Saveriano, Lexington repeat
WORCESTER - When facing ace Kiki Saveriano, there's little room for miscues. Gardner made two in the first inning and they proved costly as Lexington earned its second consecutive Division 1 state title, 2-0, at Rockwood Field.
"Well, I knew [from last year's championship game] they were really great hitters," said Saveriano, who tallied 14 strikeouts and walked two in her two-hit outing.
"We were working on throwing junk mostly, screwballs, I threw my changeup a lot more this game, trying to keep them off balance a little bit."
After Saveriano struck out the side to kick off the rematch of last year's championship game, the Minutemen hurler helped her cause with a one-out single to center. An error on the play allowed junior Alicia DiFronzo, who had reached on a walk, to come home and Saveriano to advance to second.
Joelle Zahka (1 for 3) drilled a single in the next at-bat to drive in Jackie Oram, who had replaced Saveriano on the base paths, for the game's other run.
"We talked about it earlier on, just getting ahead, [and] not waiting until the sixth or seventh inning," Zahka said. "Just getting that big lead and showing everybody out here that we belong here, and that we're not going to wait around to do our damage - we're going to do it quick, and fast, and hopefully keep pounding."
"[Zahka] thrives in these situations, in these big games," Lexington coach Frank Pagliuca said of the senior. "I'm really proud of her and her leadership and her coming through at the end there was great."
The Minutemen (24-2) were not able to keep up the pressure on offense, only notching two more hits off Julia Barrett, who fanned three and allowed one walk for Gardner (21-5).
The Wildcats threatened in the sixth. Senior Melissa Jalbert led off with a single. After a strikeout, Jalbert took second on junior Nikki Boris's grounder and advanced to third on a passed ball.
But Saveriano didn't panic, and, on a 2-and-2 pitch, she struck out the next batter looking to escape.
Pagliuca said he thought the heat rattled Saveriano initially, but as usual, she finished strong, fanning the last two batters to put the Wildcats away.
"I think it took her a couple of innings to kind of find her way, but once she did she was disciplined," Pagliuca said. "[She had] a couple walks, but she went right after their hitters and they're a very good hitting team."
Lexington also drew strength from being aggressive on the base paths - the Minutemen were aware of Gardner's missteps and took advantage to get into scoring position.
"We're going to try to push the envelope a little bit and force them to make the plays in the outfield," Pagliuca said. "I thought we had great base running in the first inning to really capitalize on our opportunities."
Although the Lexington coach wished the Minutemen had remained as tenacious at the plate as they were on the bases, he was elated for players' second title.
"I'm so proud of these girls, they were outstanding today," Pagliuca said. "In typical fashion, we score early and then we tend to lose a little a bit of focus at bat, but . . . defensively we didn't make any errors. And Kiki pitched an outstanding game, but it was a team effort." 