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| Curtin (CCSU athletics) |
Tom Curtin and Mitch Guilmette, Central Connecticut State University baseball
CCSU baseball is headed to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Northeast Conference championship, and these two former Bristol standouts are a big reason why.
Curtin, the former Bristol Eastern pitcher, was named to the All-Tournament Team. In CCSU’s 6-3 title-clinching win over Sacred Heart, Curtin threw 3.2 innings of scoreless relief and picked up the win. In his 3.2 innings, Curtin allowed one hit, struck out two and walked one.
Curtin entered the game in the top of the fifth inning with the score 3-2, the bases loaded and no outs on the scoreboard. A run scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the game 3-3, but Curtin got the next two outs on a strikeout and ground out to keep the score tied.
Sacred Heart had first and third with one out in the sixth, but Curtin induced a 4-6-3 double play to escape the jam. He set down the Pioneers in order in the seventh. Back-to-back errors and a walk loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, but Curtin got a strikeout and a foul out before being lifted for a reliever.
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| Guilmette (CCSU athletics) |
Where does Guilmette fit in? Well, CCSU doesn’t get out of the first round of the NEC Tournament without the lefty from Bristol Central. The Blue Devils trailed Wagner 4-1 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Guilmette drew a key two-out walk to keep the inning alive, and CCSU later scored a run to make it 4-2.
It was still 4-2 into the ninth when tournament MVP TT Bowens rocketed a one-out triple. Dean Lockery drew a walk, then Tyler Coleman singled to bring home Bowens and cut the deficit to 4-3. A Ryan Costello infield single brought Guilmette to the plate with the bases loaded.
Guilmette singled to right field to drive in Lockery and Coleman and win the game. Guilmette’s heroics set off a wild celebration by CCSU at Norwich’s Dodd Stadium. Guilmette didn’t get a hit the rest of the tournament, but he is a big reason why CCSU claimed the championship.
In the 10-4 semifinal win over Sacred Heart, Guilmette drove in two runs in the first inning on a deep sacrifice fly.
CCSU finds out where it’s going in the NCAA Tournament today when the field is announced at noon.
Mike Chiovitti, UConn-Avery Point baseball
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| Chiovitti (UCAP athletics) |
Speaking of the postseason, this former Holy Cross standout is in the Division II NJCAA World Series with his team.
UCAP won its first game of the series in Enid, Okla., 11-9 over Kankakee, and Chiovitti went 2-for-5 with a triple, RBI and two runs scored. With one out in the top of the first inning, Chiovitti smacked his three-bagger to left field to drive in Mike Savino and put UCAP up 1-0. Chiovitti singled and scored on a Mike Corso three-run homer in the third inning. Chiovitti later scored on an error in the eighth inning.
UCAP lost 8-5 to Parkland in its next outing, and Chiovitti had a monster game. Chiovitti had three hits, including a homer and double, drove in two runs and scored two more. Chiovitti launched his two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at 2-2. In the fifth, Chiovitti doubled and later scored on a Vincent Pallisco home run.
UCAP faces elimination today in its second game against Kankakee. The game begins at 2 p.m. EDT.
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| Banulski (Molloy athletics) |
Olivia Banulski, Molloy College softball
The junior from Bristol Central got a chance to play in the NCAA Division II Softball College World Series. Molloy was eliminated after losing twice in the tournament. Banulski had a hit in the first game of the series, a 4-0 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan College. She cleanly fielded the lone ball hit to her, which happened in the elimination game against Humboldt State.
Banulski played in and started all 55 games for Molloy. She was fourth on the team in batting average at .273, tied for second in runs scored (21), tied for third in doubles (9) and tied for fourth in RBI (17). Banulski had 67 putouts, four assists and six errors in 77 chances in the field, giving her a fielding percentage of .922.
Banulski hit .297 in 27 conference games. She helped Molloy return to the World Series for the first time since 2013.
Emily Bourassa, University of Saint Joseph lacrosse
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| Bourassa (USJ athletics) |
The former Bristol Co-op standout and Bristol Eastern student finished second in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference in saves.
Bourassa, a junior, recorded 155 in 13 games, second only to Courtney Laperriere of Rivier, who had 196. Bourassa played all 13 games as USJ finished the season 3-10. Bourassa played all 780 possible minutes for the Blue Jays.
Bourassa was a tri-captain for USJ this season. Her season-high in saves was 20 on April 29 against Johnson & Wales.
Statistics compiled from the websites of each athlete’s team.
