Davies' Extra-Inning Double Leads Cougars to Victory

The Chatham softball team needed a clutch two-out double from second baseman Kelsey Davies in extra innings to defeat the Morris Catholic Crusaders 3-1 Friday in Denville, clinching the NJAC Independence Division championship for the Cougars.

"I just had a deep breath, and told myself I could do it, and I just let my mechanics take over," said Davies.

Earlier in the inning, an error on Morris Catholic third baseman Liz McCormick allowed Caroline Murphy to reach base with one out. Catcher Cara Delsandro, who is playing for injured star catcher Alex St. Romain, produced a single after a long battle with the pitcher.

After a strikeout, Davies stepped up to the plate, and after falling behind in the count, she fouled a pitch just down the right field line, landing only a foot or so foul.

On the next pitch, Davies crushed a fastball deep into the left centerfield gap to drive home Delsandro and Murphy for the eventual game-winning runs.  

"She made good contact the time before, and had struggled the first two times at bat," Head Coach Alexis Davies said. "She battled into a good count where she knew she was going to get a strike, and I think she just swung hard. It was a big hit."

Chatham pitcher Amanda Fazio accomplished a rare feat in Friday's victory by completing a no-hitter but allowing an unearned run.

"I warmed her up one inning and I couldn't catch her fastball, it was moving so much," said Alexis Davies, who called for the pitcher to throw mostly fastballs to the Crusader batters.  

Earlier in the game, Fazio sported some electric offspeed pitches to freeze batters.

"In the beginnings we were mixing a lot of stuff up," said Fazio. 

She struck out 13 batters while walking just one in her dominance of Morris Catholic. She came to within an out of a no-hit shutout before a wild pitch allowed the Crusaders to score their lone run in the bottom of the seventh.

The Cougars would get their only other run in the top of the fourth inning. Jenna Ioffredo would single to right field, moving Delsandro, who reached on a single of her own, to third base. An errant throw to third base trying to cut Delsandro off the bases allowed her to score the game's first run.                  

The Cougars move on to play Morristown on Saturday.