BETHEL — It was the kind of game that Jessie Dirago would probably prefer to forget, but it is one she remembers all too well.
Dirago’s Telstar Rebels lost to Dirigo in the Western C semifinal round a year ago. Add in a regular-season loss to the Cougars this season, and Wednesday’s rematch had the Telstar pitcher especially focused on her game.
“I’ve thought about that a lot,” Dirago said. “That game was tough. I sprained my ankle trying to get to home. I knew we could have done better than that. Even this year, we were right there and ended up losing 1-0. That was tough for me too, because I knew we had it.”
Those disappointments fueled Dirago’s fire Wednesday as the Rebel senior struck out 14 and hurled a two-hitter in a 3-1 Western C quarterfinal win over Dirigo.
“I was so excited for this game,” said Dirago, who now has 499 strikeouts in her career. “I’m so happy that we were able to pull through. We had some history. They’re a good team. I know how we played last year and this year. It all added up and I think we did really good today.”
In that loss a year ago, Dirago had allowed just one hit in four innings, but then a disastrous inning changed everything. Dirigo scored seven runs, taking advantage of just three hits, five walks and one hit batter. Dirago struggled and Telstar coach Jim Lunney took her out.
The Cougars saw a much different Dirago this time around. She had an intensity on her face and a pop in her pitches and that set the tone for the rest of the Rebels.
“She had a great year last year and had one bad inning up at Dirigo,” said Lunney. “This is the Jessie we like to see. She was in control. She walked a couple and gave up a couple of hits, but she threw. She threw strikes.”
Dirigo could only muster hits from Megan Bradbury and Kenzie Lord. Both came in the same inning as the Cougars produced their only run.
“Our girls seemed to step into the box today and were a little bit nervous and a little bit tentative,” Dirigo coach Sara Thurston said. “There were some poor pitch selections that we were swinging at. It didn’t get us on base very much.”
What Dirigo wasn’t able to get offensively, Telstar did. Dirago and Aislinn Forbes each had two hits. The big hit came from Hayley Peterson in the fourth, Her double gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead.
“I felt a little pressure, but I knew I had it in me,” Peterson said.
When Dirigo got runners on early, on a walk in the first and an error in the second, Telstar catcher Sadie Ellsworth threw them out trying to steal. She nearly picked off another runner and made a splendid catch of a foul pop behind the plate, going face-first into the backstop for her efforts.
“Early on, my catcher throwing two of their runners out, all of a sudden they get on base and realize that they’re not going to run on this girl,” said Lunney. “She had two good throws there.”
Dirigo got a superb outing from pitcher Katelyn Olsen. She allowed just five hits and struck out seven while walking just one. The Cougars also had some fantastic defensive plays as well. Olsen made a nice play to help get Olivia York caught in a run down off third in the second inning. Lauren Henderson made a nice backhanded catch at second and Kelsey Hutchins robbed Becca Howard of extra bases with a wonderful catch in center.
In a game featuring to great pitching performances, it was going to come down to which team could make something happen offensively. After three scoreless innings, Telstar broke the drought in the fourth. With one out, Dirago doubled. Ellsworth walked. After a strikeout, Peterson drilled a gapper to left-center that plated two runs.
“I knew if it was strike I had to swing at it,” said Peterson, who chased a high offering on the first pitch. “The first one, I was so mad that I did that. So I had to recover. It was such a perfect pitch.”
Dirigo (11-6) got one back in the fifth when Bradbury led off with a single. She later scored on a Lord single. Telstar added a run in the bottom of the inning when Forbes singled and advanced two bases on an error. She scored on an Autum Morin fielder’s choice.
Dirigo’s offensive output in the fifth was all the Cougars would managed. Dirago struck out five of the final six to end the game.
“That’s kind of been the story of our year this year,” Thurston said. “We get it going a little too late in the big games. A lot of that has to do with the fact that we’re really young.”
Telstar (11-4) advances to Saturday’s semifinal and will play the winner of Thursday’s Carrabec at Madison quarterfinal. Telstar handed top-seeded Madison its only loss of the regular season.
“This game was similar to the Madison game,” Peterson said. “We had a lot on our shoulder’s. We had to really push through. I remember all the games we’ve been through and remembered the game we lost to (Dirigo). I just thought that we had to push through this.”
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