The CT Softball Blog

ELLINGTON—A year ago, the Ellington Knights made it all the way to the Class L semifinals before running into the buzzsaw that is Masuk.

Tom Gordon knew something was missing, however, as Ellington’s road ended there.

“We know a lot about them,” Gordon said of the Monroe-based Panthers, who is the only undefeated team stills standing this season. “We had a couple of kids who were ill last year and we were certainly inexperienced in that situation. It was a learning experience for the kids and they took it to heart.”

Plus, an even bigger intangible this time around might be the fact that the eight seniors on Ellington’s roster this season have made it a point to bring the Knights closer together than last year’s team.

The result has been a 24-2 record this season, a No. 2 seed in the Class L tournament and Saturday’s trip to the state championship game at UConn’s Burrill Family Field in Storrs.

The first pitch will be delivered at 7 p.m.

Oh yeah. And, for the record, Masuk will once again be in the other dugout.

“I’ve never had a group quite like this,” Gordon said. “We have a senior laden team, but they’ve been playing together since they were like 7 or 8 years old. They know each other. They know what each other can do. They’re smart players and they seem to have come together in a way we weren’t able to last year.”

That closeness—coupled with Syracuse-bound junior pitching star Camryn Fisher in the circle—has led Ellington to a big finishing kick to this regular season.

Consider: On April 25, the Knights eked out a 4-3 win over a tough North Branford team. Since then, Ellington has won 17 straight games. Over those 17 games, the Knights have given up just three runs and posted 15 shutouts.

“We are playing at a high level, and I like our chances,” Gordon said.

Fisher—who has given up just two earned runs all season—will be Fisher in the circle, just like Masuk’s Julia Bacoulis is going to be Julia Bacoulis. (Click here to read our feature story on Camryn Fisher from earlier this season)

Ellington’s defense, though, which started slow this season, has been playing exemplary softball as the weather has warmed up.

“We have a really good defense, though some days we don’t get to show it,” Gordon said, referring to Fisher’s consistent double-digit strikeout average. “As the competition has gotten harder and balls are being put into play, our defense is holding up good. I think this game is going to be a lot like the St. Joe’s (semifinal, a 3-0 Ellington win) game, a game that could go either way.”

Fisher gets a lot of the ink, though in this day and age it’s more like bandwith. But the Knights run deep.

Behind the plate is senior catcher Bryanna Cromwell, a player Gordon and his staff have so much faith in that she’s been calling pitches since arriving on campus as a freshman.

“She was so good at it when she first arrived that I let her do it,” Gordon said. “And she’s better than I ever was. I leave her alone back there.”

At the corners are two players on opposite ends of their careers.

Katherine Czyz, a senior and clean-up hitter, is at first base while freshman Sarah Gilbert, the team’s lead-off hitter, is over at third base. Gordon calls Czyz “a vacuum” at first base while Gilbert has gotten on base in her first at-bat in 19 of her team’s 24 wins.

Up the middle is Keyleigh Flaherty at second base and Brinley Eckles at shortstop. Both are seniors.

Flaherty has played all nine positions for Ellington this season while Eckles has only been caught stealing twice in her entire career.

In the outfield, speedy junior center fielder Mickyla Wong, who started in left as a freshman, is sandwiched between freshman Tyla Gambacorta in left field and the duo of senior Tate McNamara or senior Katelyn Kerstetter in right. Kerstetter can sometimes DP, as well.

Seniors Kendyl Lohrman and Carina Overgaard also bring leadership from within the dugout while playing their roles off the bench.

One key for Saturday, Gordon feels, is not getting caught up in the “Masuk mystique.”

The Panthers, after all, have won six straight Class L championships.

Ellington is playing for its first state softball championship since 1984.

“Hopefully, it’ll be a great game,” Gordon said. “Not only do you have to defeat them, but you have to defeat their culture and that’s a hard thing to do. But this moment isn’t too big for anybody. We are good enough to play with anybody.”

And as far as those seniors, Gordon knows in his heart there is only one proper way for them to end their Ellington careers.

“It’s always great if you can win your last game,” he said. “That would be my wish for them.”

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