Southington aiming for a Class LL repeat

The CIAC softball tournament seeding and schedule were released on Friday. The first round starts on Tuesday.

Defending Class LL champion Southington is the second seed, while Danbury (19-1) is first. In Class L, the 2021 champion Masuk is the top seed and will have a first-round bye.

Woodland (20-0) is the first seed in Class M while 2021 champion Seymour is the No.18 seed. Finally, the 2021 Class S champion Coginchaug is the No.12 seed. Cromwell is the first seed in Class S and will receive a first-round bye.

Here are five things to watch for:

Southington aims to repeat

After winning the 2021 Class LL championship, Southington followed it up with an impressive 19-1 record this season. The Blue Knights’ only loss was a 6-0 defeat to Class L No.1 seed Masuk. On Tuesday Southington will play No. 31 seed Wilbur Cross.

The Blue Knights have relied on their offense all season, scoring in double digits 12 times. On Thursday that impressive offense carried Southington to a second-straight Central Connecticut Conference tournament title with a 10-0 victory over Enfield. Top seed Danbury looks to be the primary competition in preventing a repeat title and both schools have yet to face each other this season.

Glastonbury comes in hot

Fourth-seeded Glastonbury (18-2) comes into the Class LL tournament with some positive momentum after winning nine out of 10. The Guardians’ only regular-season losses are to Southington and No. 6 seed Hall. Glastonbury will play No. 29 Hamden in the first round.

The player to watch for Glastonbury is pitcher Brooke Tracy, headed for Bryant next year. Tracey had a dominant season on the mound and finished with a 15-2 record and 1.28 ERA in the regular season.

Defending champ Coginchaug stumbling in

After winning the 2021 Class S championship, Coginchaug took a step back this season. The Blue Devils had a 12-6 record in the regular season but lost their last three regular-season games. On Tuesday, the No. 12 seed Coginchaug faces No. 21 Stafford in the first round. If the Blue Devils were to win, they would face the winner of No. 5 seed Old Lyme and No. 28 seed University in the second round. In the regular season, they lost to the Wildcats, 4-3, and never played the Hawks.

For Coginchaug to advance far in the tournament, they need their offense to produce more than it has lately.

Stellar pitching among many top seeds

Quality pitching is a common theme among the higher seeds in all class levels. Class LL second seed Southington has an ace in senior Dominique Gaudio, who will play at Utica next season. Blue Knights coach Davina Hernandez told the Courant it changed the way they approach games this past season: “We said from Day One: If we’re going to be successful against this lineup of pitchers this year, we have to have great discipline and pitch selection.”

Hall is the sixth seed in Class LL and its ace, Sophie Garner-mackinnon, will play at Duke next season. Avon, the sixth seed in Class L, owes much of its success to senior Jackie Pengel, who will pitch at Syracuse.

Somers looks to bounce back from championship loss

Last season, Somers lost badly to Coginchaug, 14-2, in the Class S championship game. This season, they are a sixth seed after finishing with a 15-5 record. Somers won nine out of their last 10 games to close out the regular season. In those wins, their offense has really heated up and poured in the runs.

They come in with just the right momentum to make a run. On Tuesday, they will play No. 27 seed East Catholic and get a chance to potentially start another special tournament run.