Champion Cosmos team built to last

Members of the Springfield High softball team celebrate on the mound after defeating Lyndon 5-3 for the Vermont D-II softball championship Friday evening at Poultney’s Veterans Park.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110611/SPORTS/706119864

Published June 11, 2011 in the Rutland Herald

Champion Cosmos team built to last

By Tom Haley

POULTNEY — Andrea Allen, Sara Locke and Heather Sanborn are the Springfield softball team’s answer to the super staff of Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee.

But the Springfield staff might be together longer than the one in Philadelphia. They are all freshmen. And now they are champions.

Coach Andy Bladyka gave the ball to Sanborn for Friday’s Division II state championship game and she turned in a brilliant, 5-3 complete-game victory over Lyndon Institute.

“It wasn’t the best game she ever pitched, but she was really good,” Springfield catcher Amanda Farnsworth said.

Sanborn struck out nine, walked two and gave up only four hits.

She also showed composure that belied her young age, settling in after the Vikings grabbed the lead in the first inning on a two-run homer by cleanup batter Kayla Franklin. Dylanie Williams singled and Franklin cranked her home run over the center field fence.

“We were a little nervous,” Springfield senior first baseman Jessie Haskell said of the early deficit. “But we were behind against Hartford by five or six runs in both games and came back and won those.”

And the Cosmos did it again, this time with four runs in the fourth inning.

“Softball is all about execution and we executed in that inning,” Bladyka said.

Alexis Locke got a bunt down to get one run home. Farnsworth, Megan Courchesne and Kaylee Haskell ripped three consecutive hits. Haskell’s was an RBI double. Jenna Paul lofted a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Jen Stein.

When the inning was over, courtesy runner Emma Esty, Courchesne, Kaylee Haskell and Kristin Cook had all crossed the plate and the Cosmos were sitting atop a 4-2 lead.

They padded the lead to 5-2 in the sixth when Cook struck out, but got all the way to second when catcher Franklin couldn’t hold the third strike and fired the ball into right field. She moved to third on Paul’s single and was waved home by umpire Craig Pettis when he called an illegal pitch on freshman Camille Parker,

Parker came into the game in that inning with the bases loaded and no outs and did a nice job in relief of starter Becca Simpson.

The Vikings, a perennial power, were not done. Carys Potter slammed a one-out home run well over the fence in left in the seventh to narrow the score to 5-3.

Kelsey Croft drew a walk, bringing the tying run to the plate.

But this is where the Cosmos threw the leather at the Vikings. Center fielder Sarah Vredenburgh made a spectacular running catch in the right-center gap to take a hit away from pinch hitter Kari Franklin and Cook made a nice running grab in short left from her shortstop position off the bat of Hannah Ruede to end the game.

“I knew if I caught it that it was over,” Cook said.

“I knew we could do this way back in December when we were practicing at the Community Center. I knew then this was going to be a good season. I knew we would go far, but I didn’t know if it would be this far.”

The Cosmos were confident, but far from overconfident.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Farnsworth said. “I was so nervous because I didn’t know what Lyndon was bringing to the game.

“We hadn’t seen them in two years and the last time they killed us.”

Farnsworth swung the big bat for the Cosmos, going 3-for-3.

Simpson struck out two, did not walk anyone and relinquished nine hits before giving way to Parker.

Bladyka said giving the ball to Sanborn for the title game was not a hard decision.

“It was the only fair thing to do.” the coach said.

“She’s very emotional and very nervous,” Cook said of her pitcher. “But today she kept everything inside.”

And when Cook made the nice running grab for the game’s final out, nobody could blame her if she didn’t ever want to let go of the ball. It represented the Cosmos’ first state softball championship since 1986.

And back home, Bladyka had made plans to have the lights turned on at Bill Robinson Memorial Field so the fans and players would have a place to celebrate upon their return.

And as they tossed their gloves around Legion Field in celebration, Bladyka said, “Don’t lose your gloves. Most of you are coming back.”

The future of Springfield softball looks as bright as those lights at Robinson Memorial Field.