Somers falls in Class S softball final

Jun. 12—WEST HAVEN — The Somers High softball team stepped onto Frank Biondi Field at West Haven High eager to defend its Class S title.

But the Spartans ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Coginchaug senior Amalia DeMartino.

Behind a five-hit, three RBI performance from DeMartino, the fourth-seeded Blue Devils earned a 14-2 win over the second-seeded Spartans in the Class S championship game here Saturday afternoon.

Somers finishes the season 21-3. It was playing in its second-straight Class S title game — the 2020 season was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Spartans beat Coginchaug 3-2 in 2019 to claim its first state championship.

"They wanted to have fun, and I'm so proud of them," Somers coach Melanie Zamorski said. "They did not stop. They were happy to be here and they gave it everything. Sometimes it flips it our way, and today it just didn't, and that's okay."

Following two scoreless innings, Coginchaug (20-3) got on the board when DeMartino hit a solo homer over the center field fence. But the Spartans weren't down for long. Gabby Tullock drove-in courtesy runner Lauren Zapolski in the bottom of the inning to tie it.

The Blue Devils broke the game open in the top of the fourth. Freshman Alayna Mariani broke the tie with a three-run double down the right field line. That kicked-off a seven-run inning that saw eleven Blue Devils come to the plate. DeMartino, Dana Boothroyd and Jackie Kelly had RBI hits while Kelly Boothroyd had sacrifice fly to bring a run in during the inning.

Somers got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Grace Majowicz hit a double to the center field wall to score Megan Lafayette.

But the Blue Devils picked up right where it left off in the top of the fifth. Coginchaug scored four runs in the inning thanks to RBI hits from Mariani, Ava Marenna, DeMartino and Kelly Boothroyd. The Blue Devils completed the scoring thanks to a two-run single from Dana Boothroyd in the top of the seventh.

DeMartino, who was named the tournament MVP, finished 5-for-5, including a double, and scored four runs. Mariani went 2-for-4 with four RBIs while Dana Boothroyd was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Kelly Boothroyd was the winning pitcher, finishing with nine strikeouts in seven innings.

Tullock, Majowicz, Emily Reynolds and Kiana Kalman all had two hits for the Spartans. Tullock added an RBI and a stolen base. Reynolds went the distance in a losing effort in the circle.

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