St. Joseph surging at midway point

St. Joseph suffered a 2-1 loss to Masuk March 31, coming up on the short end of a battle between two of the top teams in the state.

The Cadets haven’t looked back since.

A 9-2 win over Stamford Saturday pushed the Cadets’ record to 10-1 and into the No. 9 spot in the GameTimeCT/Register Top 10 Poll. St. Joseph earned a statement 19-2 win over then 8-2 Danbury on Monday, then topped Westhill 9-3. The Cadets had close calls earlier in the season against Newtown — a 5-4, nine-inning win — Warde and Greenwich.

“The weather has been killing us,” said coach Jeff Babineau. “We made states (Monday), that’s the first goal and we have to keep going. We’ve battled this year, we’ve come back from deficits, which has been great.”

The offense has heated up during the recent stretch, highlighted by the 19-run output against the Hatters. Seniors Kayla Giacobbe (.486) and Hannah Hutchison (.442) are off to hot starts while freshman Madison Fitzgerald is hitting .455. The Cadets are underclassmen-laden at most positions with plenty of potential.

“We are a young team, but in the next couple of years they’re going to come up and be an older team,” Hutchison said. “I like being a leader and showing them how it has been the last four years since I’ve been here.”

Catherine Connell has provided stability in the circle for the Cadets, who face Sheehan Monday and rival Trumbull Wednesday. The Cadets and Eagles have established themselves as the clear-cut favorites in the FCIAC; both are undefeated in the league and no other team has fewer than two losses.

The battle-tested Cadets are primed for a secondhalf surge as they try to move up the Class M standings. St. Joseph last won Class M in 2010.

“(The early season close games) gets us prepared for tough games in FCIACs and states,” Hutchison said. “We need to be prepared because it’s not over until it’s over and no matter what you have to keep coming.”

TOP SQUADS TESTED

After several weeks of blowouts and little movement in the voting, the top squads in the poll finally ran into difficult matchups in the last seven days. Not only did now No. 5 Trumbull suffer its first loss, but both Seymour, North Branford, and Daniel Hand all worked hard to remain undefeated.

No. 1 Seymour fell behind 4-0 to Oxford before rallying to an 8-6 win while No. 8 Hand overcame a strong charge from Waterford to win in eight innings on a walk-off single from Taylor Leckey.

No. 6 Griswold needed a rally to fend off Windsor, scoring once in the fifth and twice in the sixth to score a 5-3 win. Ace Maya Waldron retired 10 in a row to seal the win. No. 5 North Branford won a pitcher’s duel with Coginchaug 2-0 to hand the Blue Devils their first loss. Sydney Senerchia’s ERA still sits at 0.00 after 53 innings in the circle.

AND THEN THERE WERE 12

A dozen squads remain undefeated at the midway point for some, and the quarter pole for others. Southington (7-0), East Hartford (6-0), Masuk (10-0), Hand (9-0), Maloney (8-0), Griswold (12-0), North Branford (11-0), Seymour (11-0), Granby (9-0), Northwest Catholic (7-0), Northwestern (8-0) and Coventry (8-0) have all yet to lose. Half of the 12 reside in Class M. A further 10 teams have lost just once so far.

Just two teams — Wilcox Tech and Griswold — went last year without losing a game during the regular season.

HAT TRICK

Granby sophomore Hannah Cronin had an afternoon to remember Monday as she hit three home runs as part of a 17-2 run over Canton. The Bears haven’t played since then, though this week consists of four games in four days.

GAMES TO WATCH

WATERTOWN AT SEYMOUR, 6:30 p.m. Monday: Indians quietly sit at 7-2 ahead of their trip to face the Wildcats.

GRANBY AT COVENTRY, 4:15 p.m. Monday: Battle between two of the remaining undefeated squads.

BARLOW AT MASUK,

4:15 p.m. Wednesday: Arguably the top two teams in the SWC size up each other in Monroe.

St. JOSEPH AT TRUMBULL, 4:15 p.m. Wednesday: Possible preview of the FCIAC final between the town rivals.

COGINCHAUG AT NORTH BRANFORD,

3:45 p.m. Friday: A rematch of last week’s 2-0 win by the Thunderbirds.

AMITY AT HAND, 4:30 p.m. Saturday: SCC rivals square off; Amity won an 11-10 thriller April 5.