Mitchell tosses three-hitter as Coventry softball tops NCCC foe Ellington

Apr. 21—COVENTRY — It was a great sight to see for Coventry High junior Elizabeth Mitchell.

That sight was her catcher Remy Casida making the walk out to the circle for a visit in the seventh inning.

This after Ellington's Kaitlyn Kerstetter drew a walk after battling her way through a 19-pitch at-bat.

"It felt like it was a lot longer," Mitchell said. "I thought it had to be at least 30. We needed that little break to figure out what to throw next."

That put runners on first and second for Ellington, which was down by a run in Friday's NCCC softball showdown.

Mitchell just knew she had to settle down and refocus.

Two batters later, Mitchell was shouting out loud in excitement after finishing off her complete-game three-hitter with 11 strikeouts as Coventry (8-0) held on for a 2-1 victory over Ellington (6-1) in the battle of unbeatens.

"I told the team before the game this was going to be a 1-0 or 2-1 game," Coventry coach Jeff LaHouse said. "This was everything I thought that it was going to be "

Through the first three innings, Mitchell and her counterpart, Ellington's Camryn Fisher, combined to strike out 11 batters in a scoreless game.

Coventry broke through with two runs in the bottom of the fourth taking advantage of mistakes.

Lindsey Harrington led off with a single to left that was misplayed and rolled to the fence and allowed her to advance to third

Mitchell followed with a bunt back to the mound, Fisher took a glance over to third to hold Harrington at third and Mitchell kept on running, putting runners on second and third with no outs.

The Patriots got on the board when Harrington scored on a wild pitch with one out. Mitchell made it 2-0 as she scored on a two-out passed ball.

"Cam [Fisher] in my mind we won't face another pitcher like that the rest of the way," LaHouse said. "In these type of games you have to produce runs somewhere.

"We were able to create two runs by taking advantage of a few mistakes."

Ellington broke through in the sixth when Tate McNamar reached on a bunt single, moved to second on an infield ground out and came home on two-out single to left by Keyleigh Flaherty.

That set the stage for the seventh after Fisher reached on a one-out error followed by Kerstetter's at-bat for the ages.

"I've been doing this a long time, whether it's travel or high school," Ellington coach Tom Gordon said. "Over 30 years. I've never seen an at-bat like that. Just unbelievable."

Fisher couldn't believe what she was seeing either.

"It's so nerve-wracking batting against Elizabeth," Fisher said. "She has speed and movement and is so stoneaced out there.

"And to watch Kat foul off all those pitches and just hang in there. That was just crazy."

"That was amazing," LaHouse said. "I never expected her to keep fouling off pitch after pitch."

Mitchell bore down after that, striking out the next batter for the second out and freshman Brooke Blouin threw out No.9 hitter Tate McNamar on a slow infield roller to end it as Coventry moved into sole possession of first place in the league standings.

What makes Mitchell so tough to hit?

"She can pitch high in the zone and you don't see a lot of that these days," Gordon said. "She's fast enough — we had her throwing 61 for most of the game — and she just doesn't lose any steam in the final innings.

"That's important. She carries her speed right to the end."

Fisher struck out 11 for Ellington, allowing two hits with one walk.

Mitchell also recorded her 300th career strikeout.

"That means a lot," Mitchell said. "I have goals for myself and being at 300 right now just motivates me more."

LaHouse is amazed every single time he watches Mitchell in the circle.

"Elizabeth is not afraid of anything." LaHouse said. "She's been amazing all year and brings so much emotion and energy throughout the game."

STAFFORD 9, EAST WINDSOR/SMSA 5. In East Windsor, Sofia Frassinelli pitched a four-hitter and homered for the second straight game as Stafford made it back-to-back wins in NCCC action.

Frassinelli finished with two hits and two RBIs for the Bulldogs (2-3), who scored four times in the top of the seventh inning to break a tie. Abi Julian and Andrea Moulton chipped in two hits each. On the mound, Frassinelli walked two and struck out 11.

Abby Lee had two hits and two RBIs for the Panthers (0-7). Ava Carter also drove in two runs.

Stafford hosts Rockville Monday, the same day that the co-op travels to Windsor Locks.

SOMERS 9, SUFFIELD 7 (8). In Suffield, Somers pushed across two unearned runs in the top of the eighth inning to escape with an NCCC win.

Maeve Droney's two-run double in the fifth inning tied the game at 4 and she scored on a Luka Matejek to put the Wildcats (2-7) ahead. Colby Evans' RBI single plated Matejek to make it 6-4.

Kiana Kalaman hit a two-run double and scored the go-ahead run on an error to put the Spartans (5-2) up 7-6 in the sixth, but Suffield pushed across a run in the seventh to force extra innings. Somers responded with two runs in the eighth on three errors to take it.

Addison Powell and Robin Gaskell had two hits each for Somers to back winning pitcher Hailey Schafer. Droney, Lizzie Jamrog, and Hayli Graham had three hits apiece for Suffield, which made seven costly errors.

Somers is at Valley Regional today. Suffield travels to Granby Monday.

WINDSOR LOCKS 23, AVON 8. At Fisher Meadow, after scoring 11 runs in its first six games Windsor Locks took out its frustrations on Avon.

The Raiders scored 21 runs in the final three innings en route to their first win of the season in non-league action.

Winning pitcher Bella Canon aided her cause with three hits including two doubles and four RBIs as Windsor Locks picked up a 23-8 non-league victory over the Falcons at Fisher Meadow. The game was called after six innings due to the mercy rule.

The Raiders (1-6) trailed 6-2 before scoring 10 runs in the fourth inning. Avon (0-5) got two runs back in its half of the fourth to make it 12-8, but Windsor Locks put it away with four runs in the fifth and seven in the sixth.

Kiley Connors had two doubles and two RBIs for the Raiders with Kaidyn Rodriguez and Sydney Barthel each driving in two runs.

On the mound, Canon tossed a complete game. She allowed seven hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts. Jokiana Portal took the loss for Avon.

Windsor Locks hosts the East Windsor/SMSA co-op on Monday.

ROCKVILLE 6, SOUTH WINDSOR 3. In South Windsor, Alexis Real fired a two-hitter in Rockville's non-league win. She walked three, struck out 15, and the Bobcats' three runs were unearned.

The Rams (6-2) scored five runs in the fifth inning to break open a 1-0 game. Kourtney Anderson had three hits including a double for Rockville. Jadah Ortiz and Katherine Larson added two hits each while Real drove in two runs. Grace Benashski had a double and scored a run for the Bobcats (0-7)

Rockville is at Stafford Monday, the same day South Windsor entertains RHAM.