Pomperaug High School junior Gillian Stiber crosses the plate during a three-run second inning outburst as the Lady Panthers defeat Bethel 6-0 in the SWC quarterfinals Saturday in Southbury. (Ken Morse photo)
#MIDDLEBURY #REGION15
By Ken Morse Special to the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer
The Pomperaug softball team began a post-season run in grand style with junior pitcher Ashley Antonazzo throwing a no-hitter at Bethel in a quarterfinal 6-0 victory in the South West Conference (SWC) tournament in Southbury Saturday.
It doesn’t get much better than that, and the Lady Panthers defense was up to par, keeping Bethel in check. Pomperaug scored all the runs they needed, erupting for a pair of three-run outbursts in the first and second inning.
“Ashley went out and pitched a great game for us,” said Pomperaug head coach Paul Masotto. “We did have our moments. Late in the game we had a girl go back who couldn’t catch a routine pop up. That was the best game Ashley pitched all year, and for the first five innings the defense did the job. Then we had our usual one-inning letdown. That could hurt us down the road.”
Kaitlyn Flood took care of the offense, belting a pair of two-run triples good for four RBIs and two runs scored. Annie Yacavone added a hit and two RBIs while Caley Ruggiero and Hailey Latta scored two runs each.
Emily Ostar and Annabella Pastorok got hits for the Panthers while Emily Winfield, Natalie Kelly and Madison Connelly had quality at-bats for Pomperaug.
In the first inning, Laurel Williams singled and Ruggiero reached base. Flood unloaded a two-run triple with pinch runner Latta scoring on an RBI single from Yacavone to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.
Bethel couldn’t get anything going against Antonazzo, who struck out six and didn’t leave the Wildcats much to hit when they did make contact.
“The girls came in here knowing what was at stake,” said Masotto. “We got the offense going the first couple of innings and then we just stalled a little bit. It’s one and go home at this point in the season. That’s what bothered me the most. We didn’t finish this game the way we started. You are not going to get away with that against teams like Masuk or Newtown.”
The Panthers were at it again in the second inning. Gillian Stiber singled through the middle, and Ruggiero singled to left with one out. Flood stepped in and drilled a shot past the left fielder for another two-run triple.
Latta came on to score when Yacavone successfully got a sacrifice bunt down. Sam Wisnefsky reached on an error, but that was all Pomperaug could do as they took a 6-0 lead.
“We had a great season but we are going to need to finish strong,” said Masotto. “There are a lot of good teams out there. We got a couple of real big hits in the first few innings and we need to keep going at them all seven innings to be successful.”
In SWC softball quarterfinal action on Saturday around the league, No. 2 seed Newtown defeated No. 7 seed Barlow 12-0. The No. 3 seed, Brookfield, was upset 10-2 by No. 6 seed New Milford. The No.4 seed, Masuk, escaped No. 5 Notre Dame in a slim 1-0 final. Pomperaug, No. 1, beat No. 8 Bethel 6-0.
Tuesday, the SWC semifinals will be played at DeLuca Stadium in Stratford with a 5 p.m. contest between New Milford and Newtown and a 7 p.m. showdown between Pomperaug and Masuk. Tuesday night’s winners will vie for the championship in the final game Wednesday, May 25, at 7 p.m. at DeLuca Field.
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