Video: Lincoln celebrates its softball championship win over Ponaganset
WATCH: Lincoln celebrates its softball championship win over Ponaganset
PROVIDENCE β The result was so obvious, everyone should have seen it coming.
Thatβs because Hailey Vigneau doesnβt lose big games.
The La Salle softball team might have been hammered by Chariho during their regular season matchups, but none of that mattered in the postseason. The stateβs seen plenty of big-time pitchers, but none that have won like Vigneau. Saturdayβs championship game against Chariho only added to her legacy, as she took care of things in the circle, Nikki Pallotta led the offense and the 5-2 win gave the Rams their fourth straight state title.
βWe just know how hard we work,β Vigneau said. βWe know we have each other. We know how supportive of each other we are. We just know that our team, in the end, will come out on top.β
Softball pitchers are supposed to strike fear with fastballs and sit batters down faster than they can get up to plate. You wonβt find many teams that say theyβre afraid of Vigneau, but you also wonβt find any teams that have beaten her in a game that matters most.
The La Salle senior β who will pitch at Marist next spring β didnβt look bothered by the magnitude of the game she was pitching. If Chariho beat the Rams β which it had done twice this season β that meant an if-game where momentum would be on the Chargers side.
It seemed like a possibility, provided you ignored the fact that Vigneau has never lost a playoff game and wasnβt about to start in her senior season.
Vigneau made one mistake pitch that Adriana Jeannenot hit to outer space, a two-run blast that tied the game in the top of the fourth inning. She took the ball from the umpire, then retired the next batter to end the inning and get her offense on the field.
βI just have to focus on the next one. I canβt dwell on it,β said Vigneau, who gave up four hits and walked two while striking out eight. βNow I can reflect on it, fix what I know I messed up on.
βI didnβt even look. I didnβt turn my head.β
The bats went out and supported their ace. Pallotta had the go-ahead hit, a two-run double that scored Izzy Dong and Samantha Sell. While Pallotta and the Rams struggled to hit Jeannenot in clutch moments in the regular season, it was clear they figured something out.
βTheir pitcher is really good and she shut us down in the first game,β said Pallotta, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs Saturday. βIn the second game we started to pick up some hits, we started to learn a lot.
βWe were lucky enough to play them twice, we got a lot of data off of that and so when we came into RIC β¦ we had a lot of information and we used it.β
Armed with a 5-2 lead, Vigneau took care of things. The home run was a distant memory and when Alaina Valuk led off the fifth with a single, Vigneau barely noticed. She was in control and remained calm, right up until the final out was recorded, ending her career with a fourth straight title celebration.
βI just pitch one pitch at a time, no matter what the situation is in the game,β Vigneau said. βI canβt focus too much on the big win ahead, just one pitch at a time.β
Chariho was emotional after the loss and why wouldnβt it be? The Chargers entered the season with so much promise, finally got over the hump of beating La Salle and then did it twice in this spring.
But the two playoff losses β Saturday as well as the winnersβ bracket final β showed that Chariho still has some work to do to in order to get that title the program wants. The loss will only help inspire the Chargers to keep chasing it next season.
βWe had a phenomenal season. Iβve never been more proud of this team,β Jeannenot said. ββ¦ It definitely pushes us to go for even bigger things. This year our main thing was to beat La Salle, now I feel like we can have even bigger goals and we can have more success.”
This was supposed to be the year La Salle lost. The Rams graduated all that offensive talent, thereβs no way they can overpower teams anymore.
Turns out La Salle didnβt need to. It had a secret weapon who shouldnβt have been so secret and closes her career as the most clutch pitcher Rhode Island has ever seen.
βWithout her we probably wouldnβt be here at all,β Pallotta said. βSheβs been the ace for the last four years and she always comes up when we need her and she shuts them down.β
βI just enjoyed my time with the girls. Whatever happens, happens, but we just work hard and have fun,β Vigneau said. βI couldnβt have imagined this whatsoever.β
