What to watch as tournaments begin

Saturday marks the beginning of the softball postseason, as the NVL, FCIAC and SWC conference tournaments begin, with the CCC, ECC and Shoreline beginning later in the week.

As teams wrap up their regular seasons and prepare for the singleelimination tournaments, we break down who and what to watch as rivals battle for their respective titles.

ACE-OFF

When it comes to softball, there is little question as to how important pitching is. With a wide range of true aces to teams using up to three pitchers a game, many of the teams that earned playoff berth did so on the back of their pitching.

Perhaps the conference with the most concentrated talent of pitching is the CCC, which will begin Tuesday after the regular season ends Monday. Southington’s trio of Sam Sullivan, Stella Blanchard and Maddie Furniss have done well to position Southington at the top of the conference, but has mainly thrived on offense. Hall’s Duke-bound Sophie Garner-MacKinnon will look to lead Hall to a title. Glastonbury’s Bryant commit Brooke Tracy, RHAM’s Hadleigh Marchand (1.44 ERA in 97 IP with 151 K’s), and Syracuse-bound Jackie Pengel of Avon could all be matching up.

SWC pitching will be highlighted by Masuk ace Kat Gallant and Newtown’s Sydney Adolfson. Woodland’s Riley Kane and Sam Sosnovich will look to repeat as champions in the

NVL, as the pair have combined for 1002⁄3 innings pitched and allowed just 33 hits and six earned runs while striking out 174 batters.

Emilee Bishop has led East Haven in the SCC after taking over as the ace during last year’s postseason run, she should feel little pressure. Guilford sophomore Sophia Meade has gone 10-2 on the mound with a 1.75 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 88 innings and Amity freshman starter Amara Forstrom will look to continue their success into the playoffs.

In the Shoreline Conference, Cromwell junior Lily Kenney will take her 16-1 record with a 1.13 ERA and 168 strikeouts over 1052⁄3 innings into the arena along with Haddam-Killingworth junior Kaleigh Bodak (12-2, 1.35 ERA, 109 strikeouts in 722⁄3 innings).

The FCIAC features Danbury ace Haley Pucci, St. Joseph ace Lauren Wasikowski and the Fairfield Ludlowe duo of Alex Lewey and Anna Gedacht at the top of the conference standings.

BATS TO WATCH

While many teams earning postseason bids rely on dominant pitching, the playoffs will put some of the best hitters in the state up against those great arms. Teams like Southington and Woodland are among the offense powerhouse teams, but plenty of other teams have hitters than can change a game with one swing.

The CCC offensive juggernaut is clearly Southington, which has been referred to as a college lineup by an opposing coach. Senior Ashlyn Desaulniers (.516/.569/1.038 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and 33 runs) and junior Sam Rogers (.604/.656/.1.208 with seven home runs, 33 RBIs and 25 runs scored) have raked all season for a team with a collective .387/.488/.659 slash line.

In the SWC, sophomore standout Natalie Lieto has been tearing the cover off the ball of late. She has homered seven times in her last four games, hitting two in three of them. She currently leads the state with 10 home runs while hitting .547.

In the FCIAC, there has been plenty of offensive production, but few if any stand out above St. Joseph senior Niamh Dougherty. Dougherty is currently batting .600 with nine home runs, nine triples and 11 doubles. At one point this season she homered in four straight games. Fairfield Ludlowe’s lineup was just bolstered by the return of Yale-committed shortstop Elena Ohe, who homered in her first game back from a broken wrist on opening day.

In the SCC, Guilford’s Addie Smith is slashing .439/.522/.982 with eight home runs, including four in the past four games. The Shelton duo of Anna Leone and Alexis Resto are both batting .518, while senior Julia Krijgsman leads the team batting .577.

The NVL’s offensive powerhouse is Woodland, which has seven qualified batters hitting over .500, and one just missing at .493. Riley Kane is currently hitting .614 with three home runs and 33 RBIs and Sosnovich is hitting .522 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs. Kylie Bulinski, who was the heroine last year when she hit a walkoff home run in the NVL championship game, is hitting .587 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. Elle Van Alstyne, Breanna Thurston, Cassidy Doiron and Julia Rowley are all hitting over .500. Naugatuck sophomore Aryn Bombery has also been swinging a hot bat in the NVL, as she has homered seven times (including one against Woodland) while batting .400.

In the Shoreline, Cromwell will be led by senior center fielder Jaimie Anderson’s .588 batting average and 34 runs scored, while the potent sophomore heavy Haddam-Killingworth lineup will look to accomplish its early-season goal of capturing a conference title. The ECC will be headlined by Villanova commit Maddie Burrows of Waterford.

THE ROAD TO …

The ECC DI quarterfinals will begin Wednesday at Vets Memorial Park in East Lyme. The DII quarterfinals will start the same day at Griswold.

The FCIAC quarterfinal round will begin Saturday at the higher seed’s home field. The semifinals Monday will take place at Sacred Heart University at 3 and 5 p.m., with the final Wednesday also at SHU.

The NVL quarterfinal round begins Saturday at the higher seeds, with the semifinals at Wolcott at 5 and 7 p.m. on Monday. The finals will take place Wednesday at Seymour at 7 p.m.

The SCC tournament begins with the quarterfinal round Monday at the homes of the higher seeds, as well as the semifinal round Tuesday. The championship game will be held at Biondi Field in West Haven on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The SWC tournament begins Saturday at the higher seed’s home field, with the semifinals at Deluca Field in Stratford on Monday at 5 and 7 p.m. The championship will be held at Deluca Field on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The CCC championship will begin Tuesday with the semifinal round the following day. Both rounds will be played at the home field of the higher seed. The championship game will be played at the Dunn Sports Complex in Meriden.