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05/30/2015 12:00 AMThrough five innings of play, Morgan pitcher Emily Popp held a slight edge against T-Birds’ ace Lindsay Golia on the mound in the Shoreline Conference Softball Tournament title game. North Branford’s offense had mustered just two singles without generating even one quality scoring opportunity.
But then the T-Birds’ bats came alive as they scored two runs in the sixth to take the lead and added one more in the seventh en route to a 3-1 victory over the defending champion Huskies at Hale-Ray High School in East Haddam on May 30. The win resulted in the third Shoreline tourney title in program history and North Branford also improved to 20-3 on the season, which marks the most victories in a single year for any T-Birds’ squad.
First-year Head Coach Nick DeLizio expressed how proud he was of his club for battling back from a deficit to prevail in what proved quite the pitchers’ duel.
“I told them you have to battle. The game is not over. You have to play seven innings. No matter if they go up a couple runs in the first inning, you still have to play every inning and take every at-bat seriously,” DeLizio said. “You have to keep hacking and working hard because, if you work hard and focus on your goal, I believe you can achieve it. We didn’t let up, we visualized us winning it, and the girls didn’t give up all game.”
Morgan had its 1-0 advantage thanks to an RBI triple by Popp in the top of the first inning and time was slipping away from North Branford. However, the T-Birds’ No. 9 hitter, freshman Danielle Ramada, came up huge when she led off the top of the sixth with a home run that tied the game. On an 0-2 count, Popp’s pitch caught a bit too much of the plate, Ramada drilled the offering to right-center between the Huskies’ outfielders, and she circled the bases for an inside-the-park round-tripper.
“I’m just looking for something I can hit. I just swung and we really needed a hit because we were down, so it was important for us to score,” said Ramada. “I swung and you know how it feels when you hit that certain spot. I knew it was gone, but I had no idea that it was going to be a home run. I heard everybody and just ran home. It definitely brought everything up.”
A perfect throw might have beaten Ramada, but the cutoff was bobbled, and she slid safely across home plate to make it a 1-1 ballgame.
“I know I was taking a chance sending her home, but they had to make the relay throws to get her and they didn’t,” DeLizio said. “Sometimes you need to force some things. Big risk, big reward, I guess.”
North Branford kept the line moving after tying it. The Thunderbirds’ next batter, Olivia Hemstock, singled to right field and advanced to second base following a sacrifice bunt by senior captain Stephanie Hogan. Popp intentionally walked Sabrina LeMere and got Emily Muzyka to pop out, but then Meghan Golia stepped to the plate. Golia fought off a tough pitch and laced a soft blooper to center field that scored Hemstock and gave North Branford the lead for good at 2-1.
“After hitting that, I felt it come off that bat and I didn’t think it was going to land. Once it landed and I heard someone score, the excitement was unreal,” said Golia, who said she felt more motivated following LeMere’s intentional pass. “Honestly, that made me want it even more. Knowing that she was on base and had a chance to score, I wanted to get her in.”
North Branford added an insurance marker in the seventh when Ramada knocked home her second run of the game. Senior captain Sarah Hemstock led off the inning with a single to center and scored when Ramada got a hit that mirrored Meghan Golia’s earlier RBI knock by touching down in the outfield grass.
As she has been all season, Lindsay Golia was sensational on the mound for North Branford. The junior southpaw scattered five hits, struck out four, and allowed no hits through the last two frames after her team gave her the lead.
“Lindsay is a soldier,” Coach DeLizio said. “She battles and she doesn’t give up. She is mentally tough and she buckles down in big spots. This was another great game by her.”
Golia gave the credit to battery mate LeMere and the fielders behind her for helping her turn in such a strong showing.
“Catcher Sabrina LeMere mixed up all the pitchers and that really worked,” she said. “I kept the hitters off-balanced and she did a great job and, obviously, the team in the field backing me up, they did amazing.”
North Branford reached the Shoreline final by defeating Cromwell 12-0 on May 28 and then Haddam-Killingworth 5-2 in the semifinals on May 29. Golia had a combined 19 strikeouts in those contests and feels that as long as the T-Birds continue to play their game, they’ll be a tough out in the upcoming Class M State Tournament.
“I just feel like I keep growing. With the great team behind me, we feel like we can do anything,” she said. “The momentum coming into here, we had a great season, so we were confident coming into this. We couldn’t have done it without everyone.”
From the Sidelines
North Branford has now won the Shoreline Conference Tournament championship three times with the other titles coming in 1977 and 2010.
Even though the T-Birds were the No. 1 seed, they were the road team in this contest by virtue of a Shoreline Conference bylaw that determines the home team on a coin flip.
This matchup served as a rubber game between North Branford and Morgan. The T-Birds lost in Clinton by a 4-1 score on April 14 and then beat the Huskies at home 11-0 on May 4.