State Champions! 12U Girls Softball

From Windham Baseball and Softball:

Windham’s 12U softball All Stars captured a State title with an exciting weekend of softball in Litchfield, NH.  The girls qualified for the State Tournament by capturing the District Championship during games played at Timberlane High School in Plaistow the weekend of July 14.   

The girl’s title run started with their only loss of the weekend. They fell to Litchfield 3-0 Friday night in a tightly contested game. Litchfield’s pitching held Windham to just 4 hits and Windham made 2 outs at home plate while trying to come from behind. Anna Desjardin pitched well in the defeat throwing 6 innings and striking out 3. 

Game 2 was Saturday afternoon vs Pelham and Windham’s first win 11-1.  Megan Rogers took the mound where she got 7 of the 12 outs via the strikeout.  The game only went 4 winnings due to the 10 run mercy rule. Alex Raymond, Brianna Langlois, Jenna Williamson, and Nico Lafond all collected 2 hits and scored 2 runs. Alexis Cole was on base twice with a single and a walk and scored a run and Cassie Apkarian had a hit while playing strong defense behind the plate.

Game 3 was played late Saturday vs Nashua and it was another 4 inning mercy rule win for the girls, 14-2. Alex threw 4 efficient innings for the win and did not allow an earned run. Morgan McGinnis had 2 hits and 2 rbi while Jenna had 2 hits and 3 RBI to pace the offense. Ally Mullen added 2 hits and 2 runs and was a defensive standout at first base. The win qualified the team for the final 4 on Sunday where they would participate in a single elimination competition.

Windham drew Londonderry in the first semifinal game Sunday and got off to a quick start scoring 3 runs in the top of the 1^st inning. Londonderry got 1 back in the 2^nd. Windham took a 6-1 lead in the 3^rd but Londonderry answered quickly with 4 runs in the bottom of the 3^rd to make it 6-5. Windham extended it to 7-5 in the 4^th and Londonderry got it back to a 1 run game 7-6 after 5. With 2 out in the top of the 6^th and Sam Mague aboard via a walk Katie O’Connor drove a triple in to right center field to make it 8-6 and Courtney Costa followed with an RBI double to the same spot to give Windham the insurance it needed.  Alex, Brianna, and Anna had strong games at the plate and they all scored 2 runs in the game.  Windham’s defense made great plays all game getting 16 of the 18 outs from the defense. Anna pitched 6 innings to earn the victory on the mound.  The 9-6 victory propelled Windham to the state title game Sunday afternoon.

Windham faced Monadnock in the championship game and for the first time since Friday night Windham trailed in a game. Monadnock got off to a 5-0 lead with the help of walks and an error. The girls showed their resiliency by scoring 4 of their own in the bottom of the 1^st to make it a 5-4 game.  Anna and Nico collected RBI’s with hits to scored Alex, Brianna, Jenna, and Anna. Megan settled down on the mound and held Monadnock scoreless in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings and Windham tied it in the bottom of the 3^rd when Anna doubled, stole 3^rd, and scored on an error. Anna came on to pitch in the 4^th and after a perfect 4^th inning was touched for 1 run to give Monadnock a 6-5 lead. In the bottom of the 5^th with 2 outs Jenna drove a hard single in to center field to set up the most exciting play of the weekend. Anna hit the first pitch she saw deep over the left fielder’s head and circled the bases behind Jenna for a 2 run homerun which gave Windham a 7-6 lead that they protected in the bottom of the 6^th.  Anna finished the game 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. The win earned the girls the State Championship and a trip to Stamford, CT to participate in the Babe Ruth 12U Regionals tournament where they’ll have a chance to secure a spot in the Babe Ruth World Series held in Florida in August. After the game Manager Tom Langlois said “I could not be more proud of a group of athletes. They have all worked so hard and they’ve all improved over the last 2 months. Many of these girls have been part of WBSL for 5+ years and many have played tournament softball together for the last three or four years.  It was gratifying to see them win Districts and States together. The coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of the team and we’re looking forward to a fun weekend at Regionals!”