NEW FAIRFIELD—It was mid-way through May, time was running out and everything was at stake.
The New Fairfield Rebels needed to find two more wins to make the state tournament and, with three games remaining, the season was slipping away.
Before the bottom of the seventh inning in a home game against Stratford, the Rebels trailed by three runs and looked to long-time head coach Mary Gallucci for the guidance and wisdom that would change their season.
“We were really clinging at that point, and I think their backs were against the wall, and for the first time they kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, this could be it,’” Gallucci said before the start of Thursday’s practice. “I think the seniors realized it, too. So, I got in the huddle in the seventh and I said to them, ‘We’re down three, we need four to win. Show me what you can do.’”
Four runs later, the Rebels had a win and, after two more league wins, a season was saved.
The Rebels finished the regular season 9-11 and qualified for the Class M tournament as the 27th seed out of 33 teams.
Today, after back-to-back postseason wins, New Fairfield is also the lowest seed left standing in the quarterfinals of all four classes.
The Rebels will trek to Nonnewaug on Friday to take on the third-seeded Chiefs while trying to pull of their third straight upset, as well.
If anybody is surprised by New Fairfield’s run, however, they shouldn’t be.
The Rebels plays in the SWC which is one of the toughest leagues in the state.
“There are several really tough leagues in the state, and we play in one,” Gallucci said.
And it is a gauntlet that has gotten the Rebels ready for the postseason.
In fact, when Berkshire League champ Northwestern Regional saw its state tournament draw the sixth-seeded Highlanders knew they had a tough first-round matchup: New Fairfield 9, Northwestern 6.
Next came Plainville, a 22 seed that knocked off No. 11 O’Brien Tech in the first round. The Rebels won that game by a 12-1, putting them into the quarterfinals for the first time since 1999.
What happened in that former century? New Fairfield won its second state softball title in school history. (The first came in 1980 in the Class S ranks).
The Rebels aren’t thinking about ancient history, however.
Their focus is on Friday and a showdown against Nonnewaug, which lost the Berkshire League title to Northwestern Regional.
And the Chiefs certainly will not look past the Rebels given the fact if took nine innings for them to get a regular season win over New Fairfield.
New Fairfield players and coaches alike, however, trace the team’s turnaround to that Stratford game as the Rebels pulled out a win from the jaws of defeat.
“We kind of all just started playing for the team and not for ourselves,” said senior captain Briana Puff.
Puff is a perfect example of that.
In fact, when the senior plays for her travel team, she rarely if ever pitches because she loves playing shortstop so much.
When she puts on the New Fairfield jersey, though, she knows her team needs her, so she takes the ball, walks out to the circle and gives the Rebels everything she has.
That, however, is a credo the Rebels have embraced.
“They’re very resilient,” Gallucci said. “I’m very impressed with this group because they adapt. If I need to somebody to play first base, they go out there and do it. There is no ‘I can’t.’ They adapt very well to the needs of the team.”
Puff is just the first example of that. Last year’s first baseman Madison Buturla, a junior, plays second base most of the time. Alex Van Leuven, another junior, is the primary first baseman these days because the team needed somebody there and she stepped up.
On the left side of the infield, if Puff isn’t at shortstop it’s Lindsay Briggs, a sophomore. Third base is held down by junior tri-captain Sophia Roldan.
Behind the plate crouches senior Gianna Garofola, who will take her talents to Keene State in the fall.
“Having a catcher like Gianna erases a lot of mistakes,” Gallucci said. “She throws out runners. She picks runners off.”
In the outfield, sophomore Sarah Ottusch roams the lawn with junior Brooke Malanaphy in left and sophomore Kari Moore in right field.
Angela Culp, the team’s third senior, is the 10th player on the roster and ready to help out as needed.
If Puff isn’t in the circle, then it’s Ottusch who gets the call. And that begins a shuffle of New Fairfield players who have learned to play multiple positions.
“They’ve been alternating as the season progressed,” Gallucci said, “but in the state tournament, it’s the senior. But it’s not to say that we won’t go with Sarah. They’re not interchangeable, but they each offer a different aspect. So, if I need something, I know I can go to Sarah.”
Puff and Garofola are a good team within a team, a battery that has been working even better as their careers have grown. Over the course of their careers, the two have had four years to get on the same page.
“I know definitely when we started as freshmen, it took us a while to build our chemistry from the mound and from behind the plate,” Garofola said. “But we have become really close, so it made it easier.”
From the pitching circle to home plate, from first to third, from left field to right, the Rebels have learned to have each other’s back and that has made all the difference.
“I feel like as a team, we all support each other,” said Roldan “Even if we’re lower down at the end of the line-up, everybody gets encouraged and we are there to support our teammates. We just trust each other.”
The Rebels don’t shine bright in just one area of the game either. They are consistently solid in every aspect of the game and every game a different aspect of the squad steps up to shine.
“To be honest, I think it’s just the good mix of everything,” Gallucci said. “I think the hitting comes through at times and then the defense steps up and then the pitching steps up.”
New Fairfield is certainly playing its best softball at this point of the season.
After the walk-off win over Stratford, the Rebels pushed the SWC’s top regular season team Brookfield to the limit, falling by a 2-0 score.
Wins over Bunnell (10-3) and Joel Barlow (13-0) clinched the state tournament berth and the nine-inning loss to Nonnewaug in its regular season finale once again showed that a 9-11 team could play with anybody.
Even in the first round of the SWC tournament, New Fairfield found itself matched up against state power Masuk. The Rebels lost, but only by a 3-2 score, facing the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year, Julia Bacoulis.
As Gallucci says, much to the chagrin of her players, the Rebels are locked in at the right time.
“They’re tired of hearing me say that they’re locked in,” the 24th-year head coach said. “They make fun of me when I say it, but it’s true. They started to get really locked in.”
Twenty-six years ago, New Fairfield played in the quarterfinals and won a couple more games before putting up a banner in the gym.
The Rebels know all that matters right now is Nonnewaug and Friday’s Class M quarterfinal.
Once again, however, everything is at stake and that’s where the New Fairfield Rebels are most dangerous.
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