Wicked Earn Fairfield County Fast-Pitch Title

The Wicked, Newtown’s premier fast-pitch softball team, recently won the 12U Championship Tournament in the Fairfield County Fast Pitch Softball League’s top division. Wicked players combined strong offense, hitting .400 as a team throughout the tournament, and overpowering pitching to go undefeated in the three-day season-ending tourney. The Wicked pulled out a pair of one-run wins in the semifinals and finals. Here are the highlights:

Wicked 4, Stratford Seahawks 2: In the first game of the tournament, The Wicked jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead over the Stratford Seahawks behind consecutive singles by Maggie Kennedy, Jess Gibbons, and Morgan Macchiarulo. The lead was extended to 3-0 in the second inning when Alexa Powell walked, stole second, and scored on Danielle Shine’s single. Wicked pitcher Kennedy held a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning when the Seahawks loaded the bases with two outs. Reliever Macchiarulo came in and got the third out on a strikeout to preserve the lead. The Wicked added an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth on singles by Powell, Molly Goldstein, and Kennedy.

Wicked 15, Southbury Heat 0: Maggie Kennedy’s first career perfect game set the tone in this run-rule three-inning game. Jess Gibbons (3-for-3, homerun) and Monica Macchiarulo (3-for-3, double, triple) led the offense. Morgan Macchiarulo (2-for-2), Molly Goldstein (2-for-2), Natalie Galante, Alexa Powell, Danielle Shine and Kelly Brassard all contributed with hits on offense. Karlie Kuligowski’s strong defense at second base and Taylor Brady’s play at shortstop helped preserve the perfect game for Kennedy.

Wicked 11, Westport 3: Kennedy struck out seven and Abi Kuligowski played strong defense, making two running catches in left field to keep Westport off the scoreboard in the first four innings. Karlie Kuligowski’s strong play at second base squelched two potential Westport rallies late in the game to ensure The Wicked’s victory. Taylor Brady, Yaixsa Vargas, and Kelly Brassard led the offense.

Wicked 2, Redding Gold 1 (semifinals): The Wicked overcame a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. A walk to Danielle Shine followed by Yaixsa Vargas’s sacrifice bunt put a runner in scoring position. Maggie Kennedy followed with a 200-foot blast to left center field scoring Shine to tie the game. Kennedy scored the eventual game-winning run on the next play. The Wicked’s defense held strong as Redding threatened twice in the final two innings. Right fielder Vargas made a running one-handed catch on a line drive down the line bringing the crowd to its feet. Center fielder Alexa Powell made a nice catch of her own in center before firing a strike to cutoff Monica Macchiarulo, who then gunned down a Redding runner trying to advance to third base. 

Wicked 4, New Canaan Storm 3 (championship): In the championship game, nationally ranked New Canaan jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning before Maggie Kennedy prevented further damage with a crucial strikeout. The Wicked showed their mettle in the bottom half of the first as Kennedy led off with a walk and Jess Gibbons followed with a double to put runners on second and third. Morgan Macchiarulo then singled down the third-base line to drive in two runs and tie the game. Monica Macchiarulo and Natalie Galante followed with singles of their own and The Wicked led 3-2 after the first inning. The Wicked scored what would proved to be a necessary fourth run in the third inning when Galante led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Alexa Powell.

Molly Goldstein followed with a single to score Galante. Yaixsa Vargas took over pitching duties from Kennedy in the fifth inning and retired the side in order. In the sixth, New Canaan led off with a single and Vargas promptly hit the next two batters to load the bases with no outs.  Maggie Kennedy re-entered and served up a hard line drive sacrifice to left field. Kelly Brassard’s running one-handed catch was the difference between a Wicked one-run lead and a tie game. Kennedy then struck out the next two batters to maintain The Wicked’s one-run lead. In the final frame, second baseman Karlie Kuligowski made two defensive plays, one on a hard hit shot in the hole, and the Storm was retired in order to secure the championship.