Holy Cross is in the Class S semifinals in two different sports in the season’s final week.
The No. 2 Crusader softball team plays No. 3 Wamogo Regional-Litchfield on Monday at 4 p.m. at Frank Biondi Softball Field in West Haven. On Tuesday, top-seeded Holy Cross baseball plays No. 5 Housatonic Regional-Falls Village at Bristol’s Muzzy Field at 3:30 p.m.
On the line for both teams is a berth in the state final on Friday or Saturday. Holy Cross softball is taking aim at a third straight state championship.
The Crusader baseball team is looking for their first state championship. Holy Cross lost to Plainville in two previous appearances, 1994 in Class L and 2008 in Class M.
Here’s more on both games:
SOFTBALL
No. 2 Holy Cross vs. No. 3 Wamogo Regional-Litchfield
At Frank Biondi Softball Field, West Haven
Monday, 4 p.m.
The road to the semifinals: Holy Cross — No. 31 Bolton 12-0, No. 15 Tourtellotte 15-0 (5 innings), No. 7 Hale Ray-Moodus 4-0; Wamogo — No. 30 SMSA 19-0, No. 14 Somers 6-0, No. 6 Norwich Tech 7-0.
Pitching, pitching, pitching: Holy Cross is led by senior star Sarah Lawton. Wamogo relies on senior Cyrena Zemaitis. Both pitchers have thrown three shutouts in the state tournament.
Batting balance: Holy Cross has plenty of it. There’s Hannah and Allie Brown to deal with in the first two spots, followed by Sarah Lawton at No. 3 and Alexandra Lombardo at cleanup. As a matter of fact, the Crusaders don’t really fall off 1-9 in the lineup.
Experience: Holy Cross has plenty of it, given it has won the past two Class S state championships. They shouldn’t be fazed by the spotlight. Wamogo was No. 3 in Class S last year, but lost in the quarterfinal round to eventual runner-up Notre Dame-Fairfield. The Warriors had lost in the quarterfinal game each of the last two seasons.
BASEBALL
No. 1 Holy Cross vs. No. 5 Housatonic Regional-Falls Village
At Muzzy Field, Bristol
Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.
The road to the semifinals: Holy Cross — No. 32 East Windsor 16-0, No. 16 East Hampton 9-0, No. 8 Thomaston 10-1; Housatonic — No. 28 HMTCA 7-0, No. 21 Terryville 6-3, No. 4 St. Paul 7-6.
Crusaders cruising: Holy Cross is led as usual by strong pitching. Chris Flynn has two wins in the state tournament while Fran Phelan picked up the other one. Expect Phelan to get the ball against the Mountaineers.
Climbing the mountain: Housatonic trailed St. Paul 6-3 after five innings on Saturday, but stunned the home team with a four-run top of the sixth inning. The Mountaineers are resilient and shouldn’t be underestimated.
Multiple threats: The Holy Cross offense is difficult to stop. There’s the speed of Adam Razza leading off, followed by Fran Phelan in the two-hole. Monster senior Matt Bonvicini lurks at No. 3, followed by solid sophomore Tim Zupkus at clean-up. Connor Goggin, Mike Keating, Will Marshall and others make sure pitchers can’t relax after the top four hitters.
