the win. Laura Anderson's RBI triple in the fourth inning would be all that was necessary for Loda.
The Yellowjackets tacked on another four runs in the fifth and six innings for insurance. Giovanna Russo singled home Jenna Gaudioso and McKenzie Miessau in the fifth, while Alyssa Apuzzo drove home Anderson and Gaudioso singled home Tina Paolillo in the sixth.
Previously, in the second round, East Haven rallied to leave Griswold on the field in a 5-4 victory. Gaudioso had a redemption single in the bottom of the seventh-after striking out in her first three at-bats of the game-to score Allie Luzzi and Loda to earn the win.
The Yellowjackets got on the board first, scoring two runs in the opening inning of the game on a two-RBI single by Miessau. Griswold scored the next four runs to take a lead, but that's when the Yellowjackets started their comeback. Apuzzo had an RBI single in the fifth inning before Gaudioso ended the game in dramatic fashion.
"It's a very quiet, confident group," Crisafi said. "I think that since six of them played in the state tournament last year, they're confident. They're a loose bunch of kids and they know what they have to do."
In the first round, the Yellowjackets made easy work of Valley Regional by a 14-0 score. Luzzi had three hits, including a grand slam home run. Kara Hanson had three RBI, Gaudioso had three hits and three runs, and Russo, Miessau, and Loda all had two hits each. On the hill, Loda allowed just two hits while striking out 11 batters.
Through each game of the Class M State Tournament, the Yellowjackets have had double-digit hits, something Crisafi is proud to see.
"We're really working on hitting every day," he said. "We're hitting for hours every day, so we've gotten much better. As long as Tal keeps doing what she's doing, we play defense, and they keep hitting like this, we have a shot."