WINDSOR LOCKS — Ellington senior pitcher Camryn Fisher has struck out well over 300 batters this season and more than 1,000 in her career, but she used a different weapon to tally one of her 13 in Thursday night’s North Central Connecticut Conference tournament final against Coventry.
Fisher unleashed a nasty changeup against counterpart Meghan Doherty to pick up her 12th strikeout of the game. When Fisher recorded her 13th and final punchout, Ellington celebrated a 5-0 win over Coventry and its third straight NCCC tournament title. Each of the three wins has been against the Patriots.
“I don’t think I’ve thrown it too much. I think I threw it once in the beginning of the season and they got a hit off it,” Fisher said afterward. “Today I was feeling it, and I told the catcher (sophomore Madi Havener) I wanted to throw it, so it was good.”
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Fisher wasn’t at her best, but still managed to toss a three-hitter against a Coventry lineup that put up some strong at bats against her. At the plate, Ellington helped its ace out with some timely two-out hitting. Freshman Taylor Havener smacked an RBI double down the left field line in the top of the third inning to break the scoreless tie. Taylor Havener had been struggling at the plate of late, so the hit was big.
“For the Coventry game, I put down a bunt to start, but that hit felt really good for me,” Taylor Havener said. “Right after my hit, everybody just started piling on runs and runs, and it felt really good for our team.”
In the fourth inning, sophomore Emmalyn Thorpe singled to plate two runs for a 3-0 Ellington lead. Fellow sophomore Tyla Gambacorta cracked a solo inside-the-park home run — the fence is 286 feet from home plate all the way around at the Veterans Memorial Park softball diamond — for a 4-0 advantage. In the seventh, senior Mickyla Wong had a one-out bloop single before Fisher doubled off the glove off a diving Aliza Sobol in left field to plate her for a 5-0 lead.
“I think that was the biggest thing that I was worried about was the hitting,” Fisher said, “because I know we’ve got it in the field, but hitting was the biggest thing, especially when you face better pitchers.”
Doherty, a sophomore right-hander, struck out five, walked five and hit a batter in seven innings of work. Fellow sophomore Emma Vertucci has two singles and two stolen bases to lead the Patriot offense.
Ellington beat Canton in the semifinal round earlier in the day while Coventry took down Granby. That set up a third straight final between the Knights and Patriots.
“It feels really good, especially being a freshman this year,” Taylor Havener said. “I feel really good to be a part of this team, and I’m really glad to see where we can go.”
“It just shows that no matter what team we have, we can do it,” Fisher said.
Batteries: E — Cam Fisher (W) and Madi Havener. C — Meghan Doherty (L) and Brooke Blouin. Highlights: E — Fisher tossed a three-hitter and struck out 13 without issuing a walk. At the plate, Fisher doubled home a run, as did Taylor Havener. Tyla Gambacorta tallied a solo inside-the-park home run and scored twice while Emmalyn Thorpe singled, walked, scored a run and drove in two more. C — The sophomore Doherty gave up seven hits, struck out five, walked five and hit a batter in a complete-game effort. Emma Vertucci singled twice and stole two bases.Records: E (19-3); C (15-7).