Saturday, June 23, 2012

Simsbury's Rich Graef and Kyle Decker playing for Titans this summer

Here's my feature on Simsbury's Rich Graef and Kyle Decker, who are both playing for the Torrington Titans of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League this summer. Graef plays college baseball for Boston College while Decker plays for his father Bill at Trinity College in Hartford. Both schools did well in their leagues this year.

A hole-in-one on a special day for one Torrington dad

Here's the full story on Torrington's Jerry Robinson. Robinson was out playing a round of golf with his son Max on Father's Day when he aced the par-3 sixth, a 140-yard hole, with a 7-iron. Both Jerry and his son Max were great to talk to. It was a funny story to write on a rainy night where nothing else was being played. Hope you enjoy it.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Hole-in-one story with a Father's Day twist

I’m working on a neat story tonight.
Jerry Robinson, 55, of Torrington was out playing nine holes of golf at Eastwood Country Club with his son Max, 22, on Father’s Day.
Max, who is just getting back into the game, drove the green and two-putted for a birdie on the par-4 fifth hole. Jerry stepped up to the par-3 sixth hole, which was playing at about 140 yards. Jerry took a Callaway 7-iron, backed off the ball, then readdressed it and took an easy swing. Max told his dad that the ball was going in the hole right after he made contact, but Jerry didn't believe. The ball struck the green and did indeed into the cup for a hole-in-one.
Look for more on this story later tonight.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Northwestern track star Dan Santalla adds All-American to his list of accolades

Senior track and field standout Dan Santalla became Northwestern's first All-American by finishing fifth in the decathlon at the New Balance Nationals at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, N.C.
Here's some of what Santalla had to say about his efforts:
  • "To be an All-American, I basically feel like I'm on top of the world."
  •  "It's amazing. It's not something you can put into words."
  • "This is when you think about all those days you complained about workouts or said you didn't want to do them because you were tired."
  • Santalla made that remark, then added all the hard work paid off.
  • Santalla thanked his head coach Andy Campbell, who has been instrumental in his success.
  • "My coach has been amazing."
  • Santalla also had this to say about his performance.
  • "It was an amazing feeling. You really find out what you're made of when you compete at that level."
Santalla went out to dinner with his parents and Campbell on Friday night, but his time in Greensboro is not over. He will compete in the 400-meter hurdles for the second time ever on Saturday. He will also watch senior teammate Annmarie Tuxbury run in the 2,000-meter steeplechase.

Look for more on Santalla and Tuxbury on Saturday evening.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Torrington Sports Palace picks up first win of Connie Mack season over Winsted

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
Torrington Sports Palace won its NW Connecticut Connie Mack Baseball League home opener, 2-1 over Winsted on Thursday night at Fuessenich Park. Cody Lemieux (complete game, 1 run, 5 hits, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 hit batter) was able to outduel Jimi Phillips (6 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 8 strikeouts, 1 walk) to pick up the win. Ben Stone's RBI single in the fourth inning to score Corey Lafrance gave Sports Palace the 2-1 lead it would never give up. Sports Palace improved to 1-1 on the season. Winsted dropped to 0-1.
Both teams took part in Flag Day festivities before the game. Here's video from the Flag Day event. Look for more on the Flag Day festivities in another blog post here on Friday evening.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Full story on Janet Giampaolo's resignation

Here's the full story on Torrington Athletic Director Janet Giampaolo's resignation. Giampaolo said her resignation will be effective at the end of the school year. A search will begin when the job opening is posted, according to THS Principal Joanne Creedon.
Also here are my blog posts with more comments and observations from both Giampaolo and Creedon.

Giampaolo talks about her time as Torrington High School Athletic Director

Torrington High School Athletic Director Janet Giampaolo has stepped down after two years on the job, saying that "it'll be nice to have some time home."
Here are some other excerpts from my phone interview with Giampaolo:

ON LEAVING
  • "I just had no other time in my life for anything else."
  • "I really enjoyed it. It'll be nice to have some time home."
ON WHY SHE WANTED TO BE AN ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
  • "I think it was something that I always wanted to do."
  •  Giampaolo said that the opportunity arose and the conditions were right for her to take the job, so she did.
ON WHAT SHE DID AS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
  • Giampaolo said that she would spend a whole day as a coach trying to get the paperwork in order for her teams.
  • "That was one of the things that I was really trying to make a whole lot easier." 
  • Giampaolo tried to meet once a month with team captains to talk about their teams and their responsibilities.
  • "It's not just about wins and losses."
ABOUT THE POSITION OF ATHLETIC DIRECTOR ITSELF
  • "It's not a defined job. There's just so many facets to it."
  • "There's no rule book for being an athletic director."
ON THE ROLES OTHER ATHLETIC DIRECTORS HAD IN HELPING HER OUT
  • FORMER TORRINGTON A.D. NEWELL PORCH
  • "I had a great working relationship with Newell. I had no problems calling Newell."
  • Giampaolo said that Porch gave her advice early on with regard to the job.
  • FORMER WOLCOTT A.D. JOE MONROE
  • Giampaolo said that Monroe called one day "out of the blue" to check up on her and see how she was doing.
  • "Those were the kinds of things that make the job fun, because people do care."
 MONROE'S TAKE ON GIAMPAOLO
  • "Janet will be surely missed. Her attention to detail, her work ethic and professionalism will be missed. She was always willing to take on NVL projects. I wish her nothing but the best!"

Torrington High School Principal Joanne Creedon talks about Giampaolo resignation

It was reported in today's Waterbury Republican-American that Torrington High School Athletic Director Janet Giampaolo has resigned. Giampaolo said she felt it was time to step back, according to the story written by Timothy W. Gaffney.
Giampaolo has worn many different hats in the sports aspect of her life, from player to coach to athletic director. She is also a parent and is still a physical education teacher at the high school.
I talked with Torrington High School Principal Joanne Creedon in her office at the school today. Here are some of the things she had to say:
  •  "She gets all aspects of the job and how important the communication is, and following procedures, rules and regs, making sure everything is clear. I think she tries to instill the qualities of leadership among all of the student-athletes, and good sportsmanship and how important that is. She’s going to be very difficult to replace."
GIAMPAOLO'S BEST QUALITY, ACCORDING TO CREEDON:
  • "I think her ability to see the whole picture, and to communicate effectively. I think her vision of sportsmanship and the development of the young student-athlete, that’s it about how you become a better person. How do sports help you become a better individual, a better contributor to society?"
WHAT'S NEXT?:
  • "It begins with the posting, and we’ll see what applicants come forward, and then there’s an interview process, and then the interview committee will then make a recommendation to Human Resources. That goes to make a recommendation to the Superintendent."
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Tell me what you think about Giampaolo's resignation in the comment section below this post. Please keep the discussion civil. Look for a full story later tonight.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

More on Conor Bierfeldt, Titans

Register Citizen file art
Here's the full story on Torrington native Conor Bierfeldt, who continues to be a threat as a run producer for the Torrington Titans after having an All-American season at Western Connecticut State University. Bierfeldt leads the Titans (3-0) with five RBI and owns the team's only home run, which he hit in his first game as a Titan.
I met up with the Titans near the end of their practice on Tuesday afternoon at Canton's Valley Sports Center. Here are some other observations from practice:
  • Torrington manager Misha Dworken decided to give his team a day of work rather than a second straight day off.
         "It really would have been three out of four days where we would've done nothing so I just thought that didn't really benefit the kids," Dworken said. "I think getting in here is what they wanted to do."
  • The Titans have been happy to have the chance to use Valley Sports as a place to work out. They got in three full days of work before the first full practice at Fuessenich Park on June 6.
         "I would be willing to say that this facility helped us get off to a good start," Dworken said. "We got a lot of stuff knocked out in a short amount of time in a very condensed place."
  •  Bierfeldt had this to say about the use of Valley Sports:
          "It's awesome, because even outside, if the weather's nice, you don't get this many swings. There's three cages, there's tees. You get 100-plus swings ... You just kind of get whatever you want, and get your swings in."
  • The players got plenty of work in during practice at Valley Sports, but they also took advantage of the basketball courts within the facility while they were waiting to hit or were done hitting. Some have been known to toss a football around as well.
      "It's summer ball at its finest," Bierfeldt said, but he added that the team has been putting its work in and has been getting better.


Torrington hosts Wachusett on Wednesday night at 7:05 at Fuessenich Park. It's the second game this season between the Titans and Dirt Dawgs (1-4). Look for updates on the game on Twitter @kroberts023 on Wednesday night.

Double rainout for Titans tonight; feature on Conor Bierfeldt

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
The Torrington Titans had a doubleheader against the Martha's Vineyard Sharks wiped out by impending heavy rain on Tuesday. Fuessenich Park looked playable when I stopped by around 5:30 p.m., but the forecast was for an inch of rain or more. With Martha's Vineyard needing to travel over fours (plus ferry time) to get to Torrington, it was understandable why the games were called off.
I am trying to confirm what date the rescheduled games will be played on, and I will update that as soon as I know.
I traveled to Canton's Valley Sports Center and caught up with the Titans. I will be writing a feature on Torrington native Conor Bierfeldt tonight. Here's a video interview with Bierfeldt. Look for a full feature on Bierfeldt later tonight.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Torrington football has productive spring practice session

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
The Torrington High School football team finished up a 10-day spring practice session with a Red-White scrimmage on Friday at the Robert H. Frost Sports Complex.
The White team won for the second straight year, 30-18. Torrington has a small team (30 players), but there is plenty of talent. You can see that talent on display in my video. You can also catch up on what happened during the game on my live blog.
Torrington gets back to work on Monday, July 2, with running and weight-training. The regular season kicks off on Friday, Sept. 14, when the Red Raiders host Ansonia at 7 p.m. Here's the rest of Torrington's schedule.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Torrington football Red-White Scrimmage

Join me for a live blog from today's Torrington football Red-White scrimmage at the Robert H. Frost Sports Complex. The live blog will begin at 5:15. The scrimmage is slated to start at 5:30.
Torrington went 7-3 last year with losses to Ansonia, Holy Cross and Watertown. All-world running back Brenden Lytton is gone, so the Red Raiders will be looking to Joan Toribio to help fill that void. Torrington opens the season with Ansonia on Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Frost Complex. Here is the rest of Torrington's 2012 football schedule.

Torrington Titans win season opener

The Torrington Titans won their season opener, 11-6 over the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs on Thursday night at Fuessenich Park.
Torrington native Conor Bierfeldt homered and drove in three runs in his first game for the Titans. Waterbury native Ryan Plourde (Holy Cross) had a two-run double and two-run single in the game. Torrington pounded out nine hits, including five for extra bases.
Included below are my thoughts from the game, along with the box score.
  • The attendance of 602 at Fuessenich Park was a good number for a Thursday night with school not completely out yet. The crowd was into the game, especially on Bierfeldt's two-run homer, as was pointed out by Titan manager Misha Dworkin.
  • The music selection was a good one at the game. Quips from Austin Powers got some of the louder laughs from the crowd.
  • Titan starting pitcher Alec Palioca was solid, giving up just one hit in six scoreless innings. Palioca was a big reason why Wheaton College made it all the way to the Division III College World Series' championship game.
  • Torrington reliever Raphael Martinez struggled in the eighth, giving up three runs on no hits, three walks and a hit batter. The Titans also made two errors in the inning. Dworkin said he is not worried about Martinez's struggles and called the right-hander's arm "electric."
  • The Titans showed aggression on the basepaths. Torrington stole a pair of bases and a runner scored from first on Plourde's two-run double in the first inning because he was running on the pitch.
  • Torrington travels to North Shore tonight at 7 for a game against the Navigators, who played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League before joining the Futures Collegiate Baseball League this year.
BOX SCORE

Torrington 11, Wachusett 6
At Fuessenich Park
Wachusett                000 000 330—6-3-3
Torrington                303 320 00x—11-9-3
WP: Alec Palioca. LP: Jeff Andersen. 2B: T—Ryan Zielinski, Ryan Plourde, Gus Craig, Jordan Serena. HR: W—Ross Julian; T—Conor Bierfeldt.
Records: Wachusett 0-1; Torrington 1-0.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Torrington Titans open 2012 season tonight

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
I will be covering tonight's Futures Collegiate Baseball League season opener between the Torrington Titans and the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs. The first pitch is scheduled for around 7:05 from Fuessenich Park.
I will be running a live blog during the game. The live blog will start at 6:30. Alec Palioca gets the ball for Torrington tonight. The game is the first ever for Wachusett, one of five new teams in the FCBL.
Yesterday, the Titans held a Media Day at Fuessenich Park, then practiced for three hours.
Torrington has plenty of new faces, including a new general manager, new field manager, and new pitching coach. You can read about all of them in Peter Wallace's season preview.

All Things Torrington Titans

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Register Citizen
I covered Torrington Titans Media Day on Wednesday evening at Fuessenich Park. During my time at Fuessenich, I interviewed Torrington native Conor Bierfeldt, new pitching coach and former Titan hurler Bobby Chatfield, new general manager Sander Stotland, and new field manager Misha Dworkin. You can find something from every one of them in my story link above. I had a video interview with Bierfeldt, and took some footage of Bierfeldt in action during batting practice. In the video package's final clip, you can hear the Titans getting the PA system, including music and announcements, ready for the opener.
Here's a link to my live blog if you missed it on Wednesday.
Torrington starts the 2012 Futures Collegiate Baseball League season tonight at 7:05 against the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs, one of five new teams in the team. Peter Wallace wrote the preview for the Titans.
Look for a live blog during tonight's game on www.registercitizen.com/sports. The blog will start at 6:30.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Torrington Titans Media Day this afternoon

There will be plenty of new faces, and some new destinations, for this year's edition of the Torrington Titans.
Torrington has a new general manager, new field manager, and some new players, including faces that will be easily recognizable to baseball fans from the Northwest Corner and the Farmington Valley. There are also five new teams in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, bringing the total to nine.
You can learn more about the Titans by following my live blog today beginning at 4:15 from Fuessenich Park. The Torrington Titans are hosting a Media Day, which begins at 4:30.
If you can't get to a computer, you can follow me on Twitter @kroberts023 and get updates. Look for more on Torrington Titans Media Day later tonight at www.registercitizen.com/sports.

Stories from the CIAC Girls Golf Championships

KEVIN D. ROBERTS/Farmington Valley Sports
Canton senior Nikki Liucci ended her Connecticut High School career with a bang at the CIAC Girls Golf Championships on Tuesday at Orange Hills Country Club in Orange.
Liucci finished tied for third place and earned All-State honors for the second straight year.
Avon finished seventh as a team, led by an All-State effort from sophomore Marissa Grillo. Grillo finished in a tie for seventh place.
Both Liucci and Grillo moved on to play for the New England Individual Golf Tournament on June 20 at Bretwood Golf Club North Course in Keene, N.H.
Simsbury finished 15th out of 15 teams. The Trojans are a very young team, including freshman Mikayla Sheary, who led her team with a 91.
You can find information on all three teams in the story above.

It was also a good day for West Hartford golfers. Hall finished eighth as a team in its first-ever team appearance in the state championships. Northwest Catholic tied for 10th, two spots better than its 12th place finish in 2011. Indian junior Sadie Martinez garnered All-State honors.

RESULTS


CIAC Girls Golf Championships
At Orange Hills Country Club, Orange (par 74)
Team scores: 1. Berlin 348; 2. Farmington 355; 3. Greenwich 366; 4. Fairfield Warde 381; 5. Danbury 386; 6. New Canaan 388; 7. Avon 393 (Marissa Grillo 86, Alexa Gentile 89, Alana Pulling 102, Leezy Laurova 116); 8. Hall 395 (Julie Orenstein 97, Zoe Kaufman 98, Michelle Dicke 98, Emily Vasington 102); 9. Staples 400; t-10. Northwest Catholic (Sadie Martinez 87, Caroline Davenport 98, Hannah Shea 108, Samantha Russo 108) and Ridgefield 401; 12.Trumbull 411; 13. Cheshire 415; 14. Newington 433; 15. Simsbury 442 (Mikayla Sheary 91, Stephanie Rosenberg 101, Brittney Kalogeros 122, Madeleine Youngstrom 128).
Individual scores (Top 11 make All-State): 1. Kelly Whaley (Farmington) 78; 2. Julia Kemmling (Berlin) 80; t-3. Nikki Liucci (Canton) and Tori Radovic (Fairfield Warde) 83; t-5. Jenn Whaley (Farmington) and Alexandra Sazhin (Greenwich) 84; t-7. Marissa Grillo (Avon), Andra Frappier (Cheshire), and Abbey Doski (Newtown) 86; 10. Sadie Martinez (Northwest Catholic) 87; t-11. Ashley D’Attilio and Brooke Nethercott (Greenwich) 88.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Covering CIAC Girls Golf Championship today

I will be helping out our weekly newspapers today (Avon News, Canton News, Simsbury News, and West Hartford News). I am covering the CIAC Girls Golf Championship at Orange Hills Country Club in Orange. Golfers from several of our weekly newspaper towns are taking part, including Avon, Canton (1 player) and Simsbury. I am also covering Hall and Northwest Catholic for the West Hartford News. Look for periodic updates on Twitter @kroberts023. I will heading to Orange for between 12:30 and 1 p.m.
Area teams have fared well in the CIAC championship in the past. Starting in 2004, Simsbury had a run of six straight top 10 finishes, which included sixth in 2006 (at Blue Fox Run in Avon), second in 2007 (at Blue Fox), third in 2008 (at Heritage Valley in Southbury) and third in 2009 (at Orange Hill). 
Avon has also done well with a streak of  five straight top 10 finishes from 2006-2010. They were 10th (2006), sixth (2007), eighth (2008), ninth (2009) and ninth (2010). 
Last year, Berlin won the state championship with a team score of 375. Conard-West Hartford was sixth out of 15 teams, Northwest Catholic was 12th, and Avon was 15th.
In 2010, Farmington took the team title with a score of 363. Berlin was fourth out of 15 teams that year, followed by Avon in ninth, Conard in 11th, Northwest Catholic in 12th and Canton in 14th.
For this year's championship, Farmington is No. 1, followed by Berlin at No. 2. Avon is the highest area team at fifth out of 15. Hall is eighth, followed by Northwest Catholic in ninth and Simsbury in 15th. Canton has one golfer, senior Nikki Liucci, playing.  

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Former Torrington football players trying to help program get to next level

The Torrington High School football team's spring game is less than a week away (next Friday, 5:30 p.m., Robert H. Frost Sports Complex), and former Red Raiders have been at spring practice to help out.
Among them have been Chris DeBerry, Walter Lewis, Franklin Sosa, Willie Quarles, Andre Martin, Alex Martin and Dwayne White. After Wednesday's workout, DeBerry and Lewis talked about helping out.
"Right now, we're just trying to continue the legacy," said DeBerry, a former quarterback. "We just gotta help out the students, help them become a better program that we were once part of. It's nice to see as you move on and they get better."
Lewis said the former players are coming back to make sure that the current ones are taking the steps necessary to get to the next level.
"Just coming back and making sure that they're working harder than they were last year," Lewis said. 
Torrington went 5-6 in head coach Dan Dunaj's first season in 2008, then went 5-5 in 2009. In the last two years, the Raiders have posted 7-3 records. DeBerry talked about Dunaj having a five-year plan to win a state title.
"We were set back the first two years a little bit," DeBerry said of 2008 and 2009. "He wanted us to do a little better, my senior year and junior year, but it looks like we're coming along. Definitely."
"We're just trying to get them to that 10-0," Lewis said.
The work continues through next week, then culminates with the spring game on Friday.

Torrington Football Letterman's Club continues to give back to Red Raider gridiron community

The Torrington Football Letterman's Club will host its third annual TFLC Golf Classic on June 22 at Fairview Farm Golf Course in Harwinton. The TFLC, a not-for-profit, has continued to work hard to give back to the Red Raider gridiron community. The organization was spearheaded by former Torrington player Scott Langenheim, with plenty of help from Rob Bottass, Brendan Abbott and Jim Zeller. My story today talks about the TFLC and the golf outing, with thoughts from Langenheim, Bottass and Torrington head football coach Dan Dunaj.

Bright future ahead for Torrington softball

MARIANNE KILLACKEY/Register Citizen Correspondent
Torrington softball may have had its season ended on Friday afternoon with a 5-1 Class L quarterfinal loss to Brookfield, but the Lady Raiders have a bright future ahead of them. Torrington finished the season with a program-best 21-4 record.
The Raiders lose senior shortstop and leader Mollie Bartles (All-NVL Copper Division, .338 AVG, 11 RBI)  to graduation, but everyone else is slated to return. Sophomore pitcher Sydney Matzko (All-NVL selection) and freshman catcher Marissa Morris (All-NVL Copper Division) now have a year together under their belts and could continue to wreak havoc next season.
In the pitching circle, Matzko was one of the most dominant forces in the state. Matzko finished the season with a 21-4 record, a 0.287 ERA, an astounding 338 strikeouts to just 18 walks and 14 hit batters. She gave up just 24 runs on 57 hits. Matzko threw four no-hitters this season.
Morris caught every single pitch that Matzko threw this season, and called all of them.
Both Morris (.352, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 1 SO in 71 AB) and Matzko (.313, 2 HR, 28 RBI) can also hit the ball. Matzko will be a junior next year while Morris will be a sophomore.
Torrington has plenty of players to build around the combination of Matzko and Morris. Baylee Vinisko will be the lone senior who saw significant playing time while Nicole Jamieson, Alexa Potter, Sam Pelow and Sara Heath will all be juniors. Brittany Anderson (team-leader in AVG (.375), HRs (3), hits (27)) and Brittany Young will be sophomores.
Torrington will also need to find a replacement for Bartles at shortstop, which will not be easy. Someone will need to take over the leadership role that Bartles held as a senior.
The Raiders showed much improvement, turning a 14-9 team in 2011 to a 21-4 squad this year. Torrington got to the Naugatuck Valley League Tournament final, then won a state tournament game for the first time since 2005. The Raiders have a chance to get even higher in the next couple of years.
Both Bartles and Matzko said the team will need to work on its hitting and defense in order to continue to improve. Torrington will need to find ways to score more runs and give Matzko the support she needs. On defense, the Raiders will need to avoid the mistakes that cost them in both losses to Seymour this season.
There is plenty of potential in Torrington softball in the next couple of years. If things come together, the Raiders could win an NVL title and get deeper into the state tournament. A run to the state final wouldn't be out of the question.
NOTE: A special thanks to Tyler Morris for the statistics that I used in this blog post.   

Friday, June 1, 2012

Torrington softball's season ends with quarterfinal loss to Brookfield

One of the best years in Torrington softball's program history came to a close this afternoon with a 5-1 loss to Brookfield in a Class L quarterfinal at Torrington High School. The Lady Raiders finished the year with a 21-4 record. The Bobcats were able to hit the ball off of THS sophomore pitcher Sydney Matzko, including a solo home run and an RBI double. The Raiders were unable to get their bats going until the bottom of the sixth.
Still, this season could be the start of something big for Torrington. Included in the link is a video interview with shortstop Mollie Bartles, the lone senior on the team. Look for more tonight, including photos from Register Citizen Correspondent Marianne Killackey. The box score from the game is below this post.

BOX SCORE
Class L Quarterfinal
(5) Brookfield 5, (4) Torrington 1
At Torrington
Brookfield 110 300 0—5-5-0
Torrington 000 001 0—1-4-1
WP: Brittany Fusek. LP: Sydney Matzko. 2B: B—Melissa Pierce; T—Marissa Morris, Sam Pelow. 3B: T—Matzko. HR: B—Felicia Lennon.
Records: Brookfield 22-3; Torrington 21-4.

Torrington-Brookfield softball quarterfinal live blog, plus analysis

I will be covering today's Class L softball quarterfinal game between No. 4 Torrington and No. 5 Brookfield at Torrington High School. My live blog for the game starts at 3:45 p.m. Game time is 4. You can also find updates on the game on Twitter @kroberts023.
The Lady Raiders enter the game with a 21-3 record. Torrington had a first round bye, then defeated No. 13 Bristol Central 1-0 in a second round game on Wednesday at Torrington.
The Bobcats are also 21-3 and they had a first round bye. In the second round, Brookfield rallied for a 3-2 win in eight innings over No. 12 Berlin in a second round game on Wednesday at Brookfield High School.
The winner of today's game plays next Monday or Tuesday in a semifinal at a place and time to be determined.
Here's a little bit on Brookfield:
  • South-West Conference's top seed going into league tournament. Lost 3-2 to Oxford in final -- credit to Connecticut Post writer Ryan Flynn
  • Had eight players named to All-SWC teams (3 were All-SWC, 5 were All-SWC Patriot Division) -- credit to Danbury News-Times web site
  • Lost just three times this season (9-8 at Bethel on 4/25; 6-3 at home to Masuk on 5/17; 3-2 to Oxford in SWC final) -- Bethel is also in Class L quarterfinals (No. 7 seed, playing No. 2 Maloney today); Masuk is in 'LL' quarterfinal today as No. 4 seed against No. 5 Bristol Eastern; Oxford lost in second round of Class M as No. 6 seed to No. 11 Griswold, 5-4 in nine innings)
  • Brookfield is coached by Frank Bonacci
  • Top pitcher is senior right-hander Brittany Fusek (All-SWC Patriot selection)