Amanda Jessey scored on Allison Luzzi's single with one out in the Top of the eighth inning to lift No. 6 East Haven to a 1-0 win over No. 3 Seymour in the Class M state quarterfinals on Friday in Seymour.

Jessey reached on a two-base error to lead off the inning.

Junior Talia Loda allowed just three hits and struck out six for East Haven (21-4), which will play No. 2 Granby in the semifinals on Monday or Tuesday, most likely in West Haven.

Luzzi had three hits. Miranda Baldassare, McKenzie Miessau and Laura Anderson also had hits for the Easties.


Katie Petroski doubled, while Morgan Scinto and Makayla O'Hara singled for Seymour (21-4). Freshman pitcher Raeanne Geffert allowed six hits and struck out nine.

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

Freshman Amanda Harkins drove home Grace Nisbet with the go-ahead run in the Top 10 inning and Seymour went on to defeat Woodland 11-6 in this Naugatuck Valley League Brass Division contest in Beacon Falls.

The Wildcats (14-2, 8-1) scored five times in the 10th inning. Katie Petroski added a two-run double in the inning.

Woodland (13-3, 8-1) tied the game at 6 by scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The two teams are now tied for the division lead.

Petroski had three hits, a run, two RBIs and three stolen bases, Makayla O'Hara had three hits, including a home run, Nisbet hit a three-run home run and winning pitcher Raeanne Geffert helped her cause with three hits for Seymour.

Nicole Fowler had three hits, while Samantha Lee had two hits and Courtney Jurzynski had two hits and two RBIs for the Hawks.

AS OF 1:10 P.M.

CSC
Platt Tech at Kaynor Tech, ppd. to Friday, 4 p.m.
Whitney Tech at Capital Prep, ppd., TBA
NVL
Seymour at Woodland, 3:30 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Naugatuck, ppd. to Friday, 4 p.m.
Shoreline
North Branford at Valley Regional
Cromwell at Haddam-Killingworth
Coginchaug at Old Saybrook
Westbrook at East Hampton, ppd. to Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
SCC Quinnipiac
Hamden at Sacred Heart Academy, ppd. to Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
SCC Housatonic
Sheehan at Lyman Hall, ppd. to May 20, 3:45 p.m.
SCC Hammonasset
Guilford at Hand, ppd. to Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
SCC Oronoque
Branford at Career (East Shore)
SCC interdivision
Amity at North Haven
Foran at Mercy, 4 p.m.
SWC
Lauralton Hall at New Milford, 4:15 p.m.
Bunnell at Bethel, ppd. to Thursday, 4:15 p.m.
Barlow at Oxford, ppd. to Thursday, 4:15 p.m.
Newtown at Stratford (DeLuca Field), ppd. to Thursday, 7 p.m.
Preps
Marianapolis at Hamden Hall, 4 p.m.
Hopkins at Hotchkiss, 3:15 p.m.

Seymour coach Ken Pereiras recorded his 200th career victory with a 10-2 win over Crosby last Wednesday.

In his ninth season, Pereiras is 201-17 and won state titles in 2005, 2006 and 2009.

“It shows the kinds of kids we’ve had over the years,” Pereiras said. “We’ve had some good players and because of them, we were able to win a lot of games.”

This year has been no exception. The Wildcats are on a 10-game winning streak since losing back-to-back contests to Woodland and Torrington in the second week of the season.

“We lost some tough games early in the season,” Pereiras said. “We have Woodland on Wednesday, so we’ll see if we got better.”

Seymour (12-2) led 3-1 against Woodland on April 8 before losing 5-4 in eight innings. The Wildcats then lost 3-0 to Torrington two days later despite getting 11 hits of junior hurler Sydney Matzko, although Pereiras said most of the hits didn’t leave the infield.

After hosting Ansonia today and traveling to Woodland on Wednesday, the Wildcats are back home for an interesting non-league contest with Morgan (11-1).

Seymour is averaging 12 runs per game and has given up just 24 runs.

Pereiras has been pleasantly surprised by senior left fielder Morgan Scinto, the team’s No. 2 batter, who is batting .574 with 18 runs and eight stolen bases.

“She’s a slap hitter,” Pereiras said. “She’s a good bunter and she has good speed.”

Senior Carissa Wasikowski (.489, 19 RBIs), junior first baseman Makayla O’Hara (.420, 21 RBIs) and designated player Emma Crocamo (.372) have also hit well.

Senior Grace Nisbet and freshmen Raeanne Geffert and Amanda Harkins are all batting over .400. Junior Laura Dieckman has played well at shortstop, Pereiras added.

Junior Katie Petroski, a Register All-State selection last season, is batting .364 with 23 runs and 29 RBIs, although Pereiras said she still really hasn’t caught fire yet this season.

Wasikowski and Geffert have both seen time in the pitching circle. Wasikowski plays right field when not pitching.

Geffert, who is 8-1 with a 0.96 earned run average, is a promising prospect.

“She has a lot of stuff,” Pereiras said. “She works with (pitching coach) Shelby Slie, and she works hard. I think she is going to keep getting better.”

The 3rd Breast Cancer Benefit Softball game, hosted by Derby, will take place on May 11 at 11 a.m. at Ryan Field in Derby when the Red Raiders host Naugatuck Valley League rival Ansonia.

All proceeds will go to the Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital.

There will be a DJ, raffle prizes, food and a 50/50 raffle.

Seymour will host its first “pink” event on April 22 at 5 p.m. when the Wildcats host Holy Cross. Seymour Pink is a charity event to help raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer.

The organization, under the leadership of Seymour teacher Mary Deming, has raised over $250,000 during other events, with substantial donations going to local hospitals and to individuals to help defray some of the financial burden from being affected by the disease.

There will be food and raffle prizes, and Deming will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

FROM THE REGISTER CITIZEN

Torrington High School’s softball team swept aside everyone in the NVL’s Copper Division last year for its first-ever division title, then stopped only for fellow league powers Seymour and Woodland in an 18-2 regular season.

Best of all, the Red Raiders did it with an extremely young team.

The Raiders graduated just one starter, shortstop Mollie Bartles, and still end up young. Third baseman Baylee Vinisko is this year’s only starting senior in a field of experienced sophomores and juniors.

“We have high expectations — all of which we are sure we can do,” said Coach Maryann Musselman.
After last year, why not?

Against weaker teams, the young Torrington bats have plenty of pop throughout the starting lineup.

Vinisko is at third base.

The juniors are Sydney Matzko, pitcher; Nicole Jamieson, second base; Sam Pelow, shortstop; Alexa Potter, left field.

The sophomores are Marissa Morris, catcher; Sara Heath, first base; Brittany Anderson, center field; Brittany Young, right field.

Pelow is the only one on the list who didn’t start at her position last year. Nevertheless, she had plenty of playing time. She and everyone else proved that softball experience, not age, is the critical factor.

GAMES TO WATCH

Seymour at Torrington, Wednesday, April 10, 4 p.m.: The perennial state-power Wildcats are defending NVL champions and gave Torrington one of their two losses last season.

Torrington at Naugatuck, Thursday, April 18, 4 p.m.: The Greyhounds are traditional Torrington rivals and they lost by ony one run against Torrington last season.

Torrington at Woodland, Friday, April 19, 3:45 p.m.: Torrington has a chance to avenge their second regular-season loss from last season 18-2 record.

Watertown at Torrington, Monday, April 22, 3:30 p.m.: The final game in a wicked stretch, three games in five days against three tough opponent for the Red Raiders, the Indians lost just 2-1 last year.
Torrington at Holy Cross, Friday, May 3, 3:30 p.m.: This is another game against a traditional rival, another close game last year.

Naugatuck at Torrington, Thursday, May 16, 4 p.m.: This year’s final regular-season game for the Red Raiders.

SEYMOUR — Top-seeded Seymour didn’t have many opportunities to score against East Haven but the host Wildcats made each chance count.

With the game tied, Morgan Scinto led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a bunt single and then was sacrificed to second by Makayla O’Hara.

With two outs, Sarah Molin then delivered the winning hit as Seymour survived with a 3-2 victory over the No. 16 Easties in the second round of the Class M state tournament Wednesday.


Read more here.






VOTE for Seymour's Morgan Scinto for Wednesday's STAR

ROUNDUP

CLASS LL

No. 6 Amity 9, No. 22 New Milford 3: C.J. Semones had two hits, two runs and two RBIs for Amity in a second-round win at Woodbridge.

Jackie Ferraiolo had two hits and three stolen bases and Heather Ferranti struck out six for the Spartans (19-4).

CLASS L

No. 1 Foran 3, No. 17 E.O. Smith 0: Pitcher Jess Harkness, one walk away from a perfect game, had her second no-hitter of the season to lead the Lions to their second-round win in Milford.

CLASS M

No. 5 Law 2, No. 12 Suffield 1 (8): Melissa Nelson’s RBI single scored Stephanie Peloso in the bottom of the eighth inning for Law in a second-round win at Milford.

CLASS S

No. 2 Coginchaug 15, No. 18 Holy Family 0 (5): Lauren Esposito had three hits, four RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Blue Devils (20-4) to their second-round win in Durham.

Read more roundup here.

Sarah Molin's RBI single in the fifth inning lifted top-seeded Seymour to a 3-2 win over No. 16 East Haven in the second round of the Class M state tournament.

Katie Petroski hit a two-run double to tie the game in the third inning for the Wildcats (24-0), ranked No. 1 in the Register Top 10 Poll.

Kelly Ferris allowed five hits and struck out 10 for Seymour.

Jenna Gaudioso had a run-scoring single for East Haven (16-8).

NAUGATUCK — It was a struggle, but the top-ranked Seymour softball team claimed another Naugatuck Valley League tournament title on Thursday.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 1 in the latest Register poll, used a single, two errors and an RBI groundout to push across the lone run in a 1-0 win over No. 2 Torrington in the NVL final at Naugatuck High School.

The title is the second straight for Seymour (23-0), and is the sixth in eight seasons for head coach Ken Pereiras.

Read more here.

AMITY WINS SCC SEMIFINAL

WEST HAVEN — Errors and mental miscues have cost the East Haven softball team in several close games this season.

That was the case again against third-seeded Amity in the semifinals of the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament.

The Spartans had only five hits, but took advantage of five Easties errors en route to a 5-3 win Thursday at Biondi Field.



Read more here.

SCC
QUARTERFINALS
No. 1 Foran 8, No. 8 North Haven 2
No. 7 East Haven 3, No. 2 Law 2 (9)
No. 3 Amity 5, No. 6 Guilford 0
THURSDAY
No. 5 Mercy at No. 4 Shelton, 3:45 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
THURSDAY
No. 3 Amity vs. No. 7 East Haven, 7 p.m. at West Haven
FRIDAY
No. 1 Foran vs. No. 5 Mercy/No.4 Shelton winner, 7 p.m. at West Haven
FINAL
SATURDAY
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. at West Haven

SHORELINE
Quarterfinals
Friday
No. 8 Westbrook at No. 1 Coginchaug 4 p.m.
No. 7 East Hampton at No. 2 H-K 4 p.m.
No. 6 Old Saybrook at No. 3 North Branford 4 p.m.
No. 5 Morgan at No. 4 Hale-Ray 4 p.m.
Semifinals
Saturday
8/1 Winner vs. 5/4 Winner Time TBA (if at Coginchaug 11 a.m. due to prom)
7/2 Winner vs. 6/3 Winner Time TBA
Final
Sunday
at Westbrook, 2 p.m.



NVL
FINAL
THURSDAY
No. 1 Seymour vs. No. 2 Torrington, 3:30 p.m. at Naugatuck

SWC
QUARTERFINALS
 No. 1 Brookfield 4, No. 8 Newtown 2
No. 2 Oxford 1, No. 7 New Fairfield 0
No. 3 Bethel 4, No. 6 Pomperaug 1
THURSDAY
No. 5 Masuk at No. 4 Lauralton Hall, 4:15 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, 7 p.m.
DeLuca Field, Stratford
No. 2 Oxford vs. No. 3 Bethel
Friday, 7 p.m.
DeLuca Field, Stratford
No. 4 Lauralton Hall/No. 5 Masuk vs. No. 1 Brookfield
Championship
Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
DeLuca Field, Stratford


FCIAC
QUARTERFINALS
No. 3 St. Joseph 7, No. 6 Stamford 2
No. 1 Westhill 4, No. 8 New Canaan 0
No. 2 Darien 9, No. 7 Danbury 7
THURSDAY
No. 5 Fairfield Ludlowe at No. 4 Norwalk, 4 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
FRIDAY
at Sacred Heart, Fairfield
No. 2 Darien vs. No. 3 St. Joseph, 3 p.m.
No. 1 Westhill vs. No.5 Fairfield Ludlowe/No. 4 Norwalk, 5 p.m.
FINAL
Saturday
at Sacred Heart, Fairfield

ECC
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday
No. 8 Plainfield at No. 1 Waterford, 4 p.m.
No. 5 Bacon Academy vs. No. 4 Fitch at East Lyme,  4 p.m.
No. 7 Ledyard vs. No. 2 Stonington at Plainfield, 4 p.m.
No. 6 Lyman Memorial at No. 3 Griswold, 4 p.m.
SEMIFINALS
Thursday
at East Lyme, 7 p.m.
8/1 vs. 5/4

at Griswold, 7 p.m.
7/2 vs. 6/3

FINAL
Friday
at Griswold, 7 p.m.

QUARTERFINALS

Monday

(at Woodland, Beacon Falls)

No. 3 Woodland vs. No. 6 Ansonia, 3:30 p.m.

No. 2 Torrington vs. No. 7 Wolcott, 30 minutes after first game

(at Naugatuck)

No. 1 Seymour vs. No. 8 Holy Cross, 3:30 p.m.

No. 4 Naugatuck vs. No. 5 Watertown, 30 minutes after first game

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday

(at Naugatuck)

4 p.m., second game to follow

CHAMPIONSHIP

Thursday

(at Naugatuck)

6 p.m.

NVL
Kennedy at Ansonia, ppd. to Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.
Naugatuck at Crosby, ppd. to Friday, 3:30 p.m.
St. Paul at Derby, ppd. to Wednesday, 4 p.m.
Watertown at Seymour, ppd. to Wednesday, 5 p.m.
Non-league
Platt Tech at East Haven, ppd. to Wednesday, 3 p.m.
Morgan at Wilcox Tech, ppd. to Thursday, 4 p.m.
Berlin at Hale-Ray, 7 p.m.
SCC interdivision Lyman Hall at Foran, ppd. to Wednesday, 5 p.m.
SCC Quinnipiac
Sacred Heart Academy at Hamden, ppd. to May 22, 6 p.m.
Shoreline
Old Saybrook at Westbrook, ppd. to Friday, 3:45 p.m.
SWC
Pomperaug at Stratford (DeLuca Field), ppd. to Friday, 4;15 p.m.
FCIAC
St. Joseph at McMahon, ppd. to Thursday, 2 p.m.

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.

Hale-Ray’s Kaitlyn Nichisti struck out six batters en route to a no-hitter in a 9-0 Shoreline Conference win over Westbrook on Friday.

Lydia Walter hit a home run for Hale-Ray (11-6) in the win over Westbrook (6-9).

Naugatuck 6, Kennedy 0: Alexa Marcucci struck out 10 and threw a no-hitter for the Greyhounds (12-5).

Shannon Searles added a RBI in the win over Kennedy (3-13).

Read more roundup here.



VOTE for O'Brien Tech's Alyssa Michel for STAR of the Day.

Here's Wednesday schedule, including postponements as of 3:15 p.m.

FCIAC
St. Joseph at McMahon, ppd. to Thursday, 3 p.m.
CSC
Kaynor Tech at O’Brien Tech, ppd. to Monday, 3:30 p.m.
University/Classical Magnet at Whitney Tech (Pine Rock Park), 3:30 p.m.
NVL
Naugatuck at Sacred Heart (Municipal Stadium), 3:30 p.m.
Woodland at Seymour, ppd. to Thursday, 5 p.m.
Shoreline
Old Saybrook at Westbrook, ppd. to Tuesday, 3:45 p.m.
Valley Regional at North Branford, ppd. to Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
Morgan at Coginchaug, ppd. to Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
Old Lyme at Hale-Ray, ppd. to Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
SCC Housatonic
Lyman Hall at Shelton, ppd. to Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
Sheehan at Amity (Old Tavern Complex, Orange), 6:30 p.m.
SCC Oronoque
North Haven at Wilbur Cross, ppd., TBA
Career at Branford, ppd. to Saturday, 11 a.m.
SCC Hammonasset
Foran at Hillhouse (Blackmon Field), ppd. to May 18, 4 p.m.
Law at Guilford (Bittner Park), ppd. to Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
SCC interdivision
Cheshire at East Haven, ppd. to May 21, 4 p.m.
Hand at West Haven, ppd. to May 17, 7 p.m.
SCC Quinnipiac
Sacred Heart Academy at Hamden, ppd. to Tuesday, 6 p.m.
SWC
Lauralton Hall at Oxford, 4:15 p.m.
Pomperaug at Stratford (DeLuca Field), ppd. to Tuesday, 4:15 p.m.
CCC
Maloney at Plainville, 7 p.m.
Preps
Hotchkiss at Hopkins, ppd., TBA

Here's what we have as of 12:36 p.m.


SCC Hammonasset

Law at Foran, ppd. to Sat, 4 p.m.

Hillhouse at Hand, 3:45 p.m.

SCC Housatonic

Lyman Hall at Amity, 3:45 p.m.

Sheehan at Cheshire, 3:45 p.m.

SCC Oronoque

Wilbur Cross at East Haven, ppd. to Tuesday, 3:30 p.m

Career at North Haven, 7 p.m.

SCC interdivision

Guilford at Sacred Heart Academy, ppd. to Thursday, 4 p.m.

Branford at Shelton, 4 p.m.

CCC

Maloney at Tolland, ppd. to Thursday, 3:45 p.m.

Shoreline

Westbrook at Portland, 3:45 p.m.

Old Saybrook at North Branford, 3:45 p.m

Cromwell at Haddam-Killingworth, 3:45 p.m.

NVL

Woodland at St. Paul, 4 p.m.

Derby at Seymour, 5 p.m.

FCIAC

Bridgeport Central at St. Joseph, ppd. to Sat, 2:30 p.m.

SWC

Lauralton Hall at Bunnell, ppd. to Thursday, 4:15 p.m.

　

To say that the Derby softball team had a rough start to the season would be an understatement.

The Red Raiders lost their first six games, including 17-0 to top-ranked Seymour in the season opener.

Since, there’s been a steady progression. Derby has now won five straight and sits a game under .500 at 5-6.

“It was a tough beginning to the season,” Derby coach Joe DiMartino said. “We played a lot of very good teams. We were struggling, and I think we needed to jell as a team. Then things started to click. They’re more confident now. They know they can win games, which is a big plus.”

Read more of Monday's Notebook here.



Seymour remains No. 1 in Register Top 10 Poll

DIAMOND GEMS

(A recap of last week's top performances)

HIT PARADE

Christina Laudano, Wilbur Cross: Senior had five hits, including a home run, and eight RBIs as the Governors split a doubleheader with rival Hillhouse on Friday.

ACES

Brittany Fusek, Brookfield: Senior allowed just two hits in a 1-0 win over Oxford on Saturday.

TEAM EFFORT

Amity: The Spartans improved to 10-1 with victories over Sheehan, Cheshire and Mercy.

WATCH THIS

Rockville (11-0) at Rocky Hill (8-0), Monday, 7 p.m.: Two of the remaining unbeaten teams in the state square off in this Central Connecticut Conference contest.

For more Diamond Gems, click here.

SPOTLIGHT TEAM: SACRED HEART ACADEMY

Click here for a video interview with the captains.

Hand 5, West Haven 1: Annie Horton allowed four hits and struck out 10 for the host Tigers in this Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision win at Madison. Alyssa Ahern had two hits and two RBIs for Hand (3-6).

Haddam-Killingworth 18, Westbrook 0: Sam Waskowitz went 3-for-4 with a home, a triple, two runs and four RBIs for Haddam-Killingworth in a Shoreline Conference win at Higganum.

Casey Jackson also had three hits, including a homer, with two runs and six RBIs for the Cougars (5-3, 4-2). Kaitlin MacMillan had three hits for the White Knights (2-7).
For more summaries, click here.




TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE
CSC
Platt Tech at Goodwin Tech, 4 p.m.
FCIAC
Danbury at St. Joseph, 4 p.m.
NVL
Crosby at Ansonia, 3:30 p.m.
Woodland at Naugatuck, 3;30 p.m.
Seymour at Holy Cross
Kennedy at Derby
Shoreline
Morgan at Portland
SCC Housatonic
Amity at Sheehan
SCC Oronoque
Wilbur Cross at North Haven
Branford at Career (East Shore);
SCC Hammonasset
Hillhouse at Foran, 4 p.m.
SCC interdivision
East Haven at Cheshire, 4 p.m.
SWC
Weston at Stratford (DeLuca Field), 4:15 p.m.
Barlow at Bunnell, 4:15 p.m.