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Ludlowe Squashes Staples in State Tourney

After their surprise, first-ever run to the FCIAC championships, the Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons had good reason to be confident entering the Class LL state tournament. Beating undefeated Westhill and coming within one run of a title will do that.

The bats came alive against Staples and ace pitcher Aliza Guerrero settled down after a shaky first inning, allowing only one hit in the final six frames. The Falcons took advantage of four Staples errors, flattening the Wreckers, 9-2, to advance to the second round.

"I'm not sure what went wrong in the first, but I just told myself to pull it together and help this team move on," Guerrero said. "Getting as far as we did in FCIACs gave us so much confidence and we're going to carry that through states."

While Ludlowe had the game well in hand by the finish, the beginning suggested a different outcome. The first three Staples batters reached in the top of the first, capped by a two-run triple by Alexandra Masiello.

The momentum quickly changed in the Falcons' favor when Catherine Lomato lined to shortstop Emily Nelson, who then picked Masiello off at third to complete the double play. From then on it was smooth sailing for Guerrero, who allowed just three hits, walked two and struck out four.

Elise Perazzini led the offensive attack, reaching base and scoring three times. She also drove in all the offense Ludlowe would need with an RBI triple in the second and a two-run double in the fifth.

Masiello had a tough day after getting picked off, committing three errors, all leading to Ludlowe runs. Of the nine Ludlowe runs, only five were earned for Staples pitcher Emma Axthelm.

"Beating Westhill, Danbury and becoming FCIAC runner-up was amazing. We have so much momentum right now and we're just going to keep building on it," Perazzini said. "We have so much to be proud of because we only have two seniors."

The bottom of Ludlowe's lineup provided plenty of pop with the six through nine hitters going a collective 6-for-12. Maggie Lapolla drove in two runs and Meredith McGown knocked in one.

Ludlowe, the 15-seed, travels to second-ranked Southington Wednesday at 4 p.m. for the second round of the Class LL tournament.

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