The CT Softball Blog

As the first week of postseason plays ends, a trio of in-state college squads gave their programs some positive efforts.

In the end, though, it is just the University of Bridgeport that remains alive. The Knights were supposed to play for the title on Sunday morning against top-seeded Wilmington, but the game was postponed due to rain.

UB’s road to the title game began last week when the Knights topped No. 7 seed Caldwell 5-1 at Seaside Park.

On Thursday, it was a 6-1 win over third-seeded Goldey-Beacom that put Bridgeport into the best of three championship series against Wilmington.

In the semifinals, Bridgeport pitcher Kaite Burawski (15-9) scattered four hits and gave up just one run in seven innings. She struck out 10 and walked four.

Offensively, the Knights were led by Mya Jones, who was 3-for-3 with four RBIs. She also had a double.

Coincidentally, both Burawski and Jones are from Delaware, where the CACC tournament is being played.

Meg McFarland (Monrue/Masuk) also had two hits and scored three runs. She walked twice, as did Madison D’Amato (2 runs).

In the first game of the championship series, Bridgeport bested Wilmington by a 4-2 score.

Again, it was Burawski heading to the mound and again she scatterd just four hits, giving up two earned runs. She struck out five and walked three.

At the plate, D’Amato and Jones had two hits each while McFarland, Angela Oros and Alex Hughes drove in an RBI each.

In Game Two on Saturday, the Knights ran into a buzzsaw and were one-hit by Wilmington in an 8-0 loss.

Jones had the team’s lone hit, though D’Amato did walk twice from the lead-off spot.

SCSU OWLS FALL IN NORTHEAST 10 SEMIFINALS AFTER TWO UPSETS

The Southern Connecticut Owls gave their fans something to cheer about from the No. 8 seed of the Northeast 10 Tournament, winning two games in upset fashion before falling in the semifinals, 3-1, to top-seeded Adelphi.

In that game, Jessicda Perucki pitched her heart out, giving up three earned runs over 5.2 innings, but she only got one run of support against Adelphi’s pitcher, who limited the Owls to just four hits.

Samantha LaFemina (East Haddam/Hale-Ray) had two of those hits out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

Southern Connecticut finished the season with a 19-24 season.

The Owls had started the tournament with a 13-3 win over No. 5 Franklin Pierce University to advance to the quarterfinals.

Facing off against No.  4 Southern New Hampshire, the Owls posted a 3-2 win. Perucki got the start on the mound and gave up two runs -only one of which was earned – while scattering six hits over six innings. She gave way to Ashley Lewis (Columbia/E.O. Smith) who blanked SNHU while allowing just a single hit over the final seven innings of the game. At the plate, freshman catcher Karley Austin was 3-for-6 while Nadia Cestari (Naugatuck) was 2-for-6 with a RBI. LaFemina drove in Dominique Delutri with the game-winning run while Gabriella Festa and Kalliope Stefanidis both scored for the Owls.

ALBERTUS MAGNUS, MITCHELL OUSTED FROM GNAC TOURNEY

After hosting in-state rival St. Joseph’s (CT) and getting a 3-1 in the GNAC play-in game, the Falcons of Albertus Magnus advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tournament, falling in two close games—3-2 to Lasell on Thursday and 4-2 to Emmanuel in 9 innings on Saturday.

After a late inning rally, the Albertus Magnus College softball team’s season came to an end in a 4-2 loss to Emmanuel in nine innings in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament on Saturday afternoon on the campus of Lasell University.

Emmanuel scored twice in the first inning and back-to-back RBI doubles from Skylar Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Hailey Laforte (Branford, Conn.) tied the game in the sixth, eventually sending the game to extra innings.

The Saints scored two in the top of the ninth on a two-run single by Amanda Penney, leading to the win.

The Albertus Magnus College softball team lost 3-2 to Lasell University in the first day of the pod play portion of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament on Thursday afternoon.

Skylar Arent (Ridgefield, Conn.) struck out three batters in a complete game effort. Hailey Laforte (Branford, Conn.) was 1-for-3 with a run.

The Falcons, seeded fourth in the South Division who are playing in pod B, will now face No. 2 in the North Division, Emmanuel or No. 3 in the North Division, Simmons on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Emmanuel-Simmons game was postponed in the tenth inning with the score tied 1-1. 

Albertus Magnus finished the season 22-20.

The Mitchell College softball team saw their season come to an end on Saturday afternoon with 6-3 loss to New England College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) elimination game at Richard W. Bailey Field on the campus of Saint Joseph’s College (ME).

The Pilgrims struck first in the bottom of the third when Emily Gagne singled to reach first, then stole second, then stole third, then scored off a fielding error with two outs to give her team the 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, NEC catcher Emma Lopez doubled to left-center to plate sophomore Grace Giesler, increasing the lead to two. On the very next at-bat, an RBI single by first baseman Abigail Grimes drove in Lopez, making it 3-0 in favor of the Pilgrims.

Junior Emma LaBreck (Rollinsford, N.H.) got the Mariners on the board with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, and two more runs then came across to tie the game at 3-3 when sophomore Olivia DeCicco (Haverhill, Mass.) drove in Brooke Whitmarsh (Portsmouth, R.I.) with a fielder’s choice, and freshman Madison Cole (Westbrook, ME) followed that up with a sacrifice fly.

The lead was short lived, however, as Giesler laced a two-RBI triple to left center to put the Pilgrims up for good, and Lopez then drove Giesler in on the next at-bat, making it a 6-3 game.

Senior Katelyn Lipsky (Plantsville, Conn.) took the loss in her final career start with Mitchell, allowing six runs (five earned) over six innings of work.

The Mariners finish the season with an overall record of 16-20.

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