Conference tourneys set to kick off

It’s only fitting that in a season full of postponements that the conference tournaments across the state would feel the impact as a result. Only the FCIAC tournament — which began Friday — remained intact. The league tournaments across the state feature anywhere from a clear favorite to ones where any of the qualifiers could earn the crown. Most conferences begin their quest Monday.

FCIAC

Dates: Semifinals, Monday at Sacred Heart 3 p.m. (St. Joseph vs. Stamford) and 5 p.m. (Trumbull vs. Warde); Championship, Thursday at Sacred Heart, 5 p.m.

League favorite: St. Joseph.

Player to watch — Olivia Vadas, Warde: The Mustangs’ ace could spoil the party in the semifinals; she helped the Mustangs past Warde in Friday’s quarters.

What to watch for: St. Joseph and Trumbull pulled away from the pack from the outset, and both advanced to Monday’s semifinals. Until someone can knock off the Cadets from their perch (having won four of the previous five titles), The No. 1 team in the state can hit for average, power and has a lights-out pitcher in Payton Doiron.

SCC

Dates: Quarterfinals, Monday at higher seeds; Semifinals, Tuesday at Biondi Field, West Haven, 5 and 7 p.m.; Championship, Thursday at Biondi Field, 7 p.m.

League favorite: Cheshire.

Player to watch — Lauren Card, North Haven: She helped lift the Indians to as high as No. 3 in the state poll, but two losses temporarily brought North Haven down to earth. Could be the best pitcher in the tournament.

What to watch for: Chaos. Any of the eight teams has the potential to come away with the trophy with Cheshire, North Haven and West Haven leading the pack. Amity is lurking as a ⏩

⏩ Emily Gell, Trumbull: Struck out 11 batters in a 6-1 win over Danbury.

⏩ Rebecca Nerbonne, St. Paul: Had a walkoff hit in the 10th inning to give her team a

6-5 win over Farmington.

⏩ Sarah Lombardi, North Haven: Hit a threerun homer in a 7-2 win over Amity.

⏩ Alyssa DeStefano, Ridgefield: Threw a nine-inning shutout in a 1-0 win over Warde.

⏩ Hannah Farr, Windsor Locks: Had her

150th career hit in a 12-2 loss to East Granby. ⏩ Rebecca Schwartz, Stamford: Threw a

dangerous low seed. The Indians emerged as champs a year ago after Cheshire was ousted in the quarterfinals, but the inverse could happen this year.

SWC

Dates: Quarterfinals, Monday at higher seeds, times TBA; Semifinals, Tuesday at DeLuca Field, Stratford, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Championship, Thursday at DeLuca Field, Stratford, 7 p.m.

League favorite: Masuk Player to watch — MacQuarrie Stone-Folmar, ND-Fairfield: The sophomore has belted a stateleading 15 home runs in 17 games this season.

What to watch for: If the Panthers play in a competitive game against an SWC team, it will have been so for just the third time this season. Masuk survived a 3-1 win over Barlow and beat ND-Fairfield 8-1, but Masuk has stomped everyone else. A pair of ace pitchers and a lineup capable of playing both small and big combine to provide Masuk a huge advantage of winning its third straight conference crown.

NVL

Dates: Quarterfinals, Monday at higher seeds; Semifinals, Tuesday at Seymour, 4 and 6:30 p.m.; Championship, Wednesday at Naugatuck 6:30 p.m.

League favorite: Seymour

Player to watch — Abby Poirot, St. Paul: A dual threat for the Falcons, Poirot hit close to .450 and threw quality innings this no-hitter in a 20-0 win over Trinity Catholic. ⏩ Alyssa Hackling, Bristol Eastern: Had a walk-off single in a 4-3 win over St. Paul. Teammate Paige McLaughlin went 4-for-4 in the win.

⏩ Maria Hanchuk, South Windsor: Continued her shutout streak with a no-hitter against Ellington.

⏩ Payton Doiron, St. Joseph: Thew a threehit shutout in a 6-0 win over Danbury in the FCIAC quarterfinals.

⏩ Abby Ota, Barlow: Finished the season with a state-best .727 average, with 48 hits and 29 steals.

season.

What to watch for: Big numbers could dominate the scores late in this tournament if the action this season is any indicator. St. Paul scored 14 runs in a game and lost (to Woodland) while Seymour outslugged both St. Paul (10-9) and Oxford (8-7) at points this season.

NCCC

Dates: Semifinals, Thursday at Trinity College, Hartford, noon and 2 p.m.; Championship, Thursday at Trinity College, 4 p.m.

League favorite: Ellington

Player to watch — Megan Beebe, Ellington: An All-State selection from a year ago, Beebe has turned in several stellar performances this year. That includes a 15-strikeout performance against South Windsor.

What to watch for: Granby has been the top dog in the league for several years, but took a step back by winning “just” 14 games this season. The final could come down to Ellington and Coventry, which was edged by Granby in the semifinals a year ago. Coventry had just one loss during the regular season and is coming off a spot in last season’s Class S semifinals.

ECC

Dates: Quarterfinals, Tuesday at higher seeds; Semifinals, Wednesday (Division I at Griswold, Division II at East Lyme); Championship, Thursday at Griswold (Division II, 4 p.m., Division I, 7 p.m.)

League favorite: NFA, Montville

Player to watch — Hailee Schrader, NFA

What to watch for: The league split its tournament in two this year for the first time after a classic final in 2018. The Wildcats and Griswold could be heading toward a rematch in the final, but Waterford (17-3) will have a massive say. The Lancers lost to Griswold in extras and fell 8-6 to NFA.

In Division II, Montville is wrapping up a successful season that puts it in pole position to win the secondtier crown, but split a pair of games this season against Ledyard. Plainfield also lurks as it dropped a pair of 1-0 decisions to Montville.

SHORELINE

Dates: Play in game (if necessary) Wednesday; Quarterfinals, Thursday at higher seeds; Semifinals, Friday at higher seeds; Championship, Saturday at Old Lyme, 1 p.m.

League favorite: Valley Regional

Player to watch — Skylar Rapuano, Hale Ray

What to watch for: North Branford’s run of four straight conference crowns is in serious jeopardy as several squads — led by the undefeated Warriors — are gunning for the Thunderbirds. Valley Regional has edged many of its league rivals by one-tothree runs behind ace Addy Bullis, but traditional rivals Coginchaug and Hale Ray are in the mix. TEAM

Latest Results: Def. Pomperaug 10-0, Stratford 12-0. Bottom Line: It may take until late in the Class L tournament before Panthers are tested again.

3. Trumbull

19-1

408

3 LL

Latest Results: Def. Bridgeport Central 18-0, Danbury 6-1. Bottom Line: Eagles and St. Joseph appear on a collision course for FCIAC final once more.

4. S. Windsor

18-0

392

4

LL

Latest Results: Def. East Hartford 16-0, Ellington 2-0. Bottom Line: Bobcats close in on top three behind another two Maria Hanchuk shutouts. She hasn’t allowed a run since April 24.

5. Cheshire

17-3

336

5

LL

Latest Results: Def. Hand 16-7, East Haven 3-0, Sheehan 12-0.

Bottom Line: Cheshire will be the No. 2 seed in the SCC tournament, but a tough side of the bracket looms with Hand in first round and West Haven or Amity in semis.

6. North Haven

18-2

324

6

L

Latest Results: Def. Guilford 3-0, Amity 7-2, Staples 9-0. Bottom Line: Indians back on track with three straight wins and the top seed in the SCC.

7. Southington

14-3

256

9

LL

Latest Results: Def. Newington 9-8 (9 innings), Hall 7-6, Windsor 15-9.

Bottom Line: Wild week for Knights who survive not one, but two upset bids. Move up a slot in the rankings as a result.

8. Valley Regional

17-0

245

8

M

Latest Result: Def. Westbrook 16-0, Suffield 12-2.

Bottom Line: Warriors closing in on a remarkable undefeated season. Just three teams left in the state with that honor.

9. E.O. Smith

14-3

229

10

Latest Results: Def. East Catholic 12-0, RHAM 7-1. Bottom Line: Panthers’ lone loss in-state was a 1-0 tilt against South Windsor.

10. West Haven

18-2

203

7

LL

Latest Results: Def. Guilford 6-3, Lost to Amity 6-3, Def. Hillhouse 12-0.

Bottom Line: Life is tough in the SCC when an 18-2 squad drops three spots due to one loss.

Dropped out: None

First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a

30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis.

Others receiving votes: Stamford (16-4) 89 Northwestern

(16-1) 88 Waterford (17-3) 74 Seymour (16-4) 70 Windsor

(14-4) 63 Coventry (17-1) 41 Bristol Eastern (14-5) 38 Farmington (14-4) 35 Amity (13-7) 34 Ellington (16-3) 33 St. Paul

(16-4) 27 Holy Cross (17-3) 19 Warde (12-5) 15 Brookfield

(16-4) 14 Montville (16-3) 11 ND-Fairfield (16-3) 9.

The following voted: Scott Ericson, Stamford Advocate; Steve DeMartino, Coginchaug; Vickie Fulkerson, The Day; George DeMaio, WELI; Jimmy Zanor, Norwich Bulletin; Jeff Babineau, St. Joseph; Ryan Lacey, Danbury News Times; Ken Pereiras, Seymour; Mike Madera, Hearst Connecticut Media; Dave Phillips, Hearst Connecticut Media; Tim Jensen, Patch Media Corp.; Bryan Burdick, NFA; Nick DeLizio, North Branford; Richard Zalusky, Willimantic Chronicle; Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, Terry Dinan, New Canaanite.