WORCESTER – Ahead of Saturday’s Div. 2 softball state final, Silver Lake head coach Tony Pina was quoted suggesting that for as much as his group needed to beat Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year Alyx Rossi, third-seeded Bedford needed to beat ace Delaney Moquin – and his money was on Moquin.
With a two-run home run in the first inning and a sensational gem from the circle, Moquin (complete-game shutout, four hits, three walks, 12 strikeouts) showed why, anchoring the No. 1 Lakers to a 4-0 win at Worcester State in an all-time pitchers’ duel for their first state title.
She and Rossi (six innings, four hits, two intentional walks, three earned runs, 14 strikeouts) were untouchable over long stretches. But Silver Lake, which plated two more runs in the sixth with the help of some errors, proved to have the winning formula in an emotional win.
“To have kids just commit themselves the way Silver Lake kids do, and the way this team does,” Pina said. “They’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid all season. They have just been believing in themselves and believing in each other. And to see that recipe pay off in the end – I could not not be more proud of our group of players. … They love each other. And they play for each other.”
“It definitely hasn’t set in yet,” Moquin added. “The whole game, I had a stomach ache, but afterward, it just was a relief. … Just to be able to do it with this group of girls is really special.”
Per historian Mike Richard, Moquin and Rossi joined an exclusive list of 33 pitchers to record at least 10 strikeouts in an MIAA softball state final. Rossi’s 14 tied for the seventh most, while Moquin’s 12 tied for 17th to deliver in a way Pina believed she could all along.
The most damage Bedford could inflict came when Becca Sobol doubled to lead off the third, when two sacrifice bunts put Kate Patterson on third base in the fourth, and when two-out singles from Alice Cooprider and Audrye Dumlao put two on in the seventh.
The Fairfield-bound star got out of each jam to preserve the shutout, though. She had five innings with multiple strikeouts and twice retired seven straight batters.
A ground ball back to her was the final out of the game.
“(Moquin’s) preparation and mental focus is on a par with the very best players that I’ve ever seen,” Pina said. “She’s not just hungry for this, she’s been starving for this for years. … Delaney never disappoints. When the team needs her the most, she is at her best.”
It was the perfect counter to Rossi, who didn’t allow a hit between the first and sixth innings, and struck out the side twice.
“(The pitchers’ duel was) definitely crazy,” Moquin said. “It just showed how hard both of us worked, and how hard both of us work all season. It’s hard just to get to this game, so it’s props to her, too. She put up a good fight.”
Scoring early was something Silver Lake knew it needed to set the tone and take pressure off Moquin.
Anna Craft (two runs) belted a two-out single up the middle in the first to give Moquin (1-for-1, two intentional walks) an early chance at the plate. She hammered the first pitch over the left field wall.
“I just went in there and was like, ‘First pitch I see, if it’s good, I’m swinging,’ ” she said.
Pitchers dazzled for much of the next five innings. But with Moquin needing just three more outs, the Lakers gave her insurance in the sixth.
Megan Arseneau led off with a stand-up double to left. Craft’s ground-ball to shortstop was fumbled to put runners on the corners, and Bedford elected to walk Moquin.
Mady Bryan’s hard contact went off a back-handed stab to plate two, giving Silver Lake a 4-0 advantage.
“We knew coming in for both teams that balls put in play were going to be at a premium,” Pina said. “We needed to make sure we put pressure on (Rossi).”
