The CT Softball Blog

MIDDLETOWN—There were no strangers in either dugout Sunday at the Nutmeg State Games championship.

Just teammates.

Well… teammates wearing slightly different uniforms.

When the Middletown Monarchs’ two 14U teams advanced through opposite sides of the bracket to meet in the championship game, it created the kind of matchup few travel softball organizations ever experience.

One Monarchs team, coached by Katrina Roy, eventually outlasted the Monarchs team coached by Jen Lane, 20-18, in a championship game that featured four lead changes, plenty of offense and even more smiles.

For the Monarchs organization, however, the final score almost felt secondary.

“I thought it was cool because it wasn’t all Connecticut teams,” said Lane, who serves as the Monarchs’ Director of Softball in addition to coaching one of the 14U squads. “To have two of our teams playing in the championship of something like the Nutmeg Games was really special.”

The possibility had been there all weekend.

Looking at the bracket Sunday morning, Roy knew the two teams could be on a collision course. When it became reality, excitement quickly replaced any awkwardness.

“The girls were really excited when they found out we were going to be playing the other team,” Roy said. “We practice together sometimes and we work together. It was a really great experience.”

That familiarity made the game unique.

The players knew one another. The coaches knew one another. In Roy’s case, she had even worked individually with some of the hitters standing in the opposite batter’s box.

“I gave lessons to a couple of kids on that team,” Roy said with a laugh. “We were making jokes that they’re not getting any more hitting lessons after that weekend.”

The championship itself matched the occasion.

In a game that looked more like a football score than a softball final, neither team ever stopped swinging. The lead changed hands four times before Roy’s club finally emerged with the 20-18 victory.

For Roy, the championship represented more than just a bunch of medals.

After a difficult Saturday, her team responded exactly the way she had hoped.

“We had a rough day on Saturday,” Roy said. “We’ve talked about having resilience and grit the whole beginning of the summer, and it really showed on Sunday when it mattered. They’re a great group of kids.”

Players on her Monarchs 14-U Roy team included: Brooklyn Schoen, Charlotte Lombardi, Olivia Kane, Briella Krystofolski, Caitlyn Hale, Ashley Wiernasz, Avery Klett, Kallie Cottle, Emmy Zeidler and Madisyn Gordils.

She believes the victory could become a turning point.

“I think it showed them what they’re really capable of,” Roy said. “We’ve had the conversation all summer that they just need to find a little breakthrough. This was a team that didn’t have a ton of success as far as wins in the fall, so for them to come out this summer and really show what they’re capable of has been great.”

The Monarchs 14U-Lane team included: Kelly Noto, Olivia Lane, Amaya Collura, Grace Burke, Brianna Eldridge, Addison Sharillo, Natalie Maxwell, Mallory Vile, Noa Fried, Natalie Boles, Ava Rice and Annika Crocker.

Carmela Giuliano, a long-time Monarchs player, is on Roy’s team but has been out with a torn ACL. Just the same, she was on hand to root on both teams.

Lane, meanwhile, couldn’t help but appreciate what the championship said about the organization as a whole.

Seven years after launching the Monarchs softball program, seeing two of its own teams playing for a tournament title validated the culture the organization has worked to build.

“I think it speaks to the depth of our program,” Lane said. “Our coaches work together, our players support each other and everybody is pulling in the same direction. At the end of the day, it was a win for the Monarchs.”

Roy agreed.

“Jen runs a really great program,” she said. “She knows how to get people to coach that have good experience and are really good with the kids. I love where I am right now. I wouldn’t really change anything about it. I think more people need to be aware of what we’re doing over here. It’s a great program.”

In most championship games, one team celebrates while the other is left wondering what might have been.

Sunday was different.

Sure, one Monarchs team took home the championship.

But by the time the final out was recorded, as Roy’s team completed a double play, it felt like the entire program had already won.

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