PLYMOUTH — No. 1 Coe-Brown will head to the Division II state softball championship game behind its 4-3 win over No. 5 Kingswood on Wednesday at Chase Field.
The Bears looked the part of the top seed in the early goings of the game. They didn’t allow a hit in the first three innings as pitcher Madison Decota tossed five strikeouts across the trio of frames. Offensively, the Bears’ second through fourth batters all collected hits, highlighted by Lily Veneroni’s two-RBI triple that gave them an early 2-0 lead.
Courtney Thomas added Coe-Brown’s third run on an RBI single when she hit the ball into shallow left field before the bottom of the first ended. The Bears scored their final run in the second inning behind an RBI double from Haile Comeau.
Kingswood (14-5) made a serious comeback attempt, and it started in the top of the fifth. Rheegan Boggs-Swift hit the ball deep into right field for an RBI triple; two batters later, Emilia Galimberti had an RBI single as the Knights cut into the Bears’ lead and made it 4-2.
The Knights’ offensive surge continued into the top of the sixth when Morgyn Stevens reached second on an error and Sara Hyde hit an RBI single for their third run. The Bears’ defense ended the potential comeback, however, on a routine pop-fly to end the sixth when Kingswood had runners on first and third.
In the top of the seventh, Decota struck out the first two batters and got the final out on a ground ball to third base.
The Bears (17-1) will play No. 3 John Stark (16-2) in Saturday’s championship game back at Plymouth State. The Generals were the only team to beat Coe-Brown this season, in a 4-3 final on May 24. This is the Bears’ first title game appearance since 2018, when they lost, 9-4, to John Stark.
Coe-Brown is seeking its first championship win since 2015, when it beat Goffstown, 10-1. Saturday’s championship game is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.