LOOKING BACK | BY GEORGE ALBANO
10 YEARS AGO
The Norwalk High girls lacrosse team posted its first statetournament win in program history by beating Shelton 13-4. Fifteen NHS players recorded points, led by Thenya Taiyanides, Christine Mace and Jen McCarthy with two goals and two assists apiece. The Bears, making their third postseason appearance, were seeded 19th in Class L while Shelton was 14th ... Norwalk’s season ended two days later with an 18-8 loss to No. 3 Greenwich. Efthimia Kutrubis had a hat trick for the Bears.
In boys lacrosse, Zack Bartolo scored seven goals as No. 10 Brien McMahon won its Class L firstround game 16-8 over No. 7 Conard ... The Senators were then eliminated in the quarterfinals after a 15-10 loss to No. 2 Newtown, which beat No. 15 Norwalk High 13-8 in the opening round.
The first round of the Class LL girls softball tournament saw No. 12 Norwalk defeat No. 21 Trumbull 7-4 at Ray Barry Field. Winning pitcher Patti Sciglimpaglia had three hits for the Bears, while
Eleni Petridis delivered a key two-run single during a three-run fourth inning. Katie Schmidt, Kerry McCabe and Mary Sciglimpaglia also drove in runs ... The Bears’ most successful season in seven years ended in the second round with a heartbreaking 2-1 walk-off loss to No. 5 Bristol Eastern. Norwalk, which finished 15-9, tied the score in the top of the seventh, but the home team strung three straight oneout hits together in the last of the inning to win it.
The McMahon baseball team also won its opening-round Class LL contest as the 11th-seeded Senators routed No. 22 New Milford 11-1 in Norwalk. Senior Bryan Daniello, who was named the 2012 Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year earlier in the day, hit an inside-the-park homer and doubled, while also pitching the first four innings to raise his record to 8-1. The home run was the seventh of the season for Daniello, who is hitting over .400 and was also named the FCIAC Player of the Year this season ... The Senators’ 16-8 season ended the next day with a 6-3 loss to No. 6 South Windsor.
25 YEARS AGO
Sparked by leadoff batter Tridina Williams, the Norwalk High girls softball team pulled out an exciting 4-3, eight-inning victory against Hamden in the opening round of the of the Class LL state tournament. Williams collected three of the Bears’ five hits and scored three of their four runs, including the winner in the last of the eighth. After leading off the inning with her third single, Williams stole second, moved to third on a sac bunt, and scored when sophomore Jill Cimminello delivered a two-out RBI single.
The Lady Bears, seeded No. 11, were eliminated the next day by No. 2 Cheshire 10-6 as a five-run rally in the top of the seventh by NHS fell short. Stacey Morrell belted a bases-loaded triple in the frame while Matina Kodonas and Lauren DeLong added RBI singles. Norwalk finished 15-7.
The NHS baseball team, seeded 25th in its Class LL tournament, lost a 6-5, nine-inning heartbreaker to No. 8 Glastonbury in the first round to end the season 11-10. Pitcher Rich Trimboli, who recorded 11 strikeouts, had two hits, including an RBI single and a solo HR in the top of seventh to tie the score 5-5, setting the stage for Glastonbury to win it in the last of the ninth. Rocco Bellantoni also had two hits for Norwalk.
50 YEARS AGO
A celebration dinner honoring the 1971-72 FCIAC champion Norwalk High School boys basketball team was held at the Chatham Oaks banquet hall on Connecticut Avenue. The event was organized by the NHS Girls Leaders Club and all members of the team received championship varsity jackets. Among those in attendance was Norwalk High graduate and current NBA player Calvin Murphy, the evening’s main speaker, who led Norwalk to its only other FCIAC crown in 1966.
Meanwhile, the Norwalk High baseball team won its opening state-tournament game as the Bears, seeded 16th in Class LL, defeated defending state champion East Hartford 9-3 at the NHS diamond. The Bears banged out a season-high 15 hits, including three each by Tom Hosack and Jim Whitley. Hosack had two doubles, a triple and two RBIs, while Tony Trimboli belted a home run over the center-field fence. Trimboli, Bill Marquis, Brian O’Malley and winning pitcher Rich Scully all had two hits.
Central Catholic, which had to win its final two games to make the state tourney, lost its opening Class M game 5-3 to North Branford. The Cavaliers, seeded 27th out of 27 teams, led the No. 16 seed 3-2 through seven innings (nine-inning game in states), but North Branford scored a run in the eighth to tie it and two in the ninth to win it. The Norwalkers outhit the Thunderbirds 9-7 as Tim Eagen, playing his final high school game, had three hits, including an RBI double, RBI triple and another double in the ninth inning. Don Herring also doubled in a run and finished with two hits, as did Rick Svencer. The Cavaliers finished 9-10.