There is a certain expectation now when Briana Franceschini steps to the plate. The St. Francis Prep senior has become the team’s most consistent hitter and has been extremely clutch of late.
“She has just found her stroke,” SFP coach Ann Marie Rich said. “She has just found her rhythm. Every time she gets up you think you are guaranteed a hit here.”
So it didn’t come as much of a surprise that Francheschini was again in the middle of a big inning for the Terriers. She stroked a high pitch for a long two-run double to the gap in left-center field to break open a five-run fifth that gave St. Francis Prep an 8-3 win over Mary Louis in the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queen softball semifinals. Prep advances to play defending champion Archbishop Molloy in the best-of-three league championship series, starting 3 p.m. Friday at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
“I think it is sort of a chain reaction and you remember every time you get up to the plate what you are capable of,” Francheschini said.
She had a game tying three-run homer in a loss to Molloy and then hit a solo homer to spark a six-run sixth in a 10-4 win that snapped the Stanners’ 28-game winning streak in both teams’ regular-season finale. Francheschini had three hits against the Hilltoppers (6-9) on Thursday.
SFP (11-4) needed to rally because Mary Louis scored three times in the opening inning, like it did in a 3-2 win over the Terriers on April 28. St. Francis Prep has won five straight since then.
Alyssa Paolicelli had an RBI single and Shannon Minihane who had two hits drove in two with a double to make it 3-0 TMLA. Terriers ace Katie Derby would limit the Hilltoppers to just two hits after that and didn’t walk a batter in the game.
“We saw how that ended,” Derby said of the regular-season loss. “We were like guys we have to pick it up and we did.”
The Terriers got even in the third. Nicole Cervasio scored on a wild pitch and Derby had an RBI double down the rightfield line to make it 3-3 against TMLA ace Rebecca Warne. The junior walked Surdi, who scored on a throwing error, to start the sixth and then hit Nicole Lonmangino. Reliever Erin Guilfoyle then walked the next to batter to load the bases before Francheschini’s one-out double and also gave up a two-RBI single to Kristen McGoldrick as Prep extended its lead to 8-3.
“We just pick each other up,” Francheschini said. “We see we getting into a hole, everyone just works together to get out of it.”
The comeback win certainly keeps SFP’s momentum moving to the Brooklyn/Queens final. Molloy swept the first two games last season behind then-ace Janelle Boyd after taking all three regular-season meetings. This time around the Terriers have already taken a game off their rival.
“We are confident going in, but we are not going to take anything for granted,” Derby said. “We are not going in relaxed. We are going in strong like the way we ended today.”
