BETHEL — There were two runners in scoring position and no outs. But those were just minor details as far as pitcher Jessie Dirago was concerned.
Her only focus in the second inning Wednesday was to throw strikes. Monmouth was threatening in a scoreless game, but Dirago would have none of that.
“I’ve always got to focus and think one pitch at a time,” said the Telstar junior. “I didn’t even try to think about anybody on base. I took a breath and threw the next pitch.”
She struck out the side and helped her Rebels escape that inning. Then Telstar broke the stalemate in the bottom of the inning and completed a 7-0 win over Monmouth in a Western C quarterfinal.
“Those three early runs helped and gave her the early lead,” said Telstar coach Jim Lunney. “We got some hits when we needed to and they made a couple mistakes. Those three early runs were big.”
Dirago struck out 10 and walked none. She allowed just two hits as the Mustangs struggled to get the offense going. The Rebel defense was also sharp, led by some strong play by Becca Howard at second.
“Jessie’s a good pitcher and she strikes out a lot of people,” said Lunney. “She had no walks. That’s the game we needed from her.”
Paxton Lessard was solid for the Mustangs, allowing just two hits through the first five innings. Monmouth also got a fine game at third from Shannon Buzzell. It was a second inning that got away from the Mustangs that gave Telstar the early advantage.
“We threw the ball away,” said Monmouth coach Rachel Bernier, whose team beat Telstar last week. “The amazing thing is we worked on a pickle play and specialty plays and we didn’t execute them today. We were prepared for it, and we just weren’t able to execute.”
Monmouth (7-8) got runners on in the second when Daisi Poole walked and Bri Hicks reached on an error. The Mustangs quickly had runners at second and third with no outs, but Dirago struck out the next three to end the inning.
“We couldn’t hang off the high stuff,” said Bernier, whose team only had three other base runners the rest of the way. “We’re young. We have three seniors, and everybody else doesn’t have a lot of playing time. That comes back to bite you sometimes.”
Monmouth got a hit from Sabrina Beck in the third. Poole singled and Hicks reached on a fielder’s choice in the seventh.
“Holding them was big,” said Lunney. “We were hoping to only give them the one run and not give them two. She ended up striking out the side.”
In the bottom of the inning, the Rebels (10-5) struck for three runs on two hits, an error, a walk and two hit batters.
Dirago led off with a double. She came in on a Maisey Griffin single.
“You have to wait for a strike, nothing high or nothing low,” said Griffin. “You wait for anything close to a strike and you swing.”
Autumn Morin then scored when Kelsey Averill was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Griffin scored on an error when Monmouth tried for a pick-off at third.
“Definitely, getting those three runs early were huge,” said Dirago. “That brought our confidence up a lot.”
Telstar added four more in the sixth. Olivia York, running for Morin, scored on a wild pitch. Griffin scored on a Sadie Ellsworth single and Taylor Savage doubled in a pair.
“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” said Griffin. “In the heat of the moment, you have to mentally pump yourself up and do what you have to do. “
Telstar advances to the semifinals and plays the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between Carrabec and Dirigo.
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