Lady Savages shocked at home

The group of girls who suited up in black and gold had a chip on their shoulder when they faced New London in Regional play on July 6. They knew it would be a tough game, having narrowly beat them a year prior in the same position. They wanted to get back to the State tournament in back to back years, but that won’t happen as New London ended those hopes with an 0-2 loss.

    The Lady Savages were shut out for only the second time this season, the other coming against Fairfield way back in week two. The offense had been clicking as of recent, averaging over 11 runs per game in a seven-game win streak. That offense was stymied as only three girls reached base in seven innings of play against the Tigers.

    Madi Schauf had two of those three team hits, one of which came in the first inning as she lined a ball down the third baseline with two outs. A pop out off the bat of Megan Stuhr left Schauf stranded at first. Jordan VanEe dominated on the mound to start the game and did so for a majority of the rest of the innings. She threw four consecutive strikes in the first and sat down the first three Tigers in order. New London had a scoring chance in the second as they had two runners on with one out before VanEe induced a groundout and Autum Barthelman made a diving catch near third base to end the threat.

    New London scored one of their two runs in the third inning after getting their leadoff batter on base with a walk. She would advance on a couple of passed balls and score on an errant throw to third base. VanEe and the defense behind her stayed locked in, only allowing one more run to score in the top of the fifth inning.

    “I saw a lot of heart and desire with a little nervousness mixed in,” Lady Savages coach Shelly Streigle said. “They were psyched to play, and that adrenaline might’ve got us on edge a bit.”

    Autum came the closest to scoring for Sigourney back in the third inning when she lined a ball over the glove of the left fielder. Her speed got her safely to third base with two outs in the inning. That’s as close as she’d get however as Summer went down on strikes. Schauf hit another single through the infield to start off the fourth inning and advance to second on a sacrifice bunt by Leah Carter but was unable to score.

    “They can take this one of two ways: they can let it eat them alive or they can work to get better,” Streigle said. “You never accept a loss, you don’t get used to that. You let it eat you a little but then you respond and work harder and try to eliminate that.”

    Lady Savage leaders: Madi Schauf – 2 hits, Jordan VanEe – 5 Ks

    A talented and experienced trio of girls played their final game for Sigourney in front of the home crowd. Autum and Schauf will continue playing softball at the next level while Carter will play volleyball in college. They will leave a void on the field as all three started multiple years and their leadership they exhibited will be important as the team looks to next season.

    “They’re going to be very hard to replace,” Streigle said. “They’re hard workers and leaders, in more ways than one.”