Blue Dragons advance to Class LL 2nd round

MIDDLETOWN » Wednesday’s tournament game will be different.

That’s when No. 3 ranked Middletown will play No. 14 ranked E.O. Smith in the second round of the CIAC Class LL state tournament at Henry Hiller Field at MHS. Game time is 4 p.m.

One of the things that makes it different is the Smith is the only team to beat Middletown this season, 4-3, back on April 23 in Storrs. Both teams saw to the rematch by winning their tourney openers Tuesday. Smith beat Newtown 1-0 and Middletown hammered outclassed Wethersfield 27-0 in a game that ended in the fifth inning because of the Mercy Rule. This will be no 27-0 game. “We will have to be ready to play,” said Middletown coach Sal Morello after his club’s romp over Wethersfield. “It’s not too many times you get a second chance. Make no mistake, E.O. Smith (155) is good.”

No. 30 Wethersfield (8-13) offered no resistance Tuesday. Middletown (20-1) scored seven

in the first inning, a rally highlighted by two triples by leadoff hitter Alex Giardina (3-for-4) and a two-run single by Rachel Thompson.

The Blue Dragons poured it on in the second, scoring nine times. The big hits of the inning were a two-run home run by Kelsey White (3-for-4) and a two-run double by Dominique Highsmith (3-for-4).

MHS outdid itself in the third, scoring 10 times, a rally that featured eight hits -- all of them singles -- including a two-run single by Briana DiMartino (3-for-4). The Dragons had 25 hits.

“We played well and we played with a sense of urgency,” said Morello. “I like how we’re swinging the bats and we did what we were supposed to do. I’ve been saying it all year, but we have an older group, an experienced team and that accounts for the sense of urgency.”

Meanwhile Middletown pitcher Sam Pizzonia -- who also had three hits -- was breezing. She threw just three innings and retired all nine hitters she faced, six on strikeouts. Freshman Niya Earl pitched the final two innings, striking out three.

Wethersfield got its first baserunner in the fifth when Emily Swanson walked to open the inning and that was followed by the Eagles’ only hit of the day, a single by Jillian Gray.

Earl restored order by getting the next three in a row to end it.

“I know Pizzonia was pitching a perfect game,” said Morello. “But that’s not the most important thing in the tournament. I was able to get her some rest and that’s the most important thing.

“We left a lot of runners on base the first time we played E.O. Smith. Let’s see if we can change that Wednesday.”

Middletown’s No. 8 hitter Carley Gessaro had three hits and the No. 9 hitter Janelle Franklin had two and drove in four runs.

If Middletown wins today, it will host a quarterfinal round game Friday.