KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen

The No. 2 Torrington softball team lost to top-ranked Seymour 1-0 in the Naugatuck Valley League Tournament final on Thursday afternoon at Naugatuck High School.

You can find the story here, along with video highlights and postgame interviews. There is also a slideshow from Mara Lavitt of the New Haven Register.

Yes, Torrington lost out on a chance for its first NVL Tournament title, but the Lady Raiders have had an incredible season so far with a 20-3 record. A high seed awaits THS in the Class L state tournament pairings, which will be announced Friday at noon. Torrington is a young team, and its players gained valuable experience playing for all the marbles against a perennial powerhouse in Seymour, which is ranked No. 1 in the state in the latest New Haven Register poll.

Sydney Matzko was tough, giving up a run on five hits while striking out 12. Seymour did push a run across in part because of two Torrington errors, but the Raiders kept fighting until the final out. Raider hitters Brittany Anderson and Baylee Vinisko each put a charge into a Kelly Ferris pitch, and a scare into Seymour. Only great defense from Wildcat center fielder Sarah Molin kept those fly outs from becoming something bigger.

In Thursday's game, Torrington couldn't adjust to Ferris until the end of the game, and even then long fly balls were caught. The Raiders managed just two hits (Anderson and Nicole Jamieson each had a single) off of the senior left-hander, who struck out eight and walked none. In order for Torrington to go far in the Class L state tournament, it will need more production out of its offense.

As of this post, Torrington is ranked fourth in Class L behind No. 1 Foran, No. 2 Maloney and No. 3 Rockville. We'll see where the Raiders end up.