There weren't many games on the schedule today as most teams played on Friday but one game of interest was Naugatuck emerging with a 3-0 victory over Sacred Heart-Waterbury.
Greyhounds pitcher Alana Wesche tossed a two-hitter and struck out 14. What is more impressive is that Naugatuck is 4-0 and could be the surprise team not only in the Naugatuck Valley League but around the area as well.
For the other action on Saturday, check out Sunday's Register.
Coming soon: The Register unveils the Top 10 Poll on Monday. I'll give you a sneak peek at the new poll sometime on Sunday.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Wednesday's action (4/11)
It was another busy day of softball action around the area.
One of the gems of the day has to be Hamden's 2-1 12-inning victory over Law-Milford. Hamden junior pitcher Kassondra Silva struck out 23 as the Green Dragons improved to 2-2.
To read all about that game and the other gems of the day, including top-ranked Mercy-Middletown, who lost for the second straight day, check out tommorrow's Register.
Looking ahead to Thursday's games, the one to watch is Masuk-Monroe and Lauralton Hall. Will Lauralton be able to muster any hits or runs against Masuk's sophomore hurler Rachele Fico? I will suggest you head out to Monroe to find out and if you can't make it, you can read all about it in Friday's Register.
One of the gems of the day has to be Hamden's 2-1 12-inning victory over Law-Milford. Hamden junior pitcher Kassondra Silva struck out 23 as the Green Dragons improved to 2-2.
To read all about that game and the other gems of the day, including top-ranked Mercy-Middletown, who lost for the second straight day, check out tommorrow's Register.
Looking ahead to Thursday's games, the one to watch is Masuk-Monroe and Lauralton Hall. Will Lauralton be able to muster any hits or runs against Masuk's sophomore hurler Rachele Fico? I will suggest you head out to Monroe to find out and if you can't make it, you can read all about it in Friday's Register.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Tuesday's action (4/10)
Ah, the phones have finally stopped ringing, the fax machine is quiet and they aren't any more messages in the inbox of our e-mail account.
It was a busy day of softball around the area. The gem of the day, and I thought it would be, was Amity and Mercy. I thought it would be a pitchers duel and it was as Mercy's Tory Satagaj had a no-hitter broken up in the seventh inning as Amity knocked off coach Jason Thody's Tigers, who are ranked first in the Register Poll.
You will need to pick up tommorrow's Register to find out what happened but Amity did indeed remain unbeaten with a thrilling victory.
Speaking of Thody, his niece Nicole, a junior pitcher at Middletown High, is off to a quick start.
Nicole allowed just three hits and struck out 10 as her team defeated defending Class S champion Coginchaug 6-1 on Saturday as Middletown earned its first victory in the series since 1993.
Middletown is 2-1 on the young season following a 3-0 loss to St. Paul on Monday.
It was a busy day of softball around the area. The gem of the day, and I thought it would be, was Amity and Mercy. I thought it would be a pitchers duel and it was as Mercy's Tory Satagaj had a no-hitter broken up in the seventh inning as Amity knocked off coach Jason Thody's Tigers, who are ranked first in the Register Poll.
You will need to pick up tommorrow's Register to find out what happened but Amity did indeed remain unbeaten with a thrilling victory.
Speaking of Thody, his niece Nicole, a junior pitcher at Middletown High, is off to a quick start.
Nicole allowed just three hits and struck out 10 as her team defeated defending Class S champion Coginchaug 6-1 on Saturday as Middletown earned its first victory in the series since 1993.
Middletown is 2-1 on the young season following a 3-0 loss to St. Paul on Monday.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Attention! Reporting your scores.
There are various ways to report your game scores to the Register.
You may call our sports department at (203) 789-5657. That is the main sports line and it will bounce to the other phones even if someone is on that phone. Please be patient, we get a lot of calls and sometimes you may need to call back a few times in order to reach someone in our department.
The fax number is (203) 789-5253
The main sports department e-mail address is localsports@nhregister.com.
We are also encouraging coaches and scorekeepers to report scores using our web exchange system.
In order to use this service, you need a username and password. To obtain this info., please e-mail me at mpucci@nhregister.com and I will give out those access codes.
I'll be looking forward from hearing from you soon.
You may call our sports department at (203) 789-5657. That is the main sports line and it will bounce to the other phones even if someone is on that phone. Please be patient, we get a lot of calls and sometimes you may need to call back a few times in order to reach someone in our department.
The fax number is (203) 789-5253
The main sports department e-mail address is localsports@nhregister.com.
We are also encouraging coaches and scorekeepers to report scores using our web exchange system.
In order to use this service, you need a username and password. To obtain this info., please e-mail me at mpucci@nhregister.com and I will give out those access codes.
I'll be looking forward from hearing from you soon.
Monday's action (4/9)
Scores from Monday's action are starting to trickle in.
One gem I just took was Hand-Madison emerging with a 2-1 victory over SCC Hammonasset Division foe Law-Milford.
I will keep you all in suspense until tommorrow to find out how the Tigers won but Hand coach Ray Ezell thought Law "was a very good team" and he expects the Eagles to be right in the mix in the SCC along with Amity, Mercy and his Tigers.
One gem I just took was Hand-Madison emerging with a 2-1 victory over SCC Hammonasset Division foe Law-Milford.
I will keep you all in suspense until tommorrow to find out how the Tigers won but Hand coach Ray Ezell thought Law "was a very good team" and he expects the Eagles to be right in the mix in the SCC along with Amity, Mercy and his Tigers.
Gem Shopping: Week 1
Alright, I know last week was the official start to the softball season but since so few teams played, I will begin my weekly picks for the best games during this week's action.
This is the start of a weekly feature that will highlight which games fans and other observers should get out and see.
This week, the best local game on the schedule is Amity-Woodbridge, which is ranked third in the Register Top 10 poll, visiting top-ranked Mercy-Middletown, the defending Class LL champion, on Tuesday (April 10). First pitch is at 4 p.m.
Amity is led by junior pitcher Lauren Bespuda, who tossed a one-hitter in her team's opening season 8-1 victory over Foran-Milford. Mercy counters with senior pitcher Tory Satagaj. The game should be a classic pitchers duel but both teams are capable of producing runs.
Of note: three of the four Amity losses last season came at the hands of Mercy. That should be incentive enough for the Spartans.
Another gem should be on Thursday (April 12) when Masuk-Monroe hosts Lauralton Hall-Milford in a South-West Conference battle that features teams ranked in the Register Top 10 Poll.
Masuk's sophomore flamethrower Rachele Fico has struck out 19 batters in victories over both Westhill-Stamford and Stamford.
Lauralton Hall suffered a tough opening-season loss to Norwich Free Academy (that was mentioned in 'Poll Watching' in a previous entry on this blog). The Crusaders, who lost to Seymour in last season's Class M final, will be eager to win an early season matchup against Masuk, also one of the SWC's power teams.
This is the start of a weekly feature that will highlight which games fans and other observers should get out and see.
This week, the best local game on the schedule is Amity-Woodbridge, which is ranked third in the Register Top 10 poll, visiting top-ranked Mercy-Middletown, the defending Class LL champion, on Tuesday (April 10). First pitch is at 4 p.m.
Amity is led by junior pitcher Lauren Bespuda, who tossed a one-hitter in her team's opening season 8-1 victory over Foran-Milford. Mercy counters with senior pitcher Tory Satagaj. The game should be a classic pitchers duel but both teams are capable of producing runs.
Of note: three of the four Amity losses last season came at the hands of Mercy. That should be incentive enough for the Spartans.
Another gem should be on Thursday (April 12) when Masuk-Monroe hosts Lauralton Hall-Milford in a South-West Conference battle that features teams ranked in the Register Top 10 Poll.
Masuk's sophomore flamethrower Rachele Fico has struck out 19 batters in victories over both Westhill-Stamford and Stamford.
Lauralton Hall suffered a tough opening-season loss to Norwich Free Academy (that was mentioned in 'Poll Watching' in a previous entry on this blog). The Crusaders, who lost to Seymour in last season's Class M final, will be eager to win an early season matchup against Masuk, also one of the SWC's power teams.
Poll watching
Due to the abbreviated schedule last week because of the inclement weather and the holidays, the Register did not release a new poll this week.
The first poll since the preseason edition will run on this upcoming Monday, April 16.
But some teams that did rank in the preseason poll were in action last week with mixed results.
The top three teams, Mercy-Middletown (1-0), Masuk-Monroe (2-0) and Amity-Woodbridge (1-0) all had successful weeks.
However, No. 7 Lauralton Hall-Milford dropped a heartbreaker to Norwich Free Academy 4-3 in a 13-inning affair.
No. 10 Coginchaug-Durham, the defending Class S state champion, was defeated by Middletown 6-1.
Those two losses as well as some interesting games on tap this week will certainly shake up the poll.
Check the new poll out next week.
The first poll since the preseason edition will run on this upcoming Monday, April 16.
But some teams that did rank in the preseason poll were in action last week with mixed results.
The top three teams, Mercy-Middletown (1-0), Masuk-Monroe (2-0) and Amity-Woodbridge (1-0) all had successful weeks.
However, No. 7 Lauralton Hall-Milford dropped a heartbreaker to Norwich Free Academy 4-3 in a 13-inning affair.
No. 10 Coginchaug-Durham, the defending Class S state champion, was defeated by Middletown 6-1.
Those two losses as well as some interesting games on tap this week will certainly shake up the poll.
Check the new poll out next week.
Welcome to Diamond Gems
This blog is dedicated to high school softball action from around the state.
In the weeks ahead, I will regularly update this site with various notes, game highlights and other facts about teams and players from both the Register's circulation area and from around the state.
My weekly softball notebook, poll and additional softball related material, like team standings and statistical leaders, will run every Monday in the Register.
My blog will also include various high school related links, including one to the Register's weekly Top 10 softball poll.
I welcome any comments from our readers, fans, players and coaches.
I hope you all enjoy the blog.
In the weeks ahead, I will regularly update this site with various notes, game highlights and other facts about teams and players from both the Register's circulation area and from around the state.
My weekly softball notebook, poll and additional softball related material, like team standings and statistical leaders, will run every Monday in the Register.
My blog will also include various high school related links, including one to the Register's weekly Top 10 softball poll.
I welcome any comments from our readers, fans, players and coaches.
I hope you all enjoy the blog.
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