MERIDEN – Holy Cross senior cleanup hitter Juliana McClary was “just hoping to put the ball in play,” when she led off the bottom of the sixth inning with her team trailing by a run in the Class M semifinals Monday.
The No. 9 Crusaders had yet to manage a hit against St. Paul pitcher Lauren Kozlak. They loaded the bases in the previous inning via a hit batter, error and a fielder’s choice, but couldn’t get the hit.
Then McClary lined a single to short right field in the sixth, and all of a sudden the script was flipped.
“Her hit brought our energy up,” Holy Cross pitcher Sam Lawton said. “We all knew that we had to get a rally going.”
Following the single, Haley DiBona reached base on a fielder’s choice and Lawton tied the game with an RBI double, chasing Kozlak. Breyona Demora was unable to stem the tide, and DiBona came around to score the go-ahead run on a passed ball. Mari Berardis added an insurance run with an RBI single as Holy Cross rallied past No. 12 St. Paul, 3-1, at Dunn Sports Complex.
“I was just looking for a base hit and to move our runners and turn it into more,” Lawton said. “This shows we are a really strong team, and we can piece together (hits) when we really need it.”
Holy Cross will face No. 2 seed Coventry at UConn on Saturday in the championship game.
