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Seniors
Woodstock Academy coach Jay Gerum (middle) is surrounded by his four seniors, from left: Marissa Mayhew, Meg Preston, Amanda Bond and Mackenzie Leveille Photo by Sean Saucier.
Woodstock Academy freshman Sarah McArthur stepped up the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning against Killingly May 8 with the score tied and the bases loaded.
“Honestly, it was kind of terrifying. I had grounded out all game. I could not get to the middle of the ball,” McArthur said. She did get a little more of a Lexi Faucher pitch in this trip to the plate and popped it up, just over third base.
“I thought it was foul. I stopped halfway down the base path, kind of mad at myself that I didn’t wait a little longer,” McArthur said.
The ball was not caught and was not foul, falling just inside the chalk down the third base line which allowed Madison Martinez to scoot home from third base with the game-winning run in the 5-4, extra-inning victory for the Centaurs.
The Centaurs (10-3) raised their record to 9-1 in the ECC Division 2, still tied with Griswold for the top spot.
“We’re tied for the lead and we want a division title even if it’s just a co-championship. I don’t think we’ve had one in decades and decades. We have a good enough team to have one. If we were in Division 2 in a normal ECC, it would be us and Griswold for the Division 2 title so to win this would be legit,” said Woodstock Academy coach Jay Gerum.
The Centaurs jumped out on top early. McArthur reached on an error in the bottom of the first inning, stole second, took third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Meg Preston. Mackenzie Leveille followed with a single and Lexi Thompson plated pinch runner Alyssa Thompson with a double.
Lexi Thompson later singled but didn’t get any other chances to hit as she was intentionally walked three times by Killingly.
“I don’t think you have any idea of how upset I was but (Killingly coach Lance LeDuc) said it was out of respect so I understand,” Thompson said.
She had best get used to it as she came into the game with a .556 batting average.
“She will probably set the school record for most intentional walks if it keeps happening because she’s only a sophomore. It’s respect. (LeDuc) knows she is great and knows the game could be over in a second when she swings the bat and when you have a base open, I would do the same thing,” Gerum said.
Lexi Thompson scored the third run of the first inning on a single by Amanda Bond.
The Centaurs made it 4-0 when Marissa Mayhew singled, McArthur reached on an error again and Preston doubled in Mayhew.
But the Centaurs struggled getting more runs in as they stranded 11 runners on base. They also committed three errors in the sixth inning which allowed two Killingly runs to score.
Killingly (8-3, 6-3) tied the game in the seventh on a run-scoring double by Faucher and a bunt fielder’s choice by Jasmine Wrenn which set the stage for McArthur’s heroics.
Prior to the game, the Centaurs honored their four seniors, Leveille, Preston, Mayhew and Bond, on Senior Day,
It was the second game in two days between the two teams.
The Centaurs downed Killingly, 3-1, May 7.
Lexi Thompson threw a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts to lead the way for the Centaurs.
Lexi Thompson and Delaney Anderson singled to open the second inning and Lexi Thompson came home on Bond’s ninth RBI of the season.
McArthur singled to lead off the third inning and came home on a Leveille double.
Leveille was later thrown out at the plate but Lexi Thompson, who also doubled, scored on a passed ball to account for the Centaurs runs.
The win followed a tough 7-6, loss to Griswold May 6. Woodstock had opened a 6-3 lead in the fifth inning when Leveille hit her fourth homer over the left field fence and Martinez followed up with an RBI single.
But things went awry when Griswold scored three runs in the sixth inning on a bunt that was enhanced by a pair of errors to tie the game. The Wolverines won it and tied Woodstock Academy for first in ECC Division 2 when Mandy Brehler singled home Lucia Ceccarelli, who had doubled, in the top of the seventh.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy