By Hal Levy
Special to MaxPreps.com
Two of the final four undefeated teams in the state now top the New Haven Register media/coaches baseball poll.
Seymour (11-0) and Berlin (8-0) are the two lead clubs in the voting. Seymour won its three games last week by an aggregate 61-2 against Wolcott and Waterbury schools Kennedy and Sacred Heart.
Berlin defeated St. Paul-Bristol, 11-1, in its only game and now has a dozen left to play in less than three weeks, which will surely test the pitching staff. Rain early this week and again Friday – with more forecast for Saturday – doesn’t help that situation at all.
Guilford (10-2) is third. The Indians got ace righty Will Jolin back after a stint with tendonitis and Wednesday he got in two innings in a 7-6 win over Daniel Hand-Madison.
Jolin looked rusty and was dragging his lead foot through his delivery, leaving him off-balance (two wild pitches), but he still had enough to come up with a couple of big strikeouts and, when teammate Sam Greenberg doubled home a run with two out in the top of the sixth, he got the pitching win. Guilford had beaten Sheehan and Fairfield Prep and then won its rematch with Amity Regional-Woodbridge, 8-3. Amity had won the first game between the two on opening day, 15-10.
Xavier-Middletown (9-2) is fourth after playing three one-run games. The Falcons beat Branford, 2-1, and North Haven, 5-4, while losing to Jonathan Law-Milford, 3-2.
Plainville, 7-1, is fifth after wins over East Catholic-Manchester and Farmington. The Blue Devils have done it with pitching and defense, giving up more than three runs in a game only once.
Sixth is Bunnell-Stratford, 9-2 after a loss to cross-town rival Stratford and a win over Weston. Then comes Stamford, 10-1 with four wins in a row including the last three against Staples-Westport, Ridgefield and Trinity Catholic-Stamford by a total of 41-11.
Amity (8-3) fell to eighth with the loss to Guilford and wins over Jonathan Law-Milford and North Haven. A third unbeaten, Simsbury, 9-0, is ninth with wins last week over Conard-West Hartford, E.O. Smith-Storrs and Maloney-Meriden by a combined 37-6.
Montville, 9-1, rounds out the top 10. The Indians defeated Griswold, Killingly and Windham last week.
The state’s other unbeaten team is Cheney Tech-Manchester, which won its first 12 and has a home field to play on for the first time in five years. Cheney has a new artificial surface facility at the school.
Softball
On the softball side, it’s all Masuk-Monroe. The Panthers, 11-0, have garnered every first place vote in the New Haven Register media/coaches poll and won three games by shutout last week, 10-0 over Notre Dame-Fairfield, 3-0 over Bethel and 11-0 over Immaculate-Danbury.
The shutouts aren’t unusual. Since allowing a run to Fitch-Groton in the first game of the season, Masuk has yet to surrender another.
Junior pitcher Rachele Fico threw a no-hitter against Immaculate, struck out 17 and had a grand slam home run.
Bristol Eastern, 9-0, in second. Pitcher Sara Plourde’s two-run homer in the seventh inning helped Eastern to a 3-2 win over Southington. The Lancers also beat Conard-West Hartford and South Windsor.
Lauralton Hall-Milford, 10-1, whose only loss was to Masuk, is third after Bridget Gates threw two shutouts, one of them a no-hitter against Weston.
Trumbull and Cheshire, both 11-0, are fourth and fifth.
Sixth is Amity Regional-Woodbridge, 10-1 (the loss was to Cheshire) with wins over Jonathan Law-Milford, 1-0, North Haven, 4-3 in eight and Daniel Hand-Madison, 6-4 in 10. The win over North Haven knocked the Indians out of the undefeated ranks and the top 10 as well.
Seymour (11-1) is seventh with Lyman Memorial-Lebanon, 7-0, eighth. Norwich Free Academy, 9-2, is ninth despite a loss to Fitch-Groton and Woodland Regional-Beacon Falls, is tenth. Woodland gave Seymour its lone loss of the season but was beaten by Naugatuck, 3-2, for its first loss.
Fitch, Southington, Naugatuck, North Haven, North Branford and Rockville are others receiving votes in the poll.
