On Wednesday, the DHS Softball team took down the Danbury Hatters 9-4 from the DHS Softball Diamond.

Behind ten hits as a team and a three-run home run from Izzy Oefinger in the fourth, Darien got going early and did not look back.

Danbury got the first at-bat of the game in which Reagan Lalor lead off the game with a single, and two batters later drove home by sophomore Chloe Trimandilis. 1-0 Danbury after the top of the first.

The Wave answered with a stand-up double from sophomore Lauren Valji and then an RBI single from Claire Kissko to make it 1-1 after the first inning.

Junior pitcher Malin Medeiros returned to the mound and sat the next three Hatters down including striking out the leadoff batter.

Fast forwarding the action to the bottom of the third, still 1-1, the nine-hole hitter Mia Michaelson started a Darien rally by flopping a hit into the outfield. These were then followed up by an RBI double from Medeiros, another RBI double from Kiosks, and an RBI single from senior captain Ava Faugno on three straight pitchers to propel Darien to the 4-1 lead after three innings.

The Wave continued to play perfectly in the field with a bullet of a line drive caught by Nicole Yarish in left and right fielder Caitlin Donahue laying out to make a diving ground, the Wave was firing on all cylinders.

The bottom of the fourth started with a hit-by pitch of Donahue, and then Yarish reached via the E4. A sac bunt from Callie McCloskey moved both runners into scoring position for the leadoff hitter Izzy Oefinger. Facing a 1-1 count, Cefaloni sent the pitch home and watched as Oefinger barreled the ball up and crushed a three-run bomb over the fence in the right-center gap. The lead had moved to 7-1 in favor of the Wave.

Faugno drove in the eighth run via an RBI single, and it was now 8-2 after four innings of play. The Darien bats came ready to play this Wednesday afternoon as eight hits in the first four innings were leading the Wave.

Danbury got one back off a solo home run from the bat of Kendra Rodriguez and moved the game to 9-3 heading into the top of the seventh. Medeiros faced some adversity in the seventh needing just three outs to close down the Hatters.

The top of the order is due up. Lalor worked a five-pitch walk to put the leadoff runner on board. Lopez then walked for first and second none out.

After this the middle infield of Katherine Lindell and Lauren Valji would get working as back-to-back 6-4 fielders choices was how Darien closed the game out.

9-4 the final from the DHS Softball Diamond. The Darien bats came alive and rallied to score one of their highest run totals in the new year and pick up only their fifth win of the season.

A huge win for Darien as they chase the 8th and final FCIAC playoff spot for 2023.

Darien will celebrate this win over Danbury but quickly go back to work hosting St. Joseph on Friday and New Canaan on Monday in the back half of their season.

DARIEN 9,

DANBURY 4

Danbury 100 111 1 – 4

Darien 103 401 x – 9

Darien: Malin Medieros (W) 7IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 4BB, 2K

Danbury: Mya Cefaloni (L) 6IP, 10H, 9R, 8ER, 2BB, 2K

Records: Danbury 5-8 (2-6 FCIAC); Darien 5-8 (5-4 FCIAC)