Holderness, n.h.
A pitcher’s duel in every sense until the bottom of the seventh inning, the top-seeded Lakers softball team finally tagged Derryfield ace Emily Moll for three hits and a run, walking off on sophomore Hannah Cooney’s first-pitch drive to left field for a 1-0 win on Saturday in the NHIAA Division IV final at Plymouth State University’s D&M Park.
It’s the ninth ball-sport team title by a girls team at Sunapee since 2013, eight of them including softball seniors Katie Frederick, Jessica Parsons and Faith Larpenter. (The ninth, a volleyball title in 2015, included the Laker softball team’s only other senior, Meggy Frederick)
After walking in Sunapee High’s graduation ceremony on Friday night, Sunapee’s seniors — and the rest of the team — needed extra effort to get past a deceptively seventh-seeded Cougar squad. Derryfield (14-6) had won 10 in a row and played Sunapee (19-0) to two of the Lakers’ three games decided by four runs or fewer during the regular season.
Moll and pitching counterpart Katie Frederick were extraordinarily efficient, combining to allow just five baserunners through six innings.
The 6-foot-3 Frederick struck out 17 batters with two hits and one walk allowed, while Moll fanned eight with no walks and six hits.
Both tossed 81 pitches, Frederick issuing 68 for strikes and Moll 61.
“It was an amazing game, and you have to give (Moll) a ton of credit because she pitched incredibly,” Sunapee coach Bonnie Cruz said after her team finished undefeated for the second straight year. “For us, it was all about just staying calm and knowing that eventually, we were going to get hits.”
The Lakers hit safely once each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but couldn’t get a runner past second base.
Seniors Larpenter and Parsons came through with singles to lead off the seventh. Larpenter advanced to second on the only error of the game, a bobble by Derryfield right fielder Victoria Imbriano, and reached third on Parsons’ strike to center.
Kalleigh Durkee bunted back to Moll, reaching on a fielder’s choice when the pitcher wisely elected to hold the ball.
Elizabeth Bennett flied to the shortstop to leave the bases loaded with one out for Cooney, who drove the first offering from Moll over the head of left fielder Katherine Speltz to score Larpenter for the win.
“(Cruz) actually wanted me to use a different bat this game, but I said, ‘No, I’ve got to use the one I’ve been using all year,’ ” said Cooney, who likely will be the Lakers’ No. 1 pitcher next season and played center field Saturday. “At the beginning of the year, I was struggling a little bit at the plate, but I’ve been better lately and I just really wanted to win this game so bad.”
After experiencing a few control issues by her own standards during Wednesday’s semifinal win over Moultonborough, Frederick was impeccable on Saturday.
Needing seven pitches to retire the side in order in the first inning, she went on to sit them down in 13 or fewer six times.
Derryfield got two runners on with two outs in the fourth, as Anna Welch drew a nine-pitch walk before Erika Wentz’ single up the middle.
Frederick recovered to retire Taylor Santosuosso — the walkoff hero in the Cougars’ 7-6 victory over Wilton-Lyndeborough in the semis — then reestablished dominance by striking out the side on 11 pitches in the fifth.
“I think we’ve played well under pressure all season,” said Katie Frederick, slated to play basketball at St. Lawrence University. “At this stage, we expect runners to get on base, we expect them to get in scoring position. I think when we got out of that (in the fourth), it gave us a boost.”
Sunapee — which averaged 21 runs per game during the regular season and 12 through two playoff games — went down in order during the first three innings, and Moll retired three straight batters after allowing the lead runner on in both the fourth and fifth.
Aside from her diminutive stature, Moll appeared downright Frederick-esque at times, particularly while retiring all three Frederick sisters (Ellie, Meggy and Katie) in order in the first and while needing just 10 pitches to strike out the side in the third.
“She had something extra today; I’m so proud of her,” Cougars coach Michelle Coombes said of the junior. “She kept them off balance and had her best game of the year on this stage.”
As Sunapee girls teams are wont to do, the Lakers uncovered the magic when needed in the bottom of the seventh. When Larpenter headed for second on the game’s first error with no outs, it felt inevitable she’d soon be crossing the plate.
“As soon as she got to second, I said, ‘I don’t know how she’s coming home, but she’s coming home,’ ” said Parsons. “I said, ‘This is it, we’ve got this now.’ ”
Extra Bases: Katie Frederick, Parsons and Larpenter won soccer titles in 2013 and ’16 and both basketball and softball basketball crowns in 2015, ’16 and ’17. … Coombes previously coached Derryfield for more than 20 seasons before leaving for the middle school program “to build it back up,” she said. This was her first year back with varsity following a four-year hiatus. … Twenty-six of Katie Frederick’s first 29 pitches went for strikes. … Wentz had both of Derryfield’s hits. … Durkee, a junior right fielder, allowed teammates to trim four inches of her blonde locks after the game to donate to the Wigs for Kids charity. It was just the third time in her life she’s had her hair cut, she said.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.