What you need to know about the CIAC tournament quarterfinals
The CIAC softball tournaments are heading to the quarterfinals with just 32 teams remaining in the four classes.
Before we get there, let’s take a look at some of the key storylines heading into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Surprises
As we enter the quarterfinal round there have been some teams that have outperformed expectations, or at the predicted expectations. Here are some of the bigger surprises:
BRISTOL EASTERN
Bristol Eastern has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Class L tournament as the No. 21 seed. It followed its opening round upset over No. 12 seed and SWC tournament finalist Brookfield with a 5-4 win over No. 5 Jonathan Law (ranked 9th in the GameTimeCT poll) on Wednesday.
Ali Tellier has been a big reason for Bristol Eastern’s success. Tellier pitched a complete game in the 5-2 win over Brookfield, allowing seven hits and two unearned runs while striking out five. She also went 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run. Against Law,
Tellier allowed four unearned runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out four in the complete game. She was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Alex Shorette hit a gamewinning solo home run in the top of the seventh against Law. Bristol Eastern will face No. 4 seed and SCC tournament champion East Haven Friday.
FITCH
Fitch, seeded 14th in Class L, knocked off two SCC teams on the shoreline to advance to the quarters,
defeating No. 19 Daniel Hand 2-0 in the opening round, then followed with a 1-0 victory over No. 3 Guilford. Charlotte Cabal has not allowed a run over the two games. Against Guilford, she allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out seven while going 2-for-3 with the lone RBI. In the first-round victory over Hand, Cabral allowed two hits and struck out four while going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Fitch lost one-run games to Masuk (3-2), Waterford (8-7) and Glastonbury (4-3) during a three-game stretch that shows just how good this team can be. Its quarterfinal opponent, Avon, has one of the best pitchers in the state ( Jackie Pengel) and also suffered a one-run loss to Glastonbury in the regular season (1-0).
HALE RAY
The No. 24 seed in Class S finished the regular season with a 9-11 record out of the Shoreline Conference, but finished on a five-game winning streak. Hale Ray defeated No. 9 Parish Hill 13-1 in the opening round and took down No. 8 Wheeler 9-7 in the second. In the win over Parish Hill, sophomore Julia Campbell allowed one unearned run on one hit and three walks while striking out 10. Senior Samantha LaRemina has gone 4-for-8 with a home run, a triple, six RBIs and four runs scored over two games, while earning the win against Wheeler. Hale Ray will face No. 1 seed and Shoreline foe Cromwell Friday. Hale Ray lost 10-0 to Cromwell in the regular season.
HOW THE TOP 10 ARE FARING
Nine of the 10 teams ranked in this week’s GameTimeCT poll are still competing. Only No. 9 Jonathan Law has been eliminated. Law, the No. 5 seed in the Class L tournament, lost to No. 21 Bristol Eastern 5-4 in the second round Wednesday.
No. 1 Fairfield Ludlowe has faced little resistance through the first two rounds, shutting out both Darien and Fairfield Warde while scoring 23 runs against its conference foes as the No. 3 seed in Class LL.
No. 2 Masuk is the No. 1 seed in Class L and defeated North Haven 4-0 after a first round bye. It will now go up against No. 10 St. Joseph (Seeded No. 9) in the quarterfinals.
No. 3 Woodland is the top seed in Class M and defeated Plainville 15-1 after its first-round bye and is the clear tournament favorite.
No. 4 Southington has looked strong in its Class LL title defense as the No. 2 seed, defeating Wilbur Cross 22-0 and Norwalk 10-0. Southington will face a familiar opponent in No. 10 seed Maloney, which it defeated 8-1 in the regular season.
No. 5 East Haven is the No. 4 seed in Class L and has defeated No. 29 Bethel 12-1 and No. 20 Torrington 9-2. Now East Haven will face off against Bristol Eastern, which just upset the SCC runner-up Law.
No. 6 Danbury as the No. 1 seed in Class L defeated No. 16 Shelton 3-1 on an eighth inning walk-off home run after a first round bye. The Hatters will go up against a capable No. 8 West Haven team in the quarterfinals.
No. 7 Waterford is also the No. 7 seed in Class L and has won its first two games against No. 23 East Lyme and No. 10 Ledyard with relative ease. Waterford will now face No. 2 Ellington coming out of the NCCC.
No. 8 Hall is the No. 6 seed in Class LL and no-hit No. 27 New Canaan in the first round, then edged No. 11 Naugatuck 3-2 in the second round. The task gets much harder as the Warriors will take on No. 1 Fairfield Ludlowe in the quarterfinal.
No. 10 St. Joseph earned a Class L rematch of last year’s state championship against Masuk after defeating No. 24 Pomperaug 3-0 and No. 25 E.O. Smith 9-0. Lauren Wasikowski vs Kat Gallant regularly makes for a good matchup.
DROUGHTS AND STREAKS Class LL
No. 1 seed Danbury has been to one state championship game in program history, back in 1987 when it lost 9-1 to Southington.
No. 2 Southington is looking for a third straight Class LL title and its unprecedented 20th state title in program history.
No. 3 Fairfield Ludlowe has never won a state title and made its first title game appearance last year when it was walked-off in 4-3 loss to Southington.
No. 8 West Haven is looking for its first Class LL state title appearance. West Haven lost in the second round of the tournament every season from 20162021 and is making its first quarterfinal appearance since 2013.
No. 13 Trumbull has been in two state championship games, most recently when it lost to Amity 13-7 in 2018. The year before, Trumbull defeated Southington 4-3 to claim its only title.
Class L
No. 1 seed Masuk is looking for its fourth straight Class L title and its eighth in program history.
No. 2 Ellington is seeking it first state championship appearance since 1984 when as a Class S school it defeated Terryville 11-9 for its fourth title in five appearances.
No. 7 Waterford won the Class M state championship in 2019 before switching to Class L last season. Waterford has been in 10 state title games and has won half of them.
No. 9 St. Joseph was the runner up in last year’s Class L tournament and last won in 2018. The Cadets have won six state titles.
No. 14 Fitch went to three straight Class L championships from 2014-2016 and won two. Fitch has won three titles in five chances.
Class M
No. 6 Oxford won the Class M tournament twice, in 2013 and 2015.
No. 12 Watertown’s lone state championship game came in 1997, when it lost the Class L crown to Bristol Eastern.
No. 26 Sheehan is 3-for-3 when it comes to winning state titles, but has not appeared since 1979 when it defeated St. Joseph 8-0 for its third Class M title in five years.
Class S
No. 4 Lyman Memorial played in back-to-back Class S state championship games in 2007 and 2008, winning the first over Coginchaug 3-2 in 10 innings and losing the second to Coginchaug 1-0.
No. 5 Old Lyme has never been to a state championship. It has earned a bid to the Class S tournament every season since 2018, but has not made it to the quarterfinals until this year.
CCC VS. FCIAC IN CLASS LL
The Class LL tournament is quickly becoming a showdown between two of the best conferences in the state. Last year the tournament featured an FCIAC vs CCC championship where Southington won on a walk-off over Fairfield Ludlowe. An FCIAC or CCC team has been in every Class LL championship since 2016. This year’s tournament is bringing the conference debate early, as four CCC and three FCIAC teams fill out the seven teams remaining (with No. 8 West Haven as the lone SCC representative). No. 1 Danbury, No. 3 Fairfield Ludlowe and No. 13 Trumbull represent the FCIAC while No. 2 Southington, No. 5 Bristol Central, No. 6 Hall and No. 10 Maloney represent the CCC.
In the quarterfinals, Fairfield Ludlowe plays Hall while Bristol Central will go up against Trumbull. Southington and Maloney will square off in CCC matchup while Danbury will play West Haven.