Softball Game Preview: Torrington Raiders vs. Waterbury Career Academy Spartans

Torrington has gone a perfect 8-0 against Waterbury Career Academy recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Raiders will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Spartans at 3:45 p.m. Waterbury Career Academy took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Torrington, who comes in off a win.

Torrington is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Connecticut's top teams: New Milford, who was ranked 11th at the time (Torrington was ranked 13th). The Raiders skirted past the Green Wave 7-6.

Sophia Pergola

Batters Struck Out

04/16/25 @ New Milford	8
04/14/25 @ Watertown	10
04/11/25 @ Holy Cross	8
04/09/25 @ Kennedy	14
04/05/25 @ Derby	14

Sophia Pergola was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she struck out eight batters over seven innings while giving up three earned (and three unearned) runs off six hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts any time she's pitched this season. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 3-for-4.

In other batting news, Torrington let Julia Rinaldi and Dylan Juliano run wild. Rinaldi scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4, while Juliano scored a run while going 1-for-3. Grace Pruchnicki was another key player, scoring a run while going 1-for-3.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 19 runs the game before, Waterbury Career Academy was a bit more limited in their matchup on Monday. They came up short against Holy Cross, falling 13-1. The Spartans haven't had much luck with the Crusaders recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.

Waterbury Career Academy saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Trinitey Sanchez, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-2.

Waterbury Career Academy's loss dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Torrington, they now have a winning record of 3-2.

Torrington came out on top in a nail-biter against Waterbury Career Academy when the teams last played back in May of 2024, sneaking past 4-3. Will the Raiders repeat their success, or do the Spartans have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.