Softball Recap: Valley Regional Comes Up Short

Valley Regional extended their losing streak to three on Saturday, dropping their season record down to 8-7 in the process. They took a 5-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the North Branford Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Thunderbirds this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 12-0 back in April.

Paige Williams

Batters Struck Out

05/10/25 @ North Branford	13
05/07/25 vs Haddam-Killingworth	7
05/03/25 vs Somers	11
05/01/25 @ East Hampton	9
04/29/25 @ Somers	13
+ 6 more games

Paige Williams spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on ten hits and racked up 13 Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in 11 consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Valley Regional saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carley Spearrin, who went 2-for-3 with one double.

As for North Branford, their win was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-0. The team's perfect season has a lot to do with their hitting performance: the team's won by an average of 11.5 runs thus far.

On North Branford's side, Lauren Vitarisi made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 17 over seven innings pitched. Those 17 strikeouts gave Vitarisi a new career-high. She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and one triple.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Adriana Hills, who got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Lexi Falcioni, who went 3-for-5 with one run.

Valley Regional didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next game, a 6-0 victory against Cromwell on the 12th. As for North Branford, they also wasted no time getting back out on the field and have already played their next contest, an 11-0 win against East Hampton on the 12th.