Although she may be just a freshman, Sacred Heart Academy pitcher Molly Flowers is one of the reasons why the Pacers will play Seymour on Friday for the Class M state title. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Biondi Field in West Haven.

Flowers allowed just two hits and struck out 14 in a 5-2 victory over Rocky Hill in Tuesday's semifinals.

"You give her a few runs and then you start to get that feeling in the dugout that she's going to be tough to beat," SHA coach Ray Ramelli said. "

Although the Pacers have several other pitchers on their roster, Flowers has taken over as the full-time starter.

"The other pitchers did well, but she started to become strong near the end of the season and I wanted to go with her for that reason," Ramelli said. "She started with a bad wrist at the beginning of the year. She got stronger as we went on and we decided to go with her."

The wrist injury during the preseason prevented Flowers from learning new pitches. She's mainly a fastball pitcher who will occasionally mix in a few change-ups.

"I had a wrist injury for awhile so I couldn't really work on the pitches," Flowers said. "I'm definitely going to get a curve ball and a screw ball and hopefully I'll have them by next year."

Said teammate Gina Valentine: "She's amazing. She's always amazing. She's always on her game. She's helped us so much this season. She's a great player."

Read a preview story on the Seymour-Sacred Heart Academy matchup in Friday's print edition of the Register.