Softball conference tournaments: Enfield's CCC run ends with shutout

May 27—MERIDEN — The stage was set for the Enfield High softball team when it played Southington in the CCC tournament title game Thursday night.

And that stage may have contributed to the Eagles' downfall.

"I'd say maybe we psyched ourselves out a little bit," sophomore first basemen Brenna Lyver said. "The fact that we told ourselves that it was a championship game, I think we were too stressed out in that way. I think we weren't playing our game, we were playing in our heads."

Behind two hits and four RBIs from Sam Sullivan, the top-seeded Blue Knights topped the sixth-seeded Eagles 10-0 at the William E. Dunn Sports Complex for the championship.

It's the second straight tournament title for Southington (22-1). It also beat Enfield to win the inaugural tournament last year.

"I'm really excited," Southington coach Davina Hernandez said. "To have a win like that against a very good Enfield team, it just builds their confidence. They know how good of a pitcher Tiffany (Lubanski) is. They know how good of a team that is."

The loss drops Enfield to 18-5 on the year. The Eagles are ranked seventh in Class LL. They continue their postseason when they host a first round game Tuesday.

"We came in as the six (seed) and we're going out as the two. So they have to be proud of that," Enfield coach Andrea Silva said. "Nobody expected us to make it to this game this year, so it's an accomplishment. It's a step towards where we want to be. So we'll take that into states and really hope that even as an underdog, you can come out on top."

Thursday's game was the second time the teams have met this season. Southington won 16-4 in Enfield May 4.

"Last time game, from inning one it was hype, hype hype," Silva said. "Nonstop talking, nonstop chatter and everything else. This game, we kind of came in a little bit low and just couldn't really pull ourselves out. Confidence in some of us kind of dropped down a little bit. Unfortunately, that kind of took over. It does sometimes.

"We talked about how we have to go back to work right now. We're not done yet, and we get to keep going."

The Blue Knights scored early and often Thursday night. Sullivan kick started a four-run first inning with a two-run inside-the-park-homer to right field. Her two-run bloop single in the second made it 6-0, and the Blue Knights added three more runs in the third to take a 9-0 lead.

Southington brought seven batters to the plate in each of the first three innings.

"I think Southington is a great team," Silva said. "They're very disciplined and everything else. But I don't think that we showed what Enfield softball is about."

Silva attributes Thursday's performance partially to the team's fatigue. Thursday was Enfield's fourth game in as many days.

"That definitely played a role in it," Silva said. "I think even mentally, our heads weren't where we needed them to be to be ready to go."

Enfield did settle the game down late. The Eagles limited the Blue Knights to one run over the final three innings.

"We set little goals for ourselves in between every inning," Silva said. "We were trying to push a run across, get some baserunners on. Not get mercied and make it the full seven innings. We definitely accomplished that. We could've very easily just rolled over, gave them the 12 runs and been done. So I'm glad that they fought through it."

Sam Rogers finished with three hits, two doubles and a triple, an RBI and a run scored in the win. Teammate Ashlyn Desaulniers added an RBI and three runs scored. Sullivan was the winning pitcher. She struck out four in three innings.

The Eagles were limited to three hits Thursday: a single by Taylor Lathrop in the first, a single by Lyver in the second and a double by pinch-hitter Sophia Verrengia in the fifth.

Still, Hernandez was impressed with how the Eagles adjusted from the teams' first meeting.

"They definitely had much more discipline," she said. "We were very effective with our riseball against them last game, and today it was pretty much non-effective. We had to adjust with different pitches. Curveballs, screwballs, a lot of changeups in the beginning."

Tiffany Lubanski took the loss. The righty struck out four in 4Î innings total — she pitched the first two and the final 2Î.

"I think playing the harder teams actually makes a bigger impact on us," Lubanski said of playing teams like Southington. "That gets us ready for the bigger games."

Those big games start Tuesday.

"We just have to focus on every day stuff," Lyver said. "Warmups and just staying relaxed through it. Just treating it like every other game. Instead of telling ourselves that it's a tournament game, I think we just need to tell ourselves that it's just another game."

NCCC tournament

ROCKVILLE 5, SOMERS 1 (8). Alexis Real was the last girl standing for Rockville.

The Rams' junior pitcher fired a one-hitter as fourth-seeded Rockville broke through for five runs in the top of the eighth inning to defeat No. 2 Somers and capture the NCCC tournament title at Suffield High.

Real walked none and struck out 16, allowing only a double to the Spartans' Bianca Green.

Rockville (14-8) advanced to the final with a 9-2 win over conference champion and top-seeded Ellington.

Somers (16-6) reached the final by beating No. 3 Coventry 2-0 behind pitcher Madison Hinkley's no-hitter.

Hinkley was brilliant again in the final as she allowed one hit in seven innings of work. In her 14 innings in the circle Thursday, she gave up just the one hit, walked one, and struck out 19. But after 176 pitches, she was replaced by Kiana Kalman and the Rams were able to break through.

Real, Lila Ward, and Jadah-Lyc Ortiz had RBIs in the decisive eighth.

Kalman and Mackenzie Mike drove in runs in the sixth inning of the semifinal to break up a pitcher's duel between Hinkley and Coventry's Elizabeth Mitchell.

Mitchell allowed four hits for the Patriots (17-4) with three walks and six strikeouts.

The four NCCC tournament teams now head to the state tournament.

Ellington (18-3) is the No. 2 seed in Class L and has a first-round bye. The Knights will host either No. 18 Woodstock Academy or No. 15 Foran Wednesday.

Rockville is the No. 16 seed in Class L and will entertain North Haven Tuesday with the winner visiting top-seeded Masuk Wednesday.

Somers is the No. 6 seed in Class S and will welcome No. 27 East Catholic for a first-round game Tuesday.

Coventry is the No. 3 seed in Class S and after getting a first-round bye will entertain Immaculate on Wednesday.

The Spartans and the Partriots are seeded to play in the quarterfinals if both teams reach that round.

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