The CT Softball Blog

It was somewhere around the sixth inning when it happened; when the winds of change shifted and the darker clouds started to hover high above Foran High School’s Danielle Kemp Field.

Before the pitcher could even get three outs, you could literally feel the temperature change from the warmth of the mid-70s to the chilliness of the mid-50s.

On the field, the action stayed as hot as ever as the top two teams in the state—Cheshire and Foran—went at each other pitch-for-pitch in front of nearly 200 people who ringed the field.

No. 1 vs. No. 2. Rams vs. Lions. Jenica Matos vs. Abigail Corris. The defending Class LL state champs vs. the defending Class M champions.

What made it more fun was the fact that, technically speaking, there were two No. 1 teams going toe-to-toe.

Cheshire, after all, is the No. 1 team in the CT Softball Blog’s Players’ Top 10 Poll. Foran was No. 1 in Hearst Media’s GametimeCT poll, voted on by media members and some coaches, too.

In the end, it was Cheshire snapping Foran’s 33-game winning streak with a 6-0 win.

Matos, on the birthday she shares with her battery-mate, Molly Fleming and her twin sister Callan, was on her game, striking out 17, walking two and giving up just one hit.

As good as the softball was on the field, though, there was something off the field that mattered a lot, as well.

The coverage!

This Cheshire-Foran matchup proved to be Must See SB, if you will.

There were at least nine members of the media who were present for the game, which is very impressive given the landscape of local media right now.

Obviously, I was there for the the CT Softball Blog.

Scott Ericson, a veteran sports journalist and the new softball beat guy for GametimeCT, was on hand. So, too, was Lori Riley of the Hartford Courant.

The game was streamed live by Coachcast, on You Tube, featuring the Coach—George DiMaio—and his producer.

Greg Lederer of Cheshire Sports Media was on hand to cover the Rams while two other photographers were trying to find the best angles shooting at a field where angles are hard to find.

There was even a television guy running around with a camera until he had to leave early to undoubtedly get his footage on the 6 o’clock newscast.

Bottom line: The state’s media was covering softball like it was a state championship game, and not just a matchup of two pretty good teams playing an SCC league game.

I’ll be honest. That is fantastic.

In the three years since I hit “publish” on the first CT Softball Blog post, I’ve been to a lot of games and if one other member of the media was there with me, that was a lot.

This game deserved to have a lot of attention on it, and the sports editors of the state’s two biggest media outlets were there to give it to them.

Kudos to them. Finally.

Let’s not forget that up in Monroe, No. 3 Masuk was hosting No. 4 Southington—a game that Hearst Media also covered on GametimeCT—with the Panthers winning by an 8-0 score.

You read that right, folks. Heart Media covered two softball games in one day.

Did the world turn upside down?

We can only hope so.

Look, the media is still going to lean heavy into lacrosse—especially down here in Fairfield County where I reside—and baseball.

But for a day, on this specific Friday, the sport of softball was the main story line and the media treated it as such.

Will that continue?

We can only hope so.

Obviously, the CT Softball Blog will be here, doing its best to get the stories out to you.

Having Scott Ericson covering the sport for GametimeCT is a huge shift, as well. I’ve known Scott for years, I know and respect his ability to cover the sport.

He will keep me on my toes and he’ll also bring you many good stories over the months and seasons ahead. Sadly, though, Hearst is behind a paywall.

I know for a fact that my game story from yesterday garnered a lot of hits for just a game story. I’m sure the same could be said for GametimeCT and the Courant.

There were a lot of eyes on high school softball in Connecticut on Friday, and people paid attention.

Let’s just hope that sports editors and sports writers will continue to pay attention to a sport that so richly deserves it.

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