Four local teams played state quarterfinal games Saturday, and two of them moved on to the semifinals. Both of them have Falcons as their nickname.
The St. Paul boys lacrosse and baseball teams each won Class S quarterfinal games at home. The fourth-seeded Falcon lacrosse team rode terrific efforts by Christian Decker, Brycen Kennedy and Connor Matthews to a 13-11 win over No. 12 Somers in an early afternoon contest. St. Paul will host No. 17 St. Joseph-Trumbull on Wednesday evening at 6 o’clock in a semifinal matchup. The Falcons and Trojans met in a Class S quarterfinal in 2018 in Bristol, which the road team won. St. Joseph, a No. 9 seed from the powerful FCIAC, won the state championship that year. This is St. Paul’s first appearance in a state semifinal.
The top-seeded Falcon baseball team again rode a powerful offensive effort to a win, 16-6, over No. 24 Shepaug Valley-Washington. St. Paul had 10 extra base hits in the game, and six left the field for home runs. Mario Izzo (2), Ryan Daniels (1), Owen Davis (1), Casey Cerruto (1) and Shaun Remillard (1) led the power attack. There were multiple RBI days from Izzo (4), Remillard (3), Cerruto (3) and Daniels (2). Izzo (3), Daniels (3), Jamie Leggett (3), Cerruto (2) and Davis (2) all scored multiple runs as well. St. Paul will play No. 28 Immaculate-Danbury in a semifinal on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Berlin’s Zipadelli Field, located in Sage Park. The Falcons are no stranger to semifinal games. St. Paul played in semifinal games in 2016 and 2019. The Falcons won their 2016 game on their way to the state championship.
There was the potential for an All-NVL final in Class S baseball entering Saturday’s action, but third-seeded Coginchaug put that notion to rest with a 17-3 home win over No. 11 Holy Cross. The Crusaders scored a run in the top of the first, but the Blue Devils scored four in the bottom of the first, then tacked on two more in the second for a 6-1 lead. Holy Cross scored twice in the top of the third inning to get to within 6-3, but it was as close as the NVL champion would get. The Crusaders ended their season with a record of 18-7. Holy Cross loses three seniors to graduation; Tyler Ciavarella, William Tucker and Pat Giancarli. The Crusaders are slated to bring back to a talented group of players who were sophomores and juniors in 2021.
The eighth-seeded Wolcott softball team had a tough test on its hands when it played top-seeded Woodland in a Class M quarterfinal. The Eagles had played a decent game against the undefeated Hawks during the regular season but lost, 8-5, on April 12. It was the second game of the season for both teams. On Saturday, Woodland ended Wolcott’s season in a 4-1 game in Beacon Falls. The Eagles didn’t get a baserunner against Hawk sophomore standout Samantha Sosnovich until the top of the third inning, when Jordan Chamberlain led off with a single. Woodland led, 1-0, at the time, but the Wolcott rally stopped after Chamberlain’s single. A pop-up, fielder’s choice and groundout ended the inning. In the bottom of the third, the Hawks turned two walks into a run and a 2-0 lead.
Wolcott had a baserunner in the fourth when Abby Wrinn doubled with two outs, but didn’t get anyone else on base until the seventh. The Hawks led, 4-0, but the Eagles weren’t done trying to keep their season alive. Katie Cosmos led off with a single. After a flyout and groundout, Cosmos was on third base. Kayleigh Doran ripped a single to center field to score Cosmos and make the score 4-1. Min Suh Opsalek came in to run for Doran, but Sosnovich got a pop-up to shortstop Riley Kane to end the game against Wolcott’s season. The Eagles finished the season at 19-5. Gone to graduation are Cosmos, Kennedy White and McKayla Crimmins, but Wolcott is slated to bring back a talented group for the 2022 season.
Girls tennis invitational: Wolcott’s Reese Yost defeated Granby Memorial’s Natalie Scanlon, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in a first round match on Saturday at Middletown’s Wesleyan University. Yost will play Notre Dame-Fairfield’s Mathilde Grilles in a Round of 16 match on Monday at Wesleyan.
