South Windsor looking elite, but Class LL has good depth

The CIAC revealed the softball state tournament brackets Friday.

The qualifying games are held Saturday, while the first round starts May 28. Here’s five things to know ahead of the state tournaments, from undefeated juggernauts to area teams looking to dethrone defending champs.

South Windsor untouchable in the regular season, top seed in Class LL

No one could stop No. 1 South Windsor in the regular season, as the Bobcats (20-0) went undefeated despite a challenging schedule. South Windsor beat the likes of Southington, NFA, Windsor and Bristol Eastern en route to the top spot.

Senior Maria Hanchuk, a Fab 15 frequent honoree, went 19-0 on the mound with a sub-1.00 ERA. The Bobcats lost to Southington in last year’s quarterfinals. If the two teams were to meet again this time around, it could only be in the state championship game.

The rest of Class LL is loaded, too

South Windsor is the top dog, but it’s deeper than just the Bobcats. Trumbull and West Haven, seeded second and third, aren’t easy outs. Neither is No. 4 Southington (17-3) or No. 5 E.O. Smith, led by star pitcher Hailey Golembiewski. The Panthers lost just three times - twice to out-of-state opponents, and once to South Windsor.

Valley Regional primed to make a deeper run than last year

Valley Regional went 12-8 last year, and didn’t make it past the first round. This year, the Warriors (19-1) are the top seed in Class M and earned a first-round bye.

The Warriors lost for the first time all season on Sunday to Coginchaug, 3-0, but shutout HaddamKillingworth and Old Saybrook to end the week. Sophomore Lexi Ross is hitting .648 for Valley Regional, while pitcher Addy Bullis boasts a record of 19-1 on the mound, with a 0.75 ERA.

Holy Cross still looms in Class S, though St. Paul and Coventry look strong

Holy Cross, seeded third this year at 17-3, is always a force in Class S. The Crusaders have made it to the last four state championship games, winners of three, and won’t be an easy out again this year.

Coventry, seeded second at 18-2, and St. Paul, seeded sixth at 16-4, are among the area teams looking to buck the trend.

The Patriots, a state semi-finalist that lost to Holy Cross a year ago, will look to get revenge on the Crusaders. The Falcons, led by ace Abby Poirot, are on the hunt to return to the state title game again after making it there in 2017.

Several area teams look to make noise in Class L

Class L features a pair of defending state champions: Masuk, seeded second this year, won the Class L title a year ago, and St. Joseph, this year’s top seed, won the Class M championship.

Having two experienced teams in the same bracket will be difficult, but No. 5 Windsor, No. 6 Maloney, No. 7 Bristol Eastern and No. 8 Farmington are among the area teams in the top 10 that’s looking to dethrone the defending champs.

Shawn McFarland can be reached at smcfarland@courant.com.