STORRS—Julia Bacoulis doesn’t put a lot of thought into numerology.
So, the fact she was wearing uniform No. 6 while her top-seeded Masuk High School softball team won its sixth straight CIAC Class L championship on Saturday at UConn’s Burrill Family Field was nothing more than a coincidence.
When Bacoulis started playing travel ball, she wore No. 6 because her older sister wore No. 6.
The rest is history, even as Bacoulis—the 2024 Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year—fired an overpowering one-hitter to lead top-seeded and undefeated Masuk to a 4-0 win over No. 2 Ellington, making history with the Panthers’ sixth straight title.
Bacoulis struck out 12 and didn’t walk a single Ellington batter as she outdueled the Knights’ Camryn Fisher, who also struck out 12 but walked five (two intentionally).
“It’s a really great feeling,” Bacoulis said. “I wasn’t looking for (a 1-hitter). I mean I was looking to just hit my spots. I trust my defense behind me, so I was just looking to hit my spots and if they put it in play, I trust them with literally everything.”
Masuk head coach Leigh Barone said it was one of the Bacoulis’ best games of the Panthers’ undefeated season.
“She was on,” Barone said. “She hit probably 97 percent of her spots. She knew where to throw each batter. They adjusted throughout the game, their offense, and she was able to pick up on that and adjust to where they were and their different swings. So I think she did a great job.”
Ellington coach Tom Gordon said Bacoulis was simply unhittable against his Ellington nine on this night.
“It’s funny. We’ve been scouting them pretty heavy, and it seemed like every that I went to the other team was putting the ball in play a lot more against her,” Gordon said. “But she really answered the bell tonight. She was fantastic. No question about that.”
The Panthers got their pitcher plenty of runs—though it was just four of them.
An Ellington error, coming off after Masuk’s Alyssa Castillo opened the second inning with a walk, staked the Panthers to a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, another Ellington error allowed Masuk’s Ciena Perpetuo to reach base to open the inning. She would then score when Aubrey Zvovushe-Ramos laced a double to left field.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Panthers doubled their lead.
Sofia Lieto led off with a single and with two outs Madison Aguirre took a 65-mile-per hour fastball from Fisher and hit a two-run home run to give Masuk a 4-0 lead.
“My first couple at bats I didn’t really have many good at bats, but I knew my timing was off,” Aguirre said. “I spoke to (one of Masuk’s coaches) I was like, my timing’s off, what do I do? And he was like, just trust yourself. And I was like, first pitch. I’m swinging at it if it’s in the middle and I’m going to attack it. And that’s what I did.”
“I think she had the mentality of attack, hit the ball hard,” Barone said. “When she does that, she has the power.”
Lieto was 2-for-4 with two singles and a run scored to lead the Masuk effort.
“I just wanted to do the best I can to contribute to my team,” Lieto said. “Julia’s working really hard in the circle, so I just want to do anything and just get on base.”
Ava Moretti, from the No. 9 spot in Masuk’s line-up, had the Panthers other hit, a double.
When asked where this title ranked amongst the six Masuk has strung together, Barone admitted this one was up there on the pecking order.
“Oh, it’s pretty far up there,” she said. “It’s a very special group. They all get along so well, and they just mesh so well from start to end, all of them. So, I think this one was really special. And to be able to go wire to wire undefeated is just a huge accomplishment. I’m so proud of them.”
Natalie Lieto and Isabella Holsworth are the only two seniors on the Masuk roster so a seventh straight shot a title is just a year away.
Don’t expect Bacoulis to switch her uniform number anymore soon, however.
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