Doucette calm, cool and collected in Spartans’ win

TAUNTON – She never came off the ice this past winter and was the backbone of a defense that won a girls hockey state title that few thought was possible.Now, Tatiana Doucette is trying to duplicate that accomplishment in softball.She’ll be the first to tell you she’s not the backbone. But she’s definitely the backstop. That’s because she’s the catcher. And with two outs in the seventh inning, with St. Mary’s nursing a 4-3 lead, Case’s Katie Van Lingen lifted a sky-high popup that Doucette calmly settled under and caught for the out that put the Spartans into Saturday’s Division 3 state final against Assabet Valley.”I was glad that popup went to her,” said coach Colleen Newbury. “I don’t know what it is about her. In games, she’s really focused and really steps up. She has that hockey experience, and that helps.”Simply put, Doucette had herself a Game. With a capital G. In the fifth inning, with St. Mary’s down 3-2, Doucette came to bat with runners on first and second and none out, and ripped a single to left that scored the tying run. Then, in the top of the seventh, she struck again with two out and the score still tied, 3-3, and hit a gapper between left and center for a double. She went to third on a wild pitch and then scored when Cassandra LaFauci’s line drive broke through the shortstop’s glove.Through it all, Doucette seemed to be the coolest person in the park.”Well, if you get nervous, it shows, and it transfers to others on the team,” she said.Besides the hockey, she had other things to fall back on in the seventh inning.”We had a game against Spellman when we were 10 down with two outs and we came back,” she said. “I figured if we could do it against Spellman, we could do it again. That’s what I was thinking.”Doucette wasn’t all that anxious to take too much credit for her contributions.”My whole team played well,” she said. “That’s what’s important.”Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].