The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Amity wins third straight SCC title
Abramson throws no-hitter, Cheshire wins twice for crown
WEST HAVEN >> Pitching two full games in a stretch of eight hours, one could understand if Cheshire pitcher Abigail Abramson got a little tired. Everyone but Abramson that is.
Pitching just a few hours after shutting out Amity earlier in the day in the semifinals, Abramson tossed a complete game no-hitter, striking out 13, as top-seeded Cheshire blanked thirdseeded Guilford 8-0 in the Southern Connecticut Conference championship at Biondi Field in West Haven on Saturday.
“I think, as a team, we had a ton of energy all day today,” Abramson said after being named the Danni Kemp Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. “Playing two games and keeping your energy is hard to do. Everyone was mentally focused. I did not know (no-hitter) until the game was over.”
For the Rams, the top-ranked team in the Register/GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, the SCC title was its second in a row and third since the tournament began in 1996. The Rams (221) allowed just one run in the tournament, that coming in the opener against Foran.
“We had a slightly different game plan for her (Abramson) throwing two games today,” Cheshire coach Kristine Drust said. “She deserves every single honor she gets.”
With their only loss of the season coming against Guilford, the Rams had a little added incentive in the final, and came out strong, scoring three times in the first to take control of the game.
After Abramson struck out the side in the first, she doubled to right to
lead off the bottom of the inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Samantha Simione lofted a sacrifice fly to center for a 1-0 lead. Hannah Salvietti followed with a long double to left to score Mulligan, and Salvietti scored later in the inning on a wild pitch by Guilford pitcher Amanda King.
With Abramson cruising through four innings, despite walking three batters, Cheshire increased the margin to 5-0 in the fourth. With two on and one out, Abramson singled to score Lindsey Abramson before a wild pitch scored Mia Juodiatis for the five-run margin.
Abigail Abramson’s only trouble came in the fifth when she walked a pair of batters, but she escaped by getting Sara Barreira to line to center for the final out of the inning. Abramson walked six in the game, but her final free pass was erased on a double play ball in the sixth.
“They came out hitting and got the lead on us,” Guilford coach Steve Zajac said. “They got some big hits today. But, we hung tough the next three innings. They hit the ball well. They are a very good team. They are well-coached.”
The Rams put the game away with a single run in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Salvietti hit a long home run in the fifth for a 6-0 lead, and Simione singled to drive in the final run of the game in the sixth.
“Playing a doubleheader as a coach and as a team, was not something we had been asked to do yet,” Drust said. “All we asked of the team and each other was to bring as much energy as we can the entire day.
Abigail Abramson finished with two hits and a run batted in, while Salvietti added two hits and drove in a pair.
King went the distance in the loss for Guilford (17-6), allowing eight hits, walking five, and striking out two in Guilford’s first league tournament final appearance.