Working an early morning shift has its advantages.
I was able to get out and get to some CIAC state tournament events today. I started out at Wolcott High School, where the Eagles were hosting Class S girls tennis second and Class M baseball first round contests.
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| Wolcott’s Kaylee Bosques hits a forehand return during her No. 2 singles match. |
Wolcott girls tennis had a solid season, but it wasn’t meant to be for the No. 8 seed against No. 9 Old Saybrook. The Eagles were downed 6-1 by the Rams and saw their season come to an end with a record of 15-4.
After spending some time at girls tennis, I took in the last couple innings of the Class M first round baseball game between No. 8 Wolcott and No. 25 Bacon Academy.
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| Wolcott’s Ike Negretti delivers a pitch during a Class M first round baseball game against Bacon Academy. |
The Eagles and Bobcats were locked in a 2-2 tie entering the top of the sixth inning. Bacon threatened to grab a lead when it loaded the bases, but Ike Negretti got out of it with a strikeout. Two-run singles in the bottom of the inning by Nick Longo and Nate Murphy gave Wolcott a 6-2 lead. Negretti closed out the game in the seventh, and the Eagles moved on. Wolcott will play No. 9 Ellington tomorrow at 3:30 at home.
My last stop of the afternoon was down Route 69 to Bristol Central High School. The host Rams were taking on another bunch of Rams from New Canaan. The young New Canaan squad jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, then Central used its senior experience and some long at bats to come back.
“They’re a young team, and they came out on fire,” Central head coach Monica Hayes said. “They took advantage of some missed spots and put us on our heels.”
Hayes said her team’s senior experience was key. Central’s hitters know how to battle, and battle they did.
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| Bristol Central head coach Monica Hayes talks to her team during the seventh inning of a Class LL first round game against New Canaan. |
Big hits came from all over the lineup, including Allie Martel and Sam Laviero. There was also Sarah Strilkauskas and Alyssa Pasniewski, who providing hits at the bottom of the lineup.
At one point, Lindsay Holden made the New Canaan pitcher throw 11 pitches before hitting the 12th for a single. Holden didn’t score, but she made the pitcher work. Alexa Caron put in a similar at bat.
“They were selective, especially when [the pitcher] started struggling,” Hayes said.
Ali Holden settled down in the circle, and she punctuated the 8-4 win with a strikeout for the game’s final out. Central (16-5) faces No. 23 Darien tomorrow at 4 p.m. at Bristol Central High School.
