MERIDEN – Ace pitcher Elizabeth Mitchell powered No. 2 Coventry back to the Class S state title game with 14 strikeouts, a pair every inning, as the Patriots downed No. 6 Old Lyme, 8-2, in Monday’s semifinal at Dunn Sports Complex.

The reigning state champions, 23-2 on the year, will meet No. 9 Holy Cross in the title game at UConn’s Burrill Family Field on Saturday.

“We graduated five really, really good seniors, weren’t sure what this year was gonna bring – Liz coming back’s always a big thing as the pitcher – but the freshmen that came in… they’ve done a great job all season,” Coventry coach Jeff LaHouse said.

Mitchell, a senior who’s committed to play at the Division I level for Saint Peter’s next year, pitched Coventry to a 12-0 win over Coginchaug in the second round, then a 6-5 win over Immaculate on Friday and had no doubt entering Monday night. She finished her third complete game of the tournament allowing just four hits, two walks and one earned run.

“She’s a force. Her biggest thing is not the physical pitch like you would think, it is the determination. It’s in her. She brings it every single game,” said LaHouse.

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Old Lyme pitcher Emma Bayor, a Marist commit, got her Wildcats on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the first inning, but Coventry responded immediately with three runs in their half of the inning. Mitchell, batting cleanup, knocked an RBI single to take the lead and then came in to score the third run after a bunt from sophomore Brooke White.

“I’ve really played softball since I was nine, so I don’t feel pressure anymore,” Mitchell said. “Like a little bit before the game on the bus when we’re all talking about it, but as soon as I step on the field everything goes away and I’m just happy to be here.”

Mitchell allowed a bloop single in the second but held the Wildcats without another hit for the next four innings. At the plate, she drove in the Patriots’ fourth run in the third frame. Junior right fielder Charlotte Wesoloskie drilled a triple toward the left field foul pole in the fourth and scored on a single from freshman Emma Vertucci to make the score 5-1.

Coventry came into the game planning to rely on bunting, which helped move runners around the base paths and caused a number of Old Lyme fielding mistakes, which helped the Patriots tack on three more runs to close the sixth.

“We had a game plan coming in here of bunting, we watched a little bit of film and thought that we would be able to have success with the bunts, and we did,” LaHouse said. “We were able to put a lot of pressure on them right away, and it paid off.”

Mitchell recorded her 13th and 14th strikeouts in the top half of the seventh and then quickly spun around to nab the runner on second, who reached on an error, to end the game.

“It means everything, honestly,” Mitchell said of advancing back to the final game. “We work so hard that we walk out on the field, the nerves go away. It doesn’t even matter. We’re ready to play anybody who wants to step in our way.”