Mother Nature finally cooperates
After two rain-filled weeks, tournaments provide excitement
Mother Nature finally cooperated.
After a few chaotic (rainfilled) weeks, we finally were gifted enough sunny days to finish the regular season and conference tournaments for spring sports. Seriously, we made it.
So, now that we seem to be in the clear (literally), let’s recap some of the best individual and team performances before turning the page to the state playoffs.
1. PLAY… ROCK?: When the SCC baseball quarterfinal between North Haven and Amity was rained out, the two teams decided to settle the score with a game of rockpaper-scissors. That game went down to the wire, with North Haven winning 5-4 to earn coach Bob DeMayo his 900th career victory. (OK, in all seriousness, the milestone win was recorded one day later, 7-6). The video of the two teams going back and forth in rock-paper-scissors became a viral sensation.
2. NO (-NO) PROBLEM FOR WAVE: The most eyeopening stat line belonged to Trumbull’s Ben Fero, who pitched seven hitless innings but came away with a loss against Darien in the FCIAC baseball quarterfinals. The right-hander, who also struck out seven, was victimized by two errors that led to the game’s only run. Darien went on to win its second conference championship in three years thanks in large part to back-toback one-hitters by Henry Williams and Justin Jordan. The Blue Wave allowed only 10
hits across 22 innings in the tournament.
3. SIMPLY DOMINANT: Where will Darien boys lacrosse be ranked in the final Under Armour/ Inside Lacrosse poll? That might be the only question left to answer about the Blue Wave after edging rival New Canaan 13-12 for its fifth straight FCIAC championship. The Blue Wave will head into the Class L tournament with a remarkable 74 straight wins.
4. PANTHERS ROAR: She’s no Rachele Fico. Samantha Schiebe is a star in her own right. The junior threw a five-hit shutout and homered in Masuk’s 6-0 victory over Newtown in the SWC final. The Panthers became only the second team to repeat in the SWC since Masuk won five consecutive championships between 2005-09. With 23 wins (17 shutouts) in 23 tries this season, the Panthers maintain their hold on the No. 1 spot in the GameTimeCT/Register poll.
5. TRADING PLACES: The best softball team in the FCIAC all season was Trumbull. The Eagles won 19 of the 20 games they played and finished a perfect 15-0 in conference play. They were the favorite to win the conference tournament — something they haven’t done since 2010 — but fell one game short after losing 6-0 to St. Joseph. Now, the focus shifts to the Class LL tournament, where the Eagles have a title to defend.
6. WILDCATS WIN IT ALL: Bethel baseball coach Ray Turek had confidence in any one of four pitchers to get the job done in the SWC tournament. And now we see why. Thanks in large part to right-hander Jack Carraturo (seven innings, six hits, eight strikeouts), the Wildcats took down top-seeded Newtown 7-2 in the conference final. The Wildcats allowed only two runs in each of their three playoff wins.
7. MAKING IT COUNT: Considering Fairfield Prep’s continued success in the regular season, it seemed like only a matter of time before the Jesuits broke through in the conference playoffs. In what was their third appearance in the SCC baseball final in four years, the Jesuits finally came away with their first title in a 2-1 victory over Daniel Hand. The Jesuits (22-1) find themselves ranked No. 1 in the GameTimeCT/Register poll and No. 25 in the USA Today Super 25 poll.
8. CLOSE YET AGAIN: One of the FCIAC’s best rivalries happens to take place on the tennis court, where Greenwich and Staples have competed for the conference title six times in eight years. This season’s crown went to the Wreckers, who edged the Cardinals 4-3 thanks to the No. 2 doubles team of Eric Stein and Sam Lampert. It was the Wreckers’ fifth straight conference title and 55th straight match win. The Cardinals last beat Staples in the FCIAC final in 2013.
9. STARRING ROLE: Senior outfielder Becca Johnson was Seymour’s catalyst on offense during the regular season. Unsurprisingly, she came up big in the NVL final, going 4-for-4 at the plate in a 16-2 rout of St. Paul. She’s a big reason why the Wildcats will be a tough out in the Class M tournament.
10. DAYS OF SUMMERS: Sandwiched between all of the happenings on the field was a big-time commitment for a local high school football star. St. Joseph quarterback David Summers announced on Monday that he’s headed to Maryland. Summers, a Walter Camp All-Connecticut and New Haven Register All-State pick, is the second in-state quarterback from the Class of 2019 to commit to a Division-I school in recent weeks, following Avon Old Farms’ Taisun Phommachanh (Clemson).