Fairfield Warde Softball Marches On

To go where no other Mustangs' squad has ever gone in state tournament play, the Fairfield Warde softball team did not rely on one huge swing or one monumental play on Friday afternoon.

Instead, they turned to intangibles in all forms around the diamond.

Sellar pitching by ace Gina Treglia (four-hit shut out), savvy overall defense, and crucial small ball at the plate paved the way toward a 2-0 triumph over visiting Hand that pushed the Mustangs into the CIAC Class L semifinals for the first time in school history.

Next up for Warde is a semifinal showdown against top seed and undefeated Waterford on Monday or Tuesday.

"We were confident coming in to this game, and we have a lot of momentum right now," shorstop Stacey Dileo said. "We just want to keep going further."

Fresh off a gritty win over Sheehan, the Mustangs (18-5) relied on Treglia atop the mound early on to set the table for success. Wheeling and dealing, she allowed runners in three of the first four innings, but didn't break under pressure.

"I feel like this is the best I have pitched all season," Treglia said. "I knew it was a huge game, my teammates played great defense, and we got the job done. If we play 100 per cent, all the time, no one can beat us."

Treglia helped her own cause from the plate, mashing a sacrifice fly in the first inning to stake the host Mustangs to a a 1-0 score.

The visitors were not about to go quietly, though, producing runners in both the second and third innings, only to see Treglia work her way out of trouble with high heat on consecutive inning third-out strikeouts for the Mustangs.

In a pivotal sixth inning, Bianca Passaniti laced a hot shot to third base, raced to first, and arrived safely via a wild throw by Hand. The infield single scored another Mustang, pushing the lead to 2-0.

Nikki Schettino provided a web gem for Warde, spearing a hot shot at third base and gunning it to first just in the nick of time.

"I just wanted to make the play there, and it feels good to play good defense for Gina," she said. "We just want to keep a good thing going."

Hand threatened in the final stanza, notching a lead-off hit and another base runner by error.

Treglia buckled down though, tallying a strikeout prior to inducing a pop fly. With two outs, working the count from 2-0 to 2-1, to 2-2, the Mustangs ace nailed down the strikeout for the program's best win ever.

"That was superb pitching and great defense out there today," Warde coach Gary Quiricone said. "If we can sustain this type of play, anything is possible."