Pomperaug senior Annie Yacavone slides in ahead of the tag to score the fifth and final run in the Lady Panthers’ 5-0 win over Weston Monday in Southbury. (Ken Morse photo)
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By KEN MORSE Special to the Middlebury Bee Intelligencer
The Pomperaug girls’ softball team has reached the midway point in the season sporting a 7-3 record, but head coach Paul Masotto isn’t convinced the Lady Panthers have reached their potential.
Ashley Antonazzo fired a two-hit shutout, striking out 12 as Pomperaug took a 5-0 win Monday against Weston. The Lady Panthers scored in four straight innings but left a few runs stranded by base-running mistakes.
“We left four runs off the board on basic base-running mistakes,” said Masotto. “We haven’t been hitting the ball that consistently to make those kind of mistakes and be successful.”
In the three losses this season, the defense allowed extra outs that led to game-changing runs, and the bats have not been as consistent to keep the Panthers ahead on the scoreboard.
Twice in the last five games, Pomperaug struggled to push runs across the plate – in last Monday’s 7-1 loss to Newtown and Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Ridgefield.
“We are a work in progress,” said Masotto. “I don’t believe we have reached our fullest potential. We are a very good team; we just haven’t showed it on a consistent basis.”
Pomperaug quickly put the loss to Newtown behind them when they faced off last Wednesday against a Brookfield team that was looking for revenge after the Panthers outlasted the Bobcats in extra innings two weeks ago.
Pomperaug unloaded on Brookfield, putting together a four-run first-inning outburst. Laurel Williams and Sam Wisnefsky pounded out run-scoring doubles, and Annie Yacavone finished the uprising, belting a run-scoring triple.
Antonazzo took care of business in the pitcher’s circle, scattering three hits and striking out eight, but three errors in the field handed the Bobcats three runs. Pomperaug had enough offense to pull out the 7-3 win.
In the next game against Bunnell last Thursday, the offense struggled and so did the Panthers. Antonazzo fired a two-hitter and struck out six as Pomperaug escaped with a 2-1 win.
Wisnefsky drove in Williams with a run and later scored on a hit by Kaitlin Flood, but the two-spot in the third was all the offense the Panthers could muster.
On Saturday, Pomperaug was held to just one run for the second time in four games as they fell to Ridgefield by a 4-1 final.
“Our goal is to play as a team to the highest level that we can,” said Pomperaug senior Annie Yacavone. “We need to focus, not just on every game, but every inning and every pitch.
“We have to stay aggressive and give it our all 100 percent of the time. There have been games where we haven’t had that focus. It’s mainly the little things we are not doing consistently.
“An error here and there can affect us mentally, and that is what our opponent is going to take advantage of. Going into the second half of the season we are going to need to stay focused and not let something like that take a game away from us.”
Williams was focused on Monday at the plate against Weston as she went three for four at the plate, driving a run home in the second inning and scoring a run in the fourth.
Madison Connelly and Williams drove in runs in the second inning for a 2-0 Pomperaug lead. In the third, Annabella Pastorok hit a two-out single to left field to get it started. Brooke Anderson singled past third base, and Gillian Stiber belted a run-scoring double to make it a 3-0 game.
Williams doubled and scored in the fourth to give the Lady Panthers a 4-0 advantage. Pomperaug scored its final run in the fifth when Yacavone singled, stole second and went to third on the overthrow. A ground out by Anderson sent Yacavone home with the fifth run of the game.
Emily Winfield came on in the sixth as a pinch hitter to try and get something started. With one out, Williams singled, and Caley Ruggiero followed with a fly out. Williams went too far off the bag and was doubled up to retire the side.
Pomperaug was at Kolbe Cathedral Wednesday in Bridgeport and returns home to host Bethel today, Thursday.
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