Back row (l-r): Sam Troetti , Hannah Molin, Gillian Birk, Shannon McCartney, Gillian Dinan, Nicola Schenck
Middle row (l-r): Coach Rob Sciglimpaglia, Trish Bastek, Lily Tofel, Molly Keshin, Brittany Romero, Rachel Keshin, Haley Komorowski, Head Coach Sara Holland
Front row (l-r): Sami Ruess, Katie Sciglimpaglia
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January is not usually a relevant month as far as girls’ softball is concerned. Even so, the weekend of the 11th and 12th was a big one for the Westport-based Xtreme Chaos 14u fastpitch team at Queensbury, NY's Adirondack Sports Dome, just outside of Lake George.
Behind stellar pitching, timely hitting and solid defensive play the Chaos - coached by Staples High School’s Varsity coach Sara Holland - went undefeated in both pool and bracket play as they captured the 14u Winter Blast Tournament championship.
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Game 1, Pool Play: Xtreme Chaos 5, CT Comets 4 (5 Innings)
Chaos Pitching: Westport’s Gillian Birk (Win), 4 Innings: 4 Ks, 3 Hits, 1 BB, 0 Runs & Fairfield’s Brittany Romero (5): 2 Ks, 1 BB, 2 Hits, 0 Earned Runs with Catcher Sam Troetti (Norwalk).
Fairfield’s Shannon McCartney's 2-RBI Double started the scoring in the second inning, with Birk and Molly Keshin (New Canaan) scoring after their lead-off back-to-back singles. Katie Sciglimpaglia's (Norwalk) 5th inning RBI single followed a single by Rachel Keshin (New Canaan), a sacrifice bunt by Sami Ruess (Norwalk), and a Romero double for a 5-0 lead. The Comets fought back with 4 unearned runs in the final innings, but Romero was able to shut the door with the tying run on base in the Chaos’ 5-4 victory over their Hartford-area rivals.
Game 2, Pool Play: Xtreme Chaos 1, Nightmare Gold 0 (5 Innings)
Chaos Pitching: Romero (Win), 5 Innings: 9 Ks, 0 Hits, 0 BBs, 0 Runs with [C] Troetti.
McCartney (2 for 2, HBP) scored the games’ only run on a screaming RBI double by Seymour's Trish Bastek. Gillian Birk stayed hot with a 2-RBI single in the top of the 6th ... runs that came off the board due to the "Drop Dead" time limit rule in the 75-minute Saturday pool play games. Rachel Keshin singled, walked, added a sacrifice bunt, scored a run and made the defensive play of the day with a running-then-sliding catch on the right field line which kept the no-hitter going.
Game 3, Pool Play: Xtreme Chaos 16, Miss Shen Impact 5 (4 Innings)
Chaos Pitching: New Canaan’s Gillian Dinan (W) & Trumbull’s Haley Komorowski (3) with [C] Sciglimpaglia.
Molly Keshin led the attack for the Chaos with a Home Run, Double, Single, and 4 RBIs in three plate appearances. Lead-off batter and twin sister Rachel added two singles and two runs. Westport's Lily Tofel scored three runs on two hits. Sciglimpaglia and Birk both doubled with 3 RBIs and 2 Runs scored, while Troetti smoked a single and a ground-rule double at the plate. Seymour's Hannah Molin and the Dinan/ Komorowski pitching duo all singled and scored against the Albany-based Impact.
Game 4, Elimination Bracket Quarter-Final: (#3 Seed) Xtreme Chaos 5, (#6 Seed) CT Titans Green 0 (5 Innings)
Chaos Pitching: Birk (Win), 5 innings: 8 Ks, 3 hits, 3 BBs, & 0 Runs with [C] Sciglimpaglia.
Scigligpaglia (3/3) led the Chaos attack with a double, two singles, and two RBIs as Sunday’s single-elimination play began. Romero chipped in with a double and three runs scored. Molly Keshin had two hits while Rachel Keshin and Sami Ruess both singled. Despite back-to-back doubles and a walk in the third, the Titans of Terryville could not score against the dominating weekend pitching performance from Gillian Birk.
Game 5, Elimination Bracket Semi-Final: Xtreme Chaos 7, Nightmare Gold 3 (5 Innings)
Chaos Pitching: Romero (Win), 5 Innings: 3 Ks, 6 Hits, 3 BBs, 2 Earned Runs with [C] Sciglimpaglia.
In a rematch from Saturday’s pool play, the Nightmare broke out to a quick 2-0 in the top of the first inning with a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and three singles. However, their three additional hits - all doubles - and one run over the final four innings were not enough to keep up with the hot Chaos bats.
Birk & McCartney (both 2/2+BB) reached base all six times in the 4-5 slots to help maintain first and third inning rallies that produced 6 of the 7 runs for the Chaos. Molly Keshin’s 3-Run home run in the bottom of the first made the score 4-2, which was all the Chaos would need. Romero’s fourth inning lead-off Home Run took the life out of the Impact as the Chaos lead was extended to 7-3, which held up. The weekend Norwalk catching tandem, Sciglimpaglia & Troetti, each crushed ground-rule doubles in the game which saw the Chaos outhit the Impact 8-6.
Game 6, Elimination Bracket Championship Game: Xtreme Chaos 8, Lady Royals 0 (5 Innings)
Chaos Pitching: Birk (Win, 3-0), 5 Innings: 8 Ks, 3 Hits, 1 BB, and 0 Runs allowed with [C] Troetti.
The Championship Game featured the #1 seeded Lady Royals, who won the early December 14U Dome tournament, and the #3 seeded Chaos. Both teams were 5-0 in the tournament. The Lady Royals entered the game unblemished, with an 11-0 record at the Queensbury Dome this winter.
The Chaos batted first and made efficient use of lead-off singles by Romero and Rachel Keshin, scoring on a delayed steal of home and an RBI-groundout by Birk. The Lady Royals #3 hitter Andrea Debboli blasted a change-up for a Ground-Rule double, but Chaos Ace Gillian Birk struck out the side and stranded the runner. After 1 inning it was Chaos 2, Lady Royals 0.
In the top of the third, Birk continued to help her cause with the bat, smoking a 2-RBI single to left. Back in the circle, Birk struck out her 5th & 6th Lady Royals in the bottom of the frame. After 3 innings, the Chaos led 4-0.
In the top of the fifth, the Chaos attack plated four runs to put the game out of reach. Troetti started things off with a single followed by back-to-back RBI triples to right from Romero and Rachel Keshin. With two outs, McCartney reached on an error and Molly Keshin doubled to score the 7th and 8th runs for the Chaos.
While the Lady Royals produced their third hit in the 5th, Birk’s 8th K of the game and 20th of the weekend closed the door and the Xtreme Chaos ‘99s earned a very happy 200-mile trip home after an 8-0 championship win.
