The New Canaan Rams will square off against the Shelton Gaels on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (New Canaan 2.4, Shelton 2.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
New Canaan is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Connecticut's top teams: St. Joseph, who was ranked eighth at the time (New Canaan was ranked 12th). The Rams fell just short of the Cadets by a score of 2-1 on Tuesday. The Rams have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Shelton had no trouble coming through when it counted. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Kennedy a 16-0 shutout on Monday. Considering the Gaels have won 14 matches by more than eight runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Sammi Denihan made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit while striking out nine over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Tori Silva, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and three runs. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Sadie Balocca, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and two RBI.
Shelton kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in seven consecutive contests.
Shelton pushed their record up to 17-6 with the win, which was their ninth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.8 runs on average over those games. As for New Canaan, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-4.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
