The All-SLC First Team

Pitchers: Kaitlin MacMillian Westbrook and Emily Popp, Morgan
Catcher: Paige Trabucchi Old Saybrook
Infielders: Kayla Votto, Coginchaug, Sammy Waskowitz, HK, Missy Martin, Hale-Ray, Sarah Thompson, Morgan
Outfielders: Shannon Law, East Hampton, Taylor Burger, HK and Alex LaFemina, Hale-Ray
Utility:  Casey Jackson, H-K and Sam Monaco, North Branford.

Pitcher of the Year: Kaitlin MacMillan, Westbrook

Field Player of the Year: Sammy Waskowitz, HK

Coach of the Year: Kaitlin Eichler, Westbrook

SCC
QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday's results
No. 1 Mercy 6, No. 8 North  Haven 1
No. 2 East Haven 4, No. 7 Law 0
No. 6 Foran 1, No. 3 Hand 0
No. 4 Amity 2, No. 5 Cheshire 1
SEMIFINALS
Thursday at West Haven
No. 1 Mercy vs. No. 4 Amity, 5 p.m.
No. 2 East Haven vs. No. 6 Foran, 7 p.m.
FINAL
Saturday at West Haven, 6 p.m.

SWC
QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday's  results
No. 1 Masuk 16, No. 8 Pomperaug 0
No. 2 Lauralton Hall 8, No. 7 New Milford 1
No. 6 Bunnell 2, No. 3 Oxford 1
No. 4 Brookfield 5, No. 5  Newtown 1
SEMIFINALS
Thursday at DeLuca Field, Stratford
No. 6 Bunnell vs. No. 2 Lauralton Hall, 5 p.m.
No. 4 Brookfield vs. No. 1 Masuk, 7 p.m.
FINAL
Friday at DeLuca Field, Stratford, 7 p.m.


NVL
QUARTERFINALS
Monday’s results
No. 1 Torrington 2, No. 8 Kennedy 0
No. 2 Seymour 5, No. 7 Watertown 1
No. 3 Woodland 9, No. 6 Wolcott 0
No. 4 Holy Cross 8, No. 5 Naugatuck 3
SEMIFINALS
Tuesday's results
No. 2 Seymour 11, No. 3 Woodland 2
 No. 1 Torrington 5, No. 4 Holy Cross 1
FINAL
Wednesday at Wolcott, 6 p.m.
No. 2 Seymour vs.No. 1 Torrington


SHORELINE 
QUARTERFINALS
THURSDAY
No. 8 East Hampton at No. 1 HK, 3:45 p.m.
No. 7 Westbrook at No. 2 Morgan, 3:45 p.m.
No. 6 Coginchaug at No. 3 Old Saybrook, 3:45 p.m.
No. 5 Hale-Ray at No. 4 North Branford, 4 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
FRIDAY
(at the two higher seeded teams)
FINAL
SATURDAY
(at Westbrook, 1 p.m.)

CSC
SEMIFINALS
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
No. 1 Platt Tech 17, No. 5 Vinal Tech 0
No. 3 Goodwin Tech 10, No. 7 Wilcox Tech 3
FINAL
THURSDAY at ECSU, 4 p.m.
No. 1 Platt Tech vs. No. 3 Goodwin Tech

FCIAC
Quarterfinals
Monday’s results
No. 1 St. Joseph 4, No. 8 Danbury 1
No. 7 Fairfield Ludlowe 6, No. 2 Westhill 4
No. 6 New Canaan 6, No. 3 Stamford 3
No. 4 Darien defeated No. 5 Greenwich
Semifinals
Tuesday's results
No. 6 New Canaan 1, No. 7 Fairfield Ludlowe 0
No. 1 St. Joseph 13, No. 4 Darien 0
FINAL
Thursday at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, 5 p.m.
No. 6 New Canaan vs. No. 1 St. Joseph


ECC
Quarterfinals
Thursday
No. 8 Plainfield vs. No. 1 Stonington, 4 p.m.
No. 7 St. Bernard at No. 2 East Lyme, 4 p.m.
No. 6 NFA vs. No. 3 Griswold, 4 p.m.
No. 5 Fitch at No. 4  Waterford, 4 p.m.
Semifinals
Thursday
No. 3/6 winner vs. No. 2/7 winner at East Lyme, 7:30 p.m.
No. 1/8 winner vs. No. 4/5 winner at Griswold, 7:30 pm..
FINAL
Friday at Griswold, 7 p.m.

Branford remained upbeat and positive despite losing its first eight games this season.

The Hornets had talent and experience, with eight seniors, including five who start, but little luck.

During the losing streak, Branford lost four games by one run.

But the Hornets rebounded to win four of their next five.
“It was just a matter of getting them to believe in their abilities and to not doubt themselves,” Branford coach Chuck Reale said. “The ability was there. We just kept saying that if you work hard, things will fall our way.”

The Hornets’ perseverance certainly paid off.

While Branford’s chances of reaching the state tournament once seemed dim, the Hornets won four of their last five games to qualify in Class L.

“I don’t think we turned things around, we just kept grinding it out,” Reale said. “It’s not like we went from rags to riches, we stayed steady. We took our lumps early and we had some fortuitous things happen in the second half and things went our way.”

A 1-0 victory over North Haven on May 6 was the first of four straight victories.

“That (defeating North Haven) started to get things moving, knowing it was a must win,” Reale said.
In that game, Nicole Carrano reached on a bunt single and then the next batter drew a walk. Carrano scored the game’s only run on Cassidy Murphy’s double.

Branford qualified for the state tournament with a 12-1 win over Career on Tuesday.

“It (qualifying for the state tournament) was tremendously satisfying after going 2-8 and the way we took some of the losses,” Reale said. “They knew the task at hand. This team very badly wanted to get in.”

While there aren’t any bona fide superstars on the roster, Reale says this group is consistent, committed and focused. Murphy leads the team with a .344 batting average.

Senior Lauren Atkinson started the year in the pitching circle, but junior Megan Ferraro emerged as the team’s No. 1 starter.

“When she is on, her ball moves,” Reale said. “She is not overpowering, but she has excellent control and excellent poise. She’s really unflappable.”

Ferraro and Murphy both were recently named to the all-SCC Oronoque Division team.

Register Top 10
Softball poll
Team	Points	Last	Class
1. Masuk (17) (20-0)	510	1	L
Last week’s results: Def. Notre Dame-Fairfield 15-0, New Milford 2-1, Bethel 8-0 and Brookfield 5-1.
Bottom line: The Panthers are the top-seed for this week’s South-West Conference tournament and host No. 8 Pomperaug on Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.
2. Southington (17-1)	456	2	LL
Last week’s results: Def. Farmington 15-0, Conard 9-0 and Simsbury 9-1.
Bottom line: The Blue Knights conclude the regular season with games at home against New Britain (Monday) and Hall (Tuesday).
3. Rockville (16-1)	432	3	L
Last week’s results: Def. RHAM 20-0, Bloomfield 21-0 and Tolland 8-0.
Bottom line: The Rams are home against Fermi (Monday), Hartford Public (Tuesday) and South Windsor (Wednesday).
4. Torrington (20-0)	420	4	L
Last week’s results: Def. Sacred Heart 15-0 and Naugatuck 2-1.
Bottom line: The Red Raiders are the top seed for the Naugatuck Valley League tournament and host No. 8 Kennedy Monday at 4 p.m.
5. Oxford (17-3)	348	6	S
Last week’s results: Pomperaug 3-0, New Fairfield 6-2, Newtown 1-0 and Lewis Mills 11-2.
Bottom line: The third-seeded Wolverines host No. 6 Bunnell in Tuesday’s SWC quarterfinals.
6. Bristol Central (17-2)	338	7	LL
Last week’s results: Def. Platt 17-1, Middletown 3-1 and Plainville 17-3.
Bottom line: The regular season ends for the Rams today against crosstown rival Bristol Eastern.
7. Maloney (17-2)	301	5	L
Last week’s results: Def. Middletown 6-4, Bristol Eastern 4-3 and lost to Berlin 4-1.
Bottom line: After starting the season 14-0, the Spartans have lost two of their last five games.
8. Seymour (18-2)	223	NR	M
Last week’s results: Def. St. Paul 20-2, Watertown 9-0 and Wolcott 15-0.
Bottom line: The No. 2 Wildcats host No. 7 Watertown in Monday’s NVL quarterfinals.
9. East Haven (17-3)	197	8	M
Last week’s results: Def. Hand 3-2 and lost to Cheshire 6-3.
Bottom line: The No. 2 Easties host No. 7 Law in Tuesday’s Southern Connecticut Conference tournament quarterfinals.
10. Mercy (16-3)	172	NR	LL
Last week’s results: Def. Lyman Hall 12-3, Foran 4-3, Hillhouse 14-1 and lost to Cheshire 7-4.
Bottom line: The Tigers, who visit Foran Monday in their regular season finale, had their 14-game winning streak snapped against Cheshire.
Dropped out: Stonington (9), Foran (10).
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: Foran (15-4), 139; Berlin (16-3), 137; Granby (16-1), 124; East Lyme (16-2), 104; Stonington (16-3), 87; Hand (16-3), 84; St. Joseph (17-3), 80; Cheshire (15-5), 63; Lauralton Hall (16-3), 61; Amity (15-5), 25; Suffield (16-1) and Waterford (13-5), 17.
The following voted: Mary Albl, Fairfield Minuteman; Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; Scott Aresco, Maloney; Tony Calcagni, Mercy; George DeMaio, WELI; Vickie Fulkerson, The Day of New London; Kathleen Hoag, Cheshire; Mike Madera, Elm City Newspapers; Suzy Miner, Hale-Ray; Theresa Napolitano, Lauralton Hall; Ken Pereiras, Seymour; Mike Pucci, New Haven Register; Lori Riley, Hartford Courant; Mike Suppe, Hersam-Acorn; Liz Sutman, Waterford; Peter Vander Veer, Hersam-Acorn; Jimmy Zanor, Middletown Press.
The following did not vote: Mike Cardillo, Connecticut Post.
Poll compiled by Mike Pucci.

Here's how I voted for the Register's Top 10 Softball Poll.

The poll will be released later today on our website http://www.nhregister.com/ and it will appear in Monday's print editions. 


1. Masuk
2. Rockville
3. Torrington
4. Southington
5. Bristol Central
6. Oxford
7. Mercy
8. East Haven
9. Seymour
10. Foran
11. Hand
12. Maloney
13. Amity
14. Cheshire
15. Granby

Here are the NVL Tournament Pairings:

QUARTERFINALS

Monday, 4 p.m.

No. 8 Kennedy at No. 1 Torrington
No. 7 Watertown at No. 2 Seymour
No. 6 Wolcott at No. 3 Woodland
No. 5 Naugatuck at No. 4 Holy Cross

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday at Wolcott, 4 and 6 p.m.

FINAL

Wednesday at Wolcott, time TBA

Here are the pairings for the SWC tournament.

QUARTERFINALS

Tuesday, 4:15 p.m.

No. 8 Pomperaug at No. 1 Masuk
No. 7 New Milford at No. 2 Lauralton Hall
No. 6 Bunnell at No. 3 Oxford
No. 5 Barlow at No. 4 Brookfield

SEMIFINALS

Thursday at DeLuca Field, Stratford at 5 and 7 p.m.

FINAL

Friday at DeLuca Field, Stratford, 7 p.m.