PLYMOUTH — Sarah Taylor had only three things on her mind when she stepped into the circle at the top of the seventh inning: Three outs.
Taylor has played the role of relief for Concord High softball in its last two playoff games, and both times she’s been successful. But her performance against Londonderry in the Crimson Tide’s 4-2 win on Wednesday in the Division I semifinals was perfect.
Literally.
The Lancers were in a bit of a resurgence against the Tide. They scored a run in the sixth to cut into Concord’s three-run lead and could’ve scored more since a runner stood on second at the final out. Concord had no response in their half of the sixth, striking out twice before pinch hitter Kryslin Stearns hit a line-drive single followed by the third out.
Any momentum Londonderry had going into the seventh was coolly calmed by Taylor. She threw four pitches against her first batter before a ground ball hit to second led to the easy throw out at first. Another four pitches against the second batter ended with a line out at second base.
A drama-less strikeout on the third batter and the celebration began, with a share of hugs, high-fives and fist bumps as Taylor stood in the eye of the storm.
“I took my time, slowed it down mentally and just focused on one pitch after another,” she said. “I know I’m not going to be as sharp as I usually am after a good clean warmup, but I have to do my job.”
In a defensive-centric game, Concord built its lead in the first inning and never looked back. It faced a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the first after Olivia Cutuli hit a home run over the right-field fence for Londonderry, but it wasted no time.
Concord sophomore leadoff hitter Delaney Duford hit the ball into shallow center field for a single, and freshman Andie Moreira earned a single after an infield hit. In the No. 3 hole, Taylor hit a shot into the outfield for an RBI single and, three batters later, Grace MacDonald hit an RBI single as the Tide took the lead, 2-1.
Concord’s last two runs came when junior Kennedy Craigue two-RBI double gave it the lead it never lost.
“(Hitting is) contagious on this team, it really is,” Concord coach Duke Sawyer said.
While contagious in the first, it wasn’t sustainable throughout as the Tide only collected four more hits throughout the game. But it didn’t matter. They had the lead and the defense was sharp once again, with several impressive behind-the-plate pop-fly catches from Duford and another stellar stat line from starting pitcher Maddy Wachter (6 IP, 2ER, 4H, 2BB and 11K).
No. 2 Concord (19-1) returns to the state championship game with a two-fold opportunity to settle the past, both recent and distant. It’ll play No. 1 Exeter, which previously beat the Tide, 4-3, in the regular-season finale on a walk-off grand slam, in Saturday’s championship game. From a distant past, all season long the Tide’s goal was to return to the state championship after a disappointing 5-1 loss to Salem in last year’s game.
Saturday’s championship game is back at PSU, with a 7 p.m. start.
They’ve completed the mission in getting there. Now part two comes to play in winning the game.