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FAIRFIELD, Conn. The Fairfield Little League baseball teams get a lot of notice with state titles and runs to the World Series, but the girls know how to grab headlines too. The Fairfield Little League softball team clubbed Black Rock, 10-0, on Tuesday evening at Unity Park in Trumbull to take the District 2 championship in a mercy rule- shortened game.
Just a week after Black Rock nipped Fairfield in pool play, Fairfield was hungry for revenge. Gabby Natoli started the fireworks with an RBI triple, followed by RBI hits by Alice Nelson and Sarah Cotto.
Staked to a 3-0 lead, Fairfield starting pitcher Brittany Romero dazzled on the mound. She was nearly unhittable, allowing just an infield single in the first inning and striking out eight in five innings pitched.
"That loss [last week] was a wakeup call for them. I'm very proud of how they came out tonight," Fairfield head coach Jarry Rasmussen said. "They were annoyed all week about that and they just wanted to come out and prove that one loss was a fluke."
Fairfield put the game well out of reach in the third inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring six times. Nelson and Cotto were at it again with back-to-back doubles, Cotto driving in two more. Anna Rasmussen singled in Fairfield's third run of the inning. Two hit batsmen with the bases loaded rounded out the scoring in the wild third.
The mercy rule was finally called in the bottom of the fifth inning when Erin Rosengren scored on a wild pitch. She slid emphatically into home, capping a dominant evening for the new champions.
"This group has worked hard and they've come together," Rasmussen said. "They were all here on July 4 at 8 a.m. taking batting practice at a voluntary workout. That's how badly these girls wanted to win."
Fairfield moves onto the state tournament, which begins at Unity Park in Trumbull on Thursday. They will take on District 5 champion Bristol.
Do you think the Fairfield softball team can win the state championship? Start the discussion below!
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