COMETS DOWN MT. ANTHONY, HEAD TO ESSEX
By Ruthie Laroche
For the County Courier
The number four seeded BFA St.Albans Comets hosted fifth-seeded Mount Anthony on Friday evening, earning an 11-5 win over the visiting team.
Meghan Connor, whose powerful bat has sent many softballs soaring this season, hit two homers and drove in three runs. Caitlyn Dasaro also had a homer and three RBIs for the Comets.
“Meghan and Caitlyn have been hitting home runs all year, and those back-to-back home runs gave us a little charge today,” said Comet head coach Richard Berthiaume. “It changes the whole momentum when you hit that ball to the fence.”
May Gratton, who has been a force for BFA on the mound and at the plate, earned the win and logged two hits.
Early in the game, Comet batters struggled to put the ball in play.
“We haven’t faced quality pitching since we faced Essex three weeks ago,” Berthiaume noted, “so it took us a while to adjust to the speed and ability of Mt. Anthony’s pitcher.”
That experience of hitting with a good pitcher may help the Comets, who will take on Essex today in the semifinal round.
It was Mount Anthony who struck first in Friday’s contest- in the first inning, Mount Anthony’s leadoff batter reached base and after two more hits they drove in their first run.
Berthiaume noted Mount Anthony’s leadoff batter went 3 for 3 until her last at-bat in the seventh inning. “She’s one of the best players in the state of Vermont,” said Berthiaume.
Mount Anthony’s final runs of the game came mid-game when the shortstop hit a two-run home run.
BFA’s back-to-back homers by Connor and Dasaro came shortly after.
“The fact that we fell behind and kept battling against a great team like that was awesome,” said Berthiaume of his team.
Mount Anthony may have been the fifth seed this year, but historically, they are a team that must be handled carefully.
“Mt. Anthony has appeared in the last five state championships. They’ve knocked us out two or three times in the last five years. They have a great program,” explained Berthiaume. “To get this win today was special.”
The Comets face Essex on the road this afternoon, game time is 4:30. The Hornets, first seed in Division I, with a 14-1 record will be looking to earn their spot in the DI State Tournament this weekend.
“Essex is another great team. They beat us 10-5 early this year. They are a great hitting team, and they have a couple of really great pitchers,” said Berthiaume, “but if we play like we did today, we have a shot.”
If the Thunderbirds defeat Lyndon and the Comets defeat Essex, we would see the two rival Franklin County teams match up for the D-I State Title, scheduled either Friday or Saturday at Caselton State College.
