MAY 4, 2010 - ANSONIA
If Covington wants to make its mark in the upcoming state tournament it can use Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Ansonia as motivation.

"You can quote me on this, we were flat and played with a lack of focus," said Covington coach Dean Denlinger. "That's a direct reflection on coaching because it's my job to make sure we are ready to play."

The first two at bats for Lady Buccs were sign of things to come as three of the six outs in the first two innings came on strikeouts looking, which is very uncharacteristic of this Covington team.

Still, Covington held a 1-0 lead after two innings and then scored two more runs in the top of the third for a 3-0 lead. The damage could have been much more, but Covington left several runners stranded - which turned out to be the theme throughout the contest.

"We out hit them 12-7 and left 13 runners on base," said Denlinger. "One inning we had bases loaded with no outs and didn't get any runs."

Ansonia heated up in the bottom of the third by tying the score with three runs. The Tigers then scored a run in the fourth and another in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead.

Covington responded in the top of the sixth with a run, but saw a huge opportunity to take the lead slip away as Ansonia recorded a double play - tagging out a potential run at home plate and then throwing another runner out at second base to end the inning.

Ansonia then closed down Covington in the top of the seventh to hand the Lady Buccs their fourth defeat of the season.

"We faced adversity in the face and failed," Denlinger said. "To lose a one-run game, you can put the blame directly on me. It comes down to a lack of focus and that's my fault."

Which is why Denlinger and the Lady Buccs can use this loss as motivation in the upcoming tournament.

"We have to play like we have a bull's eye on our backs," Denlinger continued. "Since we beat Greenville and Newton teams will come in to beat us. We have to raise our level of focus or we can be beat by anyone."

Covington has two games left to regain its focus before the tournament, Thursday against Lehman and next Tuedsay at Troy.

And you can bet Denlinger will use Wednesday's practice to get his team refocused.

SCORING BY INNINGS:
Covington .........1...0...2...0...0...1...0 - 4 - 12 - 1
Ansonia .............0...0...3...1...1...0...x - 5 - 7 - 0

Covington's Record: 19-4, 9-3 in the CCC.