WATERFORD — The Guilford Little League majors (10-12) softball team already had a reason to be jittery prior to Saturday night’s state final as they were facing elimination.
And then Fairfield took the early lead.
And then Stephanie Raffone, the mother of Guilford head coach Andrea Klein, was hit in the stands by an errant throw as Guilford warmed up before the top of the sixth inning.
Guilford refused to wilt, though, and Leah Michalowski blooped a two-run single to center field to give her a team a 4-3, walk-off win at Rotary Field at the Gardiners Wood Complex.
“It was very high,” Michalowski said about the nerves. “Oh, my gosh, it was so bad, but we fought through it.”
The teams will play again Sunday for the championship game at 7 at the same site.
“One of the reasons we lost to Fairfield earlier in the week is we lacked the mental toughness,” Klein said, referencing Guilford’s 5-2 loss in round robin play on July 9.
“We let errors (allow Fairfield to) capitalize and capitalize and snowball. We talked about that and how (they) needed to lift each other up and come back fighting instead of giving up and making it worse. …. They struck together and lifted each other up.”
Michalowski had three RBIs and got the win after pitching the top of the seventh.
Guilford starter Maeve Eagleson allowed five hits with eight strikeouts over six innings. Fairfield forced her to battle her way through six because it repeatedly fouled off pitches to extend at bats.
“Honestly, I thought we should have worked her even more,” Fairfield head coach Ellen Kiernan said. “We still watched a few pitches that we shouldn’t have watched.
“We need to be attacking every single strike.”
Olivia Mahon singled and scored twice for Guilford and Eagleson singled and scored.
Fairfield starter Morgan Kiernan gave up just three hits in six innings and struck out five.
Both starting pitchers exited after six because they wouldn’t have been able to throw on Sunday had they gone seven innings.
Maddy Kelly had an RBI single and scored for Fairfield and Brianna Lavanda hit an RBI triple. Also, Sierra Stephens had a single and a run and Vanessa Ritchie scored.
Teams start extra innings with a runner on second base, so Abby Volpe was on base with Guilford trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh.
Mahon and Eagleson both walked to load the bases with no outs, setting up Michalowski to win the game.
“(The pitch) was at my feet,” Michalowski said. “I don’t know why I swung but I did.”
The game was tied at 2 headed into the sixth inning and delayed well over 20 minutes while emergency responders tended to Raffone.
“It was really scary,” Klein said. “All the kids were pretty shook up by it. I was shook up by it. My mom’s a warrior — she got checked out and stayed. They let her stay but she’s on her way to the ER now.
“It really motivated (the players). … They were saying, ‘We’re going to win this for Mimi.’ That’s what they call her.”
Fairfield had the go-ahead run at second base with no outs in the sixth but Eagleson retired the next three batters, twice on strikeouts.
Kelly scored on Ritchie’s fielder’s choice with one out in the top of the seventh to put Fairfield ahead 3-2.
Fairfield trailed in the fifth but Lavanda’s one-out triple scored Ritchie to tie the game at 2.
Kelley singled with two outs in the top of the first to score Stephens.
Mahon singled to lead off the Guilford half of that inning and moved to third on Eagleson’s single and an error.
Mahon scored on Michalowski’s sacrifice fly to tie the game while Eagleson took third after stealing second during Michalowski’s at bat.
Kali Reinhold walked to put runner’s at the corners. As Reagan Klein came to the plate stepped to the plate, Guilford executed a double steal with Eagleson scoring to give her team a 2-1 edge.
Player of the Game
Leah Michalowski, Guilford: She had a walk-off two-run single, a sacrifice fly and pitched an inning in relief for the win.
Guilford 4, Fairfield 3 (7 innings)
3B—Brianna Lavanda (F), Maeve McGowan (G)