Head coach Jaqueline Sheftz and assistant coaches Erica Christopher and Kelley Larsen of Masuk High  have been selected as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s National High School Coaching Staff of the Year  from the East Region the Association announced on Monday. 

The Panthers completed the campaign with a perfect 27-0 overall record, winning the Class L and SWC titles and finishing the year as the No. 1 team in the final Register Poll.

Masuk was guided from the circle by pitcher Tatum Buckley with the junior earning a NFCA First Team East Region selection while also being named the Connecticut Gatorade State Player of the Year and the Register All-State MVP.

The hurler posted a perfect 27-0 mark from the circle with a miniscule 0.37 ERA, 18 solo shutouts, four no-hitters and two perfect games while striking out 289 batters over 171 innings of effort. She also contributed strongly at the dish, batting .506 from the leadoff spot in the line-up with 42 hits and 28 RBIs.

Masuk junior pitcher Tatum Buckley, the 2013 Register All-State MVP, was selected to the Max Preps Medium Schools All-American Team.

P - Tatum Buckley, Masuk (Monroe, Conn.), Junior Buckley led the Panthers to the Class L state championship. Buckley, named the state's Gatorade Softball winner, compiled a perfect 27-0 record with a 0.37 ERA for the Panthers. Of her 27 wins, 18 were shutouts, four were no-hitters and two were perfect games. She struck out 289 batters in 171 innings and was named the CHSCA Player of the Year and CHSCA Female Athlete of the Year. She also batted leadoff with a .506 average with 42 hits and 28 RBIs. She has committed to Florida Atlantic.

Masuk junior pitcher Tatum Buckley was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association East All-Region First Team as an at-large selection.

Her teammate, senior first baseman Melissa Peet, was a Second-Team Selection.

New Fairfield third baseman Hannah Ford was also a First-Team Selection.

East Region First Team Position Name High School Pitcher Jordan Weed Toms River East High School (New Jersey) Pitcher Steph Thomas Immaculate Heart Academy (New Jersey) Pitcher Olivia May Notre Dame High School (New York) Pitcher Devin Durando Indian Hills High School (New Jersey) Catcher Ally Vergona Immaculate Heart Academy (New Jersey) Catcher Valerie Hirschfeld Toms River East High School (New Jersey) First Base Aidan Falk Our Lady Of Mercy High School (New York) Second Base Julia McNeill Hauppauge High School (New York) Third Base Hannah Ford New Fairfield High School (Connecticut) Shortstop Madison Shaw Bridgewater-Raynham High School (New York) Outfield Mia Baldassari Morris Knolls High School (New Jersey) Outfield Allison Dailey Commack High School (New York) Outfield Kylie Spillett Longwood High School (New York) Utility Emily Schaffer Raritan High School (New Jersey) At-Large Sarah Bencivenga Toms River East High School (New Jersey) At-Large Tatum Buckley Masuk High School (Connecticut) East Region Second Team Position Name High School Pitcher Sarah Dawson Bridgewater-Raynham High School (Massachusetts) Pitcher Carolyn Szymanski Caravel Academy (Delaware) Pitcher Shaina Reed Polytech High School (Delaware) Catcher Victoria Malanga Nutley High School (New Jersey) Catcher Taylor Welytok Wayland-Cohocton Central School (New York) First Base Melissa Peet Masuk High School (Connecticut) Second Base Leah Mele Longwood High School (New York) Third Base Heather Tornquiat Windham High School (New Hampshire) Shortstop Daniella Ibarra Immaculate Heart Academy (New Jersey) Outfield Emily Neal Caravel Academy (Delaware) Utility Kayla McCoy Smithtown High School West (New York) At-Large Brandi Dalious Polytech High School (Delaware) At-Large Jessie Hammers Wayland-Cohocton Central School (New York) At-Large Alex Russo Longwood High School (New York) At-Large Chelsea Correia Bridgewater-Raynham High School (Massachusetts) At-Large MacKenzie Weber Wayland-Cohocton Central School (New York)

Here's how I voted for the Final Top 10 Poll. The poll will be released later today on-line and in Friday's print editions.



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

VIA PRESS RELEASE

Masuk junior pitcher Tatum Buckley has been named the Gatorade Connecticut Softball Player of the Year. Buckley is the second Gatorade Connecticut Softball Player of the Year to be chosen from Masuk High School.

Buckley is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year award announced in June.

Buckley owned a 25-0 record with a 0.31 ERA and 271 strikeouts against only 14 walks in 157 innings-pitched entering the Class L semifinals. She hurled 19 shutouts through 25 games. A two-time returning Class L First Team All-State selection as named by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, Buckley also batted .546 with six home runs, 19 doubles and 27 RBI. She produced a .635 on-base percentage and 1.026 slugging percentage.

Buckley has maintained a 3.44 weighted GPA in the classroom. In addition to serving as manager of the school’s field hockey team, she has donated her time as a youth softball and basketball instructor.

Masuk will play Foran for the Class L title on Saturday.

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 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.

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. Maloney
7. Oxford
8. Mercy
9. East Haven
10. Stonington
11. Seymour
12. Hand
13. Foran
14. East Lyme
15. Granby

Register Top 10
Softball poll
Team	Points	Last	Class
1. Masuk (16) (14-0)	480	2	L
Last week’s results: Def. Pomperaug 12-0, Lauralton Hall 5-0 and Newtown 6-0.
Bottom line: The Panthers are now not only the top team in the state, but they may have the state’s top player in junior pitcher Tatum Buckley.
2. Maloney (14-0)	442	3	L
Last week’s results: Def. Berlin 3-0, Tolland 10-2 and Platt 7-0.
Bottom line: The Spartans visit Bristol Central (12-2) today. The Rams have won eight in a row. Maloney defeated Bristol Central 2-0 on April 10.
3. Rockville (12-1)	384	1	L
Last week’s results: Def. Rocky Hill 4-3, lost to Bristol Central 6-3 and def. Fermi 17-0.
Bottom line: The Rams had their 16-game winning streak dating back to last season snapped by Bristol Central.
4. Southington (12-1)	378	4	LL
Last week’s results: Def. Simsbury 3-1, East Hartford 16-1 and New Britain 21-0.
Bottom line: There’s a good chance that the Blue Knights won’t lose another game in the regular season.
5. Torrington (16-0)	361	5	L
Last week’s results: Def. Derby 16-0, Wolcott 3-0 and Holy Cross 7-1.
Bottom line: Until Holy Cross, the Red Raiders had shutout their last five opponents.
6. East Haven (14-1)	292	7	M
Last week’s results: Def. Shelton 18-3, North Branford 11-1, Branford 18-3 and Career 28-0.
Bottom line: The Easties can win the Southern Connecticut Conference Oronoque Division with a victory over North Haven on Thursday.
T7. Oxford (11-2)	211	6	S
Last week’s results: Def. Bethel 5-0, Kolbe Cathedral 3-0 and lost to Lauralton Hall 2-1.
Bottom line: The Wolverines slip just one spot despite losing to Lauralton Hall.
T7. Waterford (11-2)	211	10	M
Last week’s results: Def. Fitch 2-1, Norwich Free Academy 5-1 and Bacon Academy 6-1.
Bottom line: The Lancers visit East Lyme (11-2) on Thursday. Waterford defeated the Vikings 6-5 on April 22.
9. Hand (12-1)	206	NR	LL
Last week’s results: Def. Law 3-0 and Sacred Heart Academy 6-4.
Bottom line: The Tigers reach the Top 10 for the first time this season and now must visit Foran (11-3) today at 3:45 p.m. in Milford.
10. Berlin (11-1)	202	9	L
Last week’s results: Lost to Maloney 3-0, and defeated E.O. Smith 4-1 and Plainville 13-8.
Bottom line: The Red Coats suffered their first loss of the season to Maloney last Monday but remain in the Top 10.
Dropped out: Foran (8).
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: Stonington (13-1), 192; Bristol Central (12-2), 152; Foran (11-3), 112; Mercy (11-2) and Seymour (12-2), 106; Granby (11-1), 78; East Lyme (11-2), 37; Danbury (11-3), 30; Suffield (12-0), 26; Westhill (11-3), 24; Lauralton Hall (10-3), 16; Morgan (11-1), 15; Brookfield (13-2), 12; Woodland (12-2), 7.
The following voted: Mary Albl, Fairfield Minuteman; 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: Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; 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. Maloney
3. Rockville
4. Torrington
5. East Haven
6. Southington
7. Hand
8. Waterford
9. Mercy
10. Stonington
11. Berlin
12. Bristol Central
13. Seymour
14. Granby
15. Oxford

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 Tuesday's print editions. 



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

Register Top 10
Softball Poll
Team	Points	Last	Class
1. Rockville (12) (7-0)	526	1	L
Last week’s results: Def. Conard 10-7, Bloomfield 33-0 (5) and Waterford 5-0.
Bottom line: Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Lajoie allowed one hit in the victory over Waterford.
2. Masuk (6) (8-0)	514	2	L
Last week’s results: Def. Kolbe Cathedral 7-0, Immaculate 22-2 and Weston 14-0.
Bottom line: Tatum Buckley tossed a no-hitter and struck out 14 in the win over Weston.
3. Maloney (7-0)	458	4	L
Last week’s results: Def. New Milford 10-5, Plainville 10-4 and Glastonbury 3-2.
Bottom line: The Spartans host Bristol Eastern on Friday in what could be one of the more interesting Central Connecticut Conference contests this week.
4. Southington (6-1)	400	6	LL
Last week’s results: Def. Rocky Hill 15-0 (5), Conard 13-0 and Bristol Eastern 4-0.
Bottom line: The Blue Knights have shut out four opponents this season, including all three last week.
5. Amity (7-1)	372	3	LL
Last week’s results: Def. Cheshire 7-3, lost to Mercy 8-1 and def. Sheehan 7-1.
Bottom line: Mercy scored eight times in the top of the seventh inning to hand the Spartans their first loss.
6. Torrington (10-0)	359	8	L
Last week’s results: Def. Wilby 26-0 and 15-0, Sacred Heart 26-0, Naugatuck 5-1 and Woodland 6-1.
Bottom line: Torrington is clearly the class of the Naugatuck Valley League having shut out six of its 10 opponents.
7. Oxford (5-1)	302	7	S
Last week’s results: Def. Bunnell 5-0 and Newtown 5-1 (8).
Bottom line: The Wolverines have four games this week, including today at home against Brookfield (6-1).
8. Foran (6-2)	252	5	L
Last week’s results: Lost to Hand 2-1 and def. Hillhouse 29-0, North Haven 7-1 and Law 6-5.
Bottom line: The Lions earned a convincing win over previously unbeaten North Haven.
9. East Haven (9-1)	221	NR	M
Last week’s results: Def. Law 4-2, Career 16-0, Wilbur Cross 14-0, North Branford 7-0 and North Haven 7-3.
Bottom line: The Easties’ only loss is to No. 5 Amity, while East Haven defeated No. 8 Foran.
10. Stonington (6-0)	186	NR	M
Last week’s results: Def. Killingly 12-0 and Montville 13-1.
Bottom line: The Bears visit Waterford (5-2) on Friday.
Dropped out: Waterford (9), Westhill (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: Waterford (5-2), 165; Berlin (6-0) and Hand (8-1), 153; East Lyme (6-0), 80; Westhill (5-2), 69; Brookfield (6-1), 64; Granby (5-0), 60; Seymour (6-2), 59; Fairfield Ludlowe (8-1), 39; Mercy (6-2), 37; Danbury (7-1), 29; West Haven (6-2), 28; Bristol Central (5-2), 16; Suffield (5-0) and Lauralton Hall (5-2), 9; North Branford (6-2) and North Haven (7-2), 8; Cheshire (6-3) and Haddam-Killingworth (5-2), 7.
The following voted: Mary Albl, Fairfield Minuteman; Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; Scott Aresco, Maloney; Tony Calcagni, Mercy; Mike Cardillo, Connecticut Post; 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.
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. Rockville
2. Masuk
3. Maloney
4. Torrington
5. Oxford
6. East Haven
7. Southington
8. Amity
9. Stonington
10. Berlin
11. Hand
12. Foran
13. East Lyme
14. Granby
15. Waterford

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/.




1. Rockville
2. Masuk
3. Amity
4. Maloney
5. Torrington
6. Oxford
7. East Haven
8. Foran
9. Bristol Central
10. Southington
11. Stonington
12. Berlin
13. Brookfield
14. Waterford
15. West Haven

New Haven Register Top 10 Softball Poll (1st-place votes in parentheses)
	Team	Record	Pts.	LAST
1	Southington (4)	22-3	430	6
2	Foran (4)	25-2	408	4
3	Rockville (5)	22-2	405	2
4	Seymour (1)	25-1	321	5
5	Masuk (1)	21-5	295	NR
6	Rocky Hill	22-1	263	1
7	Amity	23-5	261	3
8	Waterford	24-2	225	9
9	Oxford (1)	21-3	214	NR
10	Maloney	21-2	174	7
Dropped Out: Coginchaug (8), Granby 10.
Other teams receiving votes: Westhill (1) (23-4), 163; Coginchaug (22-4), 110; Brookfield (21-4), 108; Torrington (21-4), 87; East Haven (16-8), 85; Granby (23-2), 80; Bristol Eastern (18-5), 78; Darien (22-4), 76; Law (19-4) and St. Joseph (18-6), 62; Griswold (20-5), 58; Cheshire (13-9), 57; Fitch (19-5), 49; Lauralton Hall (14-6), 37; Stonington (21-5), 33; Suffield (17-5), 24; Newtown (10-12) and Stamford (14-9), 18; Danbury (16-8) and Haddam-Killingworth (18-5), 16; Mercy (18-7), 14; Sacred Heart Academy (7-13), 12; Hand (7-13) and Norwalk (15-9), 10; Bristol Central (13-8), St. Bernard (15-10) and Wethersfield (18-4), 9; Bacon Academy (15-8), 8; Berlin (14-7), Fairfield Ludlowe (14-8) and Morgan (19-7), 7.
The following voted: Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; Scott Aresco, Maloney; Tony Calcagni, Mercy; Mike Cardillo, Connecticut Post; 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, Shoreline Newspapers.
Poll compiled by: Mike Pucci

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

The poll will be released later today on our website http://www.nhregister.com/.

In addition to the poll, there will be a feature story on Foran and Law, who are both expected to have outstanding seasons this year.

There will be a list of the Top 25 players to watch, Top 10 games to watch and Top 5 story lines to follow in 2013.

The preview section should be up on-line later on Monday and most of it should run in Tuesday's print editions, depending on space.


My ballot

1. Southington
2. Rockville
3. Foran
4. Amity
5. Masuk
6. Rocky Hill
7. Seymour
8. Bristol Eastern
9. Waterford
10. Oxford
11. Brookfield
12. Law
13. Torrington
14. Cheshire
15. East Haven

Here's the ballot I submitted for the final Register Top 10 Softball Poll of the season.

It was a tough call between Class L champion Rockville and Class M champion Rocky Hill. The two split their regular season games with Rockville winning 2-0 and Rocky Hill emerging with a 15-3 win. Rockville also lost to Bristol Central. Rocky Hill defeated Class LL finalist Southington during the regular season.

Some consideration had to go to Class LL champion Amity, but the Spartans lost to Class L finalist Foran three times. I just couldn't vote Amity ahead of Foran because of that reason.

In the end, I went with Rocky Hill. After seeing every major contender this season, I thought the Terriers were just a bit better than Rockville.


1. Rocky Hill
2. Rockville
3. Foran
4. Amity
5. Seymour
6. Southington
7. Westhill
8. Maloney
9. Coginchaug
10. Brookfield
11. Granby
12. Waterford
13. Darien
14. Masuk
15. Law

Here's the schedule for semifinals games.


CLASS LL
Monday
at DeLuca Field, Stratford
No. 1 Southington vs. No. 4 Masuk, 4 p.m..
No. 2 Westhill vs. No. 6 Amity, 7 p.m.

CLASS L
Monday
at West Haven
No. 1 Foran vs. No. 5 Brookfield, 4 p.m.
Tuesday
at DeLuca Field, Stratford
No. 3 Rockville vs. No. 2 Maloney/No. 7 Bethel, 7 p.m.

CLASS M
Tuesday
at West Haven
No. 1 Seymour vs. No. 4 Rocky Hill, 7 p.m.
No. 2 Waterford vs. No. 3 Granby/No. 11 Griswold, 4 p.m.

CLASS S
Tuesday
at DeLuca Field, Stratford
No. 8 Canton vs. No. 20 St. Bernard, 4 p.m.
Monday
at West Haven
No. 2 Coginchaug vs. No. 6 Morgan, 7 p.m.

Here's an update on the SWC softball tournament schedule.

QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, 4:15 p.m.
No. 8 Newtown at No. 1 Brookfield
No. 7 New Fairfield at No. 2 Oxford
No. 6 Pomperaug at No. 3 Bethel

THURSDAY
No. 5 Lauralton Hall/Masuk at No. 4 Lauralton Hall/Masuk

Note: If Lauralton Hall beats Weston on Wednesday, LH is No. 4 and host No. 5 Masuk. The game moves to Masuk if LH loses to Weston.

SEMIFINALS
Thursday, 7 p.m.
DeLuca Field, Stratford
New Milford/Oxford vs. Pomperaug/Bethel winner

Friday, 7 p.m.
DeLuca Field, Stratford
Lauralton Hall/Masuk vs. Brookfield

Championship
Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
DeLuca Field, Stratford

STRATFORD — In the third inning Saturday, Lauralton Hall junior Jess Napolitano was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Hayley Spragg single when Masuk center fielder Brittany Damota fired a laser to catcher Kayla Crisci.

But Napolitano would have another chance to be the hero.

Napolitano’s one-out single in the bottom of the ninth scored Alexa Dawid as the Crusaders walked off with a 5-4 South-West Conference victory over the fourth-ranked Panthers at DeLuca Field.

Read more here.

ROUNDUP

Law 4, Guilford 1: Stephanie Peloso had the go-ahead run and also added a triple for the Eagles (15-2) in an SCC win.

Katie Sperry had a double for Guilford (10-6).

Ansonia 8, Derby 0: Samantha Belenchia struck out 11 en route to a no-hitter for the Chargers in this NVL win.

Morgan Westine had two hits in the victory for Ansonia (10-7).


VOTE for Ansonia's Samantha Belenchia for Saturday's STAR!

VOTE for Ansonia for TEAM OF THE WEEK!
Read more Roundup here.