Freshmen lead Cosmos past Otters, 3-2

Springfield softball coach Andy Bladyka threw his freshman pitcher into the pressure cooker and Andrea Allen responded with composure that belies her age in preserving the Cosmos’ 3-2 victory over Otter Valley on Monday.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110412/SPORTS/704129886

Published April 12, 2011 in the Rutland Herald
Freshmen lead Cosmos past Otters, 3-2

By Tom Haley

BRANDON — Springfield softball coach Andy Bladyka threw his freshman pitcher into the pressure cooker and Andrea Allen responded with composure that belies her age in preserving the Cosmos’ 3-2 victory over Otter Valley on Monday.

Allen was summoned to the mound in the sixth inning with the bases loaded, two outs and the Cosmos leading 3-1. She walked the first batter she faced to force home Kristyn Jerome, cutting the lead to 3-2.

But Allen struck out the next batter to end the inning. Then, after walking the leadoff batter in the seventh, she retired the next three to complete the game.

“I was just a little nervous. I stayed confident because I do better when I’m confident,” Allen said.

But the nervousness could have heightened when she walked Ashlie Delphia to bring a run home.

“I just said ‘shake it off,’” Allen said of the walk. “I just backed up and took a deep breath.”

Jenna Paul got the win, giving up three hits and only one through the first five innings.

“Jenna had something to prove,” Bladyka said. “We had three freshman pitchers — Allen wasn’t one of them — combine for a no-hitter against Green Mountain. She wanted to show that she’s our pitcher. Competition is a healthy thing.”

Otter Valley’s Mallory Ketcham and Paul were matching one another pitch for pitch. The game was scoreless entering the fourth.

Ketcham had really gotten in the groove, striking out the side in the third.

But the Cosmos broke through in the fourth. Kristin Cook doubled to left and Heather Sanborn singled her home.

The Cosmos had a chance to pad the lead in the fourth, but the Otters threw the leather at them. Second baseman Delphia robbed Jill Rushton of a hit with a sprawling stop of a ground ball to her left. Then, Jessie Haskell made a bid for an extra-base hit, but OV right fielder Marissa D’Avignon made a nice running catch going toward the line.

But the Cosmos did cushion their lead with two in the sixth. Amanda Farnsworth and Meghan Courchesne started the inning with singles. Courchene’s single got by the outfielder and pinch runner Emma Esty came all the way home on the error. Courchesne scored on Sanborn’s groundout.

The Cosmos threatened to put some more distance between themselves and the Otters in the seventh as the first two hitters reached: Jen Stein with a walk and Alexis Locke on an error. But Rushton popped up the bunt, catcher Chelsea Robbins caught it and rifled the ball to heads-up center fielder Katie Carey to catch Stein trying to get back to second for a double play.

It was that eventful sixth where the game was won. D’Avignon and Jerome drew walks, and Erin Trombley and Bruce slapped consecutive singles. After D’Avignon scored on an error and Allen walked a run home, tension mounted with the score 3-2.

But Allen fought off the pressure and the Cosmos rode home with a 2-0 record.

It was the season opener for the Otters who had a couple of games postponed.

“We had first-game jitters,” Otter Valley coach Pattie Candon said. “We did some things like looking at the runner instead of picking up the ball.”

Ketcham gave up seven hits in going the distance. She struck out four and walked only one.

Candon feels she will only get better.

“It wasn’t her first varsity start, but it was her first start this year,”the OV coach said.

Bladyka has loved what he has seen from his many-pronged pitching staff so far: 12 innings and just three hits.

The defense was also solid.

“Alexis is good in center field and we’re strong up the middle,” he said.

But what really made the day special was that it was a win over Otter Valley.

“It’s been a long time since we have beaten Otter Valley. I can’t tell you how long it has been and don’t think we didn’t talk about that,” Bladyka said. “They have had the upper hand for at least the last three years.”

That made the long ride home a whole lot shorter.

Springfield’s Kristin Cook slides under the tag of Otter Valley catcher Chelsea Robbins in Brandon on Monday as umpire Craig Pettis points to the plate.
Photo: Cassandra Hotaling / Staff photo