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STAMFORD, Conn. Westhill's Tammy Wise cracked a three-run triple to break open Friday's conference semifinal against Norwalk, leading the Vikings to a 7-4 victory at Sacred Heart University. What she did in the field, however, may have been more important.
Wise, a junior, stepped in at catcher for Elizabeth Joseph, who suffered a concussion in Wednesday's quarterfinal win over New Canaan. Wise has not played the position at all this year it was her fifth this spring for the Vikings but she handled it well. And the triple helped snap a hitting slump.
"I hadn't caught in a while,'' Wise said. "Probably since the beginning of last summer. (Pitcher) Allison (Macari) did a great job. She made it easy for me."
"She stepped up for us,'' Westhill coach Tom Pia said. "She'll do a good job wherever you put her."
Top-seeded Westhill (20-2) will meet No. 2 Darien (18-3) for the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference title Saturday at Sacred Heart at noon. The Blue Wave are the defending champions. Westhill defeated Darien during the regular season, 6-5.
But the Vikings will not have Joseph, the top defensive catcher in the league, this time around. But Wise filled in admirably and is ready to continue as long as necessary. "I'll do whatever's necessary,'' Wise said. "Where Tom wants to put me."
Norwalk jumped on the Vikings for two runs in the second, and the Bears led 3-2 when Westhill came to bat in the third. After RBI singles by Kate Brainard and Brittany Bautista put the Vikings ahead, Wise smacked a bases-clearing triple to right-center to make it 7-3.
Macari, who had allowed three runs in her previous six games, wasn't as sharp this time. She allowed seven hits, struck out three and walked four. But she pitched steady down the stretch, retiring seven of the final eight batters.
The bottom of Westhill's lineup backed her up as Brainard, Bautista, Meg D'Alessandro and Wise, the No. 5 to 8 batters, had hits. Westhill's top four batters had just one hit among them.
"This was a team effort,'' Wise said. "We took advantage of our chances when we had to."
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