Windham softball wins second Class A Regional Championship in three years

By Matt Pascarella

Second-ranked Windham varsity softball made program history again when it won its second regional title in recent years, ousting top-ranked Cheverus at Saint Joseph’s College on Tuesday, June 17. Cheverus had beaten Windham twice in the regular season, but Windham came in ready to go and sent the Stags packing 1-0 as the Lady Eagles advanced to the Class A State Championship.

Windham Senior Chloe Edwards slides into home plate to
score Windham's winning run in the Class A Regional
Championship Game against Cheverus at Saint Jospeh's
College on Tuesday, June 17.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

“It felt like we deserved it; it was a team win; we came here as a team and that’s how we executed it was together,” said Windham senior Chloe Edwards, who scored Windham’s winning run. “I saw that the ball was in the air, I had a good lead on it, and I had to go. It went past her, and I went.”

Windham defense only allowed four Cheverus hits. Windham senior pitcher Kennedy Kimball struck out eight and only walked two; she threw 69 strikes out of 98 pitches.

Cheverus loaded up the bases in the first inning, with one out; strong pitching by Kimball, plus stellar Windham defense left those bases loaded as they ended the inning.

Windham was able to get the bats going in the second inning when junior Nola Bryant doubled to left center field.

The game was scoreless until the top of the third inning. Windham loaded up the bases when Edwards walked, junior Addison Caiazzo singled and senior Stella Jarvais singled. A hit from Kimball to center was a fly-out, and Edwards didn’t tag up to score. She corrected the mistake on a passed ball and crossed home plate for the only run of the game.

“It definitely helped us that we’ve seen (Cheverus pitcher) Addison (DeRoche) for two games, that was a bonus for us,” said Windham varsity head coach Darcey Gardiner. “They stayed together and constantly played together and that’s why in moments like the first inning (Cheverus) bases loaded, seventh inning runner on – we talk about give and not break, that’s the composure that we want our girls to have, and it was awesome to see them show up with it and act like we’ve been here before.”

While Cheverus shut down Windham in a few innings, Windham returned the favor and never let them cross the plate.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, a walk put a Cheverus runner on first base with one out. Kimball struck out one and then a ground out ended the game.

“We had timely hits when we had runners in scoring position,” said Kimball. “We had good at-bats and were able to get more people on base than we had before, which was good. We did well in the field, we made all our plays in the infield and that was nice.”

In preparation for the state championship, Kimball said they need to make sure the team stays healthy and to brush up on any mistakes the coaches might have noticed during this game.

“As much as you say there’s not nerves, there always is,” said Gardiner. “If we keep communicating, that helps settle our nerves. We say in the dugout ‘stay within ourselves.’ Going into that seventh inning we said, ‘it’s a 0-0 ballgame, let’s keep playing like it’s a 0-0 ballgame.’ It goes back to us having composure with baserunners on. We can give a little without breaking and that’s exactly what we did today. It’s very hard to break this team.”<