Troy softball upsets Columbia behind Matthews' masterpiece

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Troy softball has that championship DNA. As the season gets longer, the Flying Horses grow stronger.

Earlier this month, Troy was 6-10, and in the midst of a four-game losing streak. In a spectacular turnaround, Sean Geisel's bunch, now winners of four of their last five outings, is headed to the Section II, Class AA championship game after taking down second-seeded Columbia, 3-0, Tuesday night in the semifinal round at Clifton Common Park.

The victory marked the second upset of the tournament for the sixth-seeded Flying Horses after their 8-5 win last Thursday over No. 3 South Glens Falls in quarterfinal action.

"Our mindset's literally been, "just get better every day,"" said Geisel. "Our hope was to play our best at the end of May - or, the middle of May - which we're startin' to do. It's been awesome to see."

The two-time defending Class A section champs and back-to-back state semifinalists took some lumps as a younger squad early in the season. The identity of the team changed drastically after graduating star pitcher Olivia DeCitise.

But now they're hitting their stride when it matters most.

"They all work together so well, and I think that showed today," said Geisel. "It showed last game, and I think showed throughout the last week of the [regular] season, so we're extremely proud of them."

Coach Geisel may have another future star in the circle on his hands. Sophomore starting pitcher Lauren Matthews rose to the occasion, tossing a complete-game, four-hit shutout. This performance comes just 10 days after she allowed four runs in 2.1 innings of work in a 9-0 loss to the Blue Devils on May 11.

"I just knew that I had my team behind me," said Matthews. "Working with them makes everything so much easier."

And as good as Matthews was - striking out six and not allowing a walk - her defense certainly made her life easier, committing no errors.

However, the Troy offense did not have an easy time providing Matthews with some run support with Mya Parkinson in the circle for Columbia. She racked up 13 punchouts, while only walking one batter. The two pitchers put up nothing but zero's on the scoreboard through the first four innings.

But the Flying Horses finally managed to break through in the top of the fifth. With runners on the corners and two outs in the inning, Nadia Mulinio slashed a double to right field, scoring Katie Pryor and Olivia Ashline. The next batter, Addison Harkin, provided some insurance with a single to right that plated Mulinio, giving Matthews all the run support she needed.

It's fun for us, the media, and fans to marvel at a feat as impressive as a team with a sub-.500 record reaching a sectional championship game. But that's not a concern for these players.

"We're just taking it one game at a time - one inning at a time actually," said Matthews. "Can't think about the past; just gotta keep going."

Troy advances to take on top-seeded Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in Thursday's title game. The Spartans are the No. 2-ranked team in the state for Class AA, and defeated Troy 14-0 on May 1. First pitch from the Luther Forest Athletic Fields in Malta is set for 7:30 p.m.

Columbia concludes its season with an overall record of 13-6.