LAGRANGE — Coach John Carmigiano was so fidgety during his postgame interview one may have deduced he drank three Red Bulls.
Cloverleaf second baseman Maddie Huff makes a sliding grab to take a hit away from Holy Name’s Andrea Spinelli in the seventh inning. AARON JOSEFCZYK/GAZETTE
Bubbly shortstop Alli Gray was talking 100 mph because, well, that’s what she does.
Pitcher Torie Craig was giggling so much she stopped her train of thought and proclaimed, “I’m so awkward at this. I’m sorry.”
Yeah, reaching a district championship game means something to the Cloverleaf softball team.
Craig fired a four-hitter, Gray unloaded an opposite-field RBI double and the defense made college-quality plays all over the field Tuesday, giving the third-seeded Colts a nail-biting 1-0 win over second-seeded Holy Name in the LaGrange Division II District semifinals.
Cloverleaf (19-9), which lost to the Green Wave (22-5) 10-0 at this level last season, advances to battle Northeast Ohio superpower and top seed Keystone (24-4) for the championship at 4:30 this afternoon.
“This group is just so special, and it starts with the seniors who respect all the underclassmen,” said Carmigiano, who played four seniors, six sophomores and two freshmen. “They all genuinely care for each other, so when excitement starts to happen, it’s contagious.
“I don’t know. They just wanted to do it more and more as the game went on.”
With Holy Name sophomore ace Nikki Camarati (19-5) bringing the heat, the Colts recognized opportunities would be scarce. Camarati threw a no-hitter against Cloverleaf last year, after all.
Taking advantage was going to be critical, and that moment came in the third inning. Craig began with a walk and Grace Turner, who was a game-time decision with a wrist injury, was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Cam Werner and Madison Huff to pinch run.
Though Camarati (12 strikeouts) got an ensuing strikeout, she still had to deal with.542 hitter Gray.
Gray, who struck out for just the second time this season to open the game, promptly connected on a first-pitch fastball. The looping fly ball sliced narrowly out of the reach of right fielder Avery Ravay, scoring Werner without a throw.
Though the inning ended with runners stranded on second and third, scoring first gave already-jacked-up Cloverleaf a boost.
“I was pretty upset (about the first-inning strikeout),” Gray said. “I knew if I let that get in my head I’m just going to keep striking out. I knew I had to get up there and crush one. It’s going to make up for it.”
Heady pitching by Craig (12-5, 3.14 ERA) and stout defense made the run stand up.
Working all four corners of the strike zone, Craig walked two, hit one and struck out two. The right-hander, who tossed just three swinging strikes all game, got out of a two-on, one-out situation in the first inning — highlighted by fanning All-Ohioan Nikki Ferraro — and a two-on, two-out jam in the fifth.
Take out three singles by leadoff hitter Cassie Biley and the Green Wave was 1-for-20.
“My mindset was to just pitch strikes and get them out,” said Craig, who threw 60 strikes among 99 pitches.
The senior also had brilliant defensive support. Right fielder Addison Gray made a juggling catch, catcher KD Smith gunned down a runner, center fielder Hailey Eckelberry and second baseman Huff made a sliding stops and Alli Gray flashed range by having a hand in four of the final six outs.
“It’s hard to do something like that,” Alli Gray said. “It’s really exciting that you love to play. The whole time you’re like, ‘OK, we have to hold them. We can do this.’ We just pick each other up the whole time because we have to.”
The Colts will need that emotional support today against the Wildcats, who hit north of .420, have 35 home runs and boast D-I college recruits Lauren Shaw (Iowa; 19-2, 0.67 ERA), Summer Constable (Purdue; 597, 8 HRs, 46 R, 16 SBs), Sammie Stefan (Maryland; .564, 12 HRs, 49 RBIs), Destiny Weber (Penn State; .422), Madi Cendrosky (Cleveland State; .394) and Paige Hartley (Cleveland State; .379).
What Cloverleaf won’t be short on is confidence.
“That was amazing,” Craig said. “I’m very excited to play (Keystone), and I think we will do really well and I think we have a good chance of beating them.”
Craig then giggled.
“I’m a little hyped right now,” she said.