The throne is vacant.
For the first time in eight years, Connecticut softball will crown a state champion other than Masuk after the Panthers’ quarterfinal exit.
Fifth-seeded Jonathan Law stunned fourth-seeded Masuk on Friday during the CIAC state softball quarterfinals, posting a 12-6 victory over the Panthers to dethrone the seven-time defending Class L champs.
The other three remaining state champs—Cheshire in Class LL, Foran in Class M, and North Branford in Class S—all remain alive and are headed to next week’s semifinals.
North Branford’s game saw Lauren Vitarisi fired a five-inning no-hitter over Somers.
Those games will be held Monday and Tuesday at sites still to be determined.
Here is a rundown of all the quarterfinal games:
CLASS LL
No. 1 Cheshire 2, No. 9 Danbury 0
Jenica Matos was once again brilliant in the circle, firing a two-hitter while striking out 13 and walking three to lead the Rams to the win.
Runs in the first and third inning were all Cheshire needed for Matos.
Jordan McCue led off the game for Cheshire in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Rams a 1-0 lead. In the third inning, McCue walked, stole second and was sacrificed to third by Ava Pearson’s butn. She later scored on Molly Fleming’s sacrifice fly.
Lyla Blair had the other hit for Cheshire.
For Danbury, T’Aira Walters and Abigail O’Dell both had singles. O’Dell (3.0 IP, 2 runs, 3 walks, 2 Ks) and Ava Tong (3 IP, 5 Ks) split the duties in the circle.
Cheshire will face Darien in the semifinals.
No. 4 Darien 1, No. 5 Trumbull 0
Courtesy runner Cacey DeVito scored from second on Camden Comfort’s bloop fly ball in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving the Blue Wave the win over Trumbull.
Vivian Knott had walked with one out and moved to second when Bella McCarthy was hit by a pitch. After being subbed out by DeVito, Comfort had her hit.
Knott then set down Trumbull in order in the top of the seventh as the Blue Wave advanced. Knott, who earlier in the day was named Gatorade Connecticut Softball Player of the Year, struck out 13 and walked one while throwing a complete-game two-hitter.
Emma Hamilton had two hits for the Wave while Kate McCloskey and Comfort had the other ones.
For Trumbull, Maddie Pippa was once again solid on the mound, giving up four hits while striking out seven and walking two. Julia Terry and Bella Matta had the hits for the Eagles.
Darien will face No. 1 Cheshire in the semifinals.
No. 2 Southington 4, No. 7 Norwich Free Academy 2
A three-run fifth inning gave Southington some breathing room and the victory over Norwich Free Academy.
Olivia Gombotz had two doubles, a run scored and an RBI for the Lady Knights. Savanna Eliasson and Abby Lockwood each added two singles apiece, as well, to Southington’s 10-hit attack. Aubrey Perugini, Amber Ramey and Briana Miron had RBIs.
Angie Insogna got the win. She gave up five hits, one earned run and struck out three while walking two0.
Five different NFA players had hits with Reilly York contributing a double and Aubrey Martin (1-for-2, walk) and Isabella Ruta posting RBIs
Southington will face No. 11 New Canaan in the semifinals.
No. 11 New Canaan 9, No. 19 Fairfield Warde 1
Maya Aquino drove in five runs in a 3-for-3 effort (with a double) as the Rams posted the win over league rival Fairfield Warde.
Marissa DelCarmine (2-for-4, 1 run) and Lisa Mallozzi (2-for-4, 3 runs) both had two RBIs apiece. Mallozzi had two doubles. Lauren Fico added two hits and two runs scored.
Fico also got the win on the mound, striking out seven and scattering seven hits while giving up a single run. She didn’t walk anybody.
For Fairfield Warde, Martina Kozeracki had two singles while Macey Greene had a single, a double and an RBI.
New Canaan will face second-seeded Southington in the semifinals.
CLASS L
No. 5 Jonanthan Law 12, No. 4 Masuk 6
The Lawmen started fast, scoring three times in the first inning nad taking a 9-2 lead after four while eliminating the seven-time defending state champs.
Gabby Rodriguez drove in three runs a single and a double and Julie Scibek plated three with a triple and scored three runs to pace the Law offense. Emily Bassett (1 run), Charlotte Doyle (3 runs, 1 RBI) each had two hits apiece while Lily Stankevich doubled and scored twice.
For the Panthers, Peyton Webb had three hits, including a double while Grace Ely had a solo home run and Ciena Perpetuo had a home run with two RBIs. Mary Saunders also plated a pair.
Law moves on to play Brookfield in the semifinals.
No. 1 Brookfield 8, No. 9 St. Joseph 0
Sydney Miller spun a three-hit beauty, striking out 15 and walking four while giving up just three hits to lead the Bobcats into the semifinals.
Lila Conrad was 3-for-4 with a run scored adn two RBIs for the Bobcats while Olivia Sinapi had a single, a double and two runs scored and Sam Aurrichio had two singles and a run. Emma Ferguson blasted a three-run home run in the first inning, staking Brookfield to a 4-0 lead.
For St. Joseph, Addie Graf doubled while Mackie Caouette and Molly Kery both singled.
Brookfield will face fifth-seeded Jonathan Law in the semifinals.
No. 2 New Milford 2, No. 10 Mercy 1
After Mercy tied the game in the top of the sixth, New Milford pushed a run across in the bottom half of the inning as the Green Wave escaped with the win and advanced to the semifinals.
Lydia Rocky and Carly Coloneri both had singles and RBIs to account for the only New Milford runs. Regan O’Loughlin and Lilly Fortier had the other two singles.
Rocky was top-notch in the circle, giving up just six hits while striking out 10. She didn’t walk a batter and the run was unearned.
For Mercy, Carly Weisenberg and Pip Karch both doubled. Karch had her team’s RBI and also pitched well in the circle, limiting New Milford to the four hits. She struck out six and walked four.
No. 14 Waterford 19, No. 11 East Lyme 10
Isabel Henry drove in four runs and Bella Rush plated three more to lead Waterford to a high-scoring win over East Lyme.
Henry was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two walks while Rush was 2-for-6 with two runs scored. Avery Gallerani was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI; Ava Waddington was 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs; and Victoria Adamski was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI.
Aubrie Willis scored three runs and drove in two without getting a hit, but walked three times. Gallerani had two doubles while Waddington and Reese Firmin had one double apiece.
For East Lyme, Natalie Knowlton was 4-for-5 with a triple 5 RBIs. Kinzie Donahue was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
CLASS M
No. 4 Foran 1, No. 5 Seymour 0
Abigail Corris, who had pitched a brilliant, 16-strikeout, two-hit, complete-game performance in the circle, doubled with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to start the rally that saw Olivia Gregory deliver the game-winning single with two outs as the Lions kept their hopes for a repeat alive.
After Corris doubled, Holly Coon replaced her as a courtesy runner, scoring on Gregory’s hit to left field.
Maddie Deldin added a triple for Foran while Norah Bove and Maya Fallon-Silva added singles.
For Seymour, Daphne Shea and Maddie O’Hayre had singles. Losing pitcher Cassidy Marcinczyk gave up five hits and just the one earned run.
Foran will play top-seeded Nonnewaug in the semifinals.
No. 1 Nonnewaug 13, No. 8 Lewis Mills 6
Gia Saverese had three RBIs while Jordan Kovach, Ashlyn Blum and Maryn Savarese all drove in two runs to lead the top-seeded Chiefs to the win.
Blum was 3-for-3 on the day with a home run and a double while Gia Saverse was 2-for-4 with a triple. Maryn Saverese had two singles while Kovach added a double. Rileigh Abed was 4-for-4 with four singles, scoring a run and driving in one. Lila Farrelly also doubled.
For Lewis Mills, Gabriella D’Iorio (1 RBI) and Keira Vigue (3 RBIs) were both 3-for-4 with three singles each. Brooke Martineau had a single and a double and scored twice.
Nonnewaug will play Foran in the semifinals.
No. 7 Woodland Regional 12, No. 18 Cromwell 0
Ayla DeCrescenzo drove in five runs, going 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a run scored, to lead the Hawks to the semifinals.
Woodland Regional pounded out 13 hits in the game. Angelena Tottenham was 3-for-4 with two runs scored an an RBI; Kate Lisowski was 2-for-3 with three runs scored; Maddie Montini was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs; and Hannah Murray was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
In the circle for Woodland, Caitlyn Braun hurled the shutout, scattering seven hits. She didn’t strikeout anybody and just walked one.
Woodland Regional will play Bacon Academy in the semifinals.
No. 6 Bacon Academy 8, No. 14 Granby Memorial 7
Emma Pensa was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs while Reina Hill had two singles and two RBIs to lead Bacon Academy past Granby Memorial and on to the semifinals.
Granby led 6-4 entering the bottom of the sixth when Bacon put up four runs to take the lead.
Gabrielle Russo also had two hits, two runs scored an RBI for Bacon Academy while Alexa Smith (1 run, 1 RBI) and Riley Stolzman both doubled.
For Granby Memorial, Brenna Nicholas was 4-for-5 with four singles and an RBI. Brynne Simard (double) also had two hits and scored twice, Riley Bruckner had two doubles and scored a run; and Jaden Clark had two singles with an RBI. Ashley Tetreault and Sophia Vitelli both drove in two runs each.
Bacon Academy will play Woodland in the semifinals.
CLASS S
No. 1 St. Paul Catholic 8, No. 9 Lyme-Old Lyme 4
Isabella McCulloch and Laila McCulluch both had home runs, combining to drive in five runs as the Falcons posted the win.
Isabella had three RBIs whle Laila drove in two and Liliana McCulloch was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Julia Kozlak also scored twice.
For Lyme-Old Lyme, Sybil Neary was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two home runs and three RBIs. Avery Goiangos also had a solo home run.
No. 4 Hale Ray 5, No. 21 Coginchaug 4
PJ Riccio was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a single and two runs scored to lead the Noises of Hale-Ray to a tight win over Coginchaug.
Briella Dean also had two hits and an RBI for Hale-Ray while Fenway Jankowski had a home run and three RBIs. Lily Jahne struck out 13 and walked three for the Noises.
For Coginchaug, Ava Ekblade had two hits and scored twice and Charlotte Lombardi had a home run and two RBIs. Pitcher Kennedy Painter struck out eight and walked one.
No. 15 Valley Regional 8, No. 7 Holy Cross 2
Paige Williams held Holy Cross to two runs and four hits to lead Valley Regional into the semifinals. Williams struck out five and walked five in the game.
Offensively, the Warriors got two RBIs from Juliana Spencer (double), AJ Scrivo and Megan Dugan (2 hits, with a double). Brooke Ouellette was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and Carley Spearin was 2-for-4. Williams also had two hits, two runs and an RBI to aid her own cause.
Gabriella Rosado had a solo home run for Holy Cross while Darby O’Connell, Samantha Myers and Erin Barry had singles.
No. 3 North Branford 13, No. 11 Somers 0
Lauren Vitarisi’s no-hitter came with 11 strikeouts and no walks as the Thunderbirds advanced to the semifinals against Valley Regional.
Ava Ryszczyk had two doubles, a single, and five RBIs to pace the North Branford offense. Vitarisi also doubled and drove in three runs; Adrienne Frost was 2-for-3 with a triple, a run scored and two RBIs, Addy Wyatt had two hits, two runs and an RBI, and Ashley Berardesca had two hits, also.
From the top of the line-up, Alia Martone only had one hit and an RBI, but she scored three runs in the game.
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