Boys Baseball, Girls Softball Qualify for State Tourney
By Matthew Cannata | Sports Correspondent at June 5, 2024 | 9:15 am | Print
For the second consecutive year, both the New Britain High School baseball and softball teams made the state tournament. On Wednesday, after two days of rain and postponements, they took to the field and battled it out in the first round.
The girls’ softball team finished with a regular season record of 13-7 and after a six-way tiebreaker was settled, they were ranked 19th in the Class LL tournament. They traveled to face the 14th ranked Norwalk team, who also finished with a regular season record of 13-7.
Norwalk took an early lead in the game, scoring one run within the first two pitches of the game. However, New Britain quickly tied it up with a solo home run from Jazaniya Irizarry. Through the second inning, Norwalk put up three more on the board to lead 4-1 going into the third. Like they have done all season, the Lady Hurricanes didn’t back down and put up four runs to take the lead, 5-4. It was a back and forth game throughout the remainder, with the teams exchanging runs.
Heading into the seventh, New Britain led 7-6 but Norwalk wasn’t ready to give up. They put runners on base and then senior Mallory Rochefort hit a walk off single to give them an 8-7 win. Despite losing a heartbreaker, head coach Joel Simmone had nothing but great things to say about his team and the way they have fought all season long.
“It was a great season. Last year, we won eight and lost in the first round. This year, we shot for ten wins and got 13. We hit the ball all year long but we had trouble winning the big games. We shot ourselves in the foot this game and nothing broke our way. We have a young group of girls and there were so many surprises. We had three All-Conference players, which has never happened,” said Simmone. “We have a junior All-State player for the second consecutive year. We have two players in the select All-Star game. Last year, we put the softball program back in the right direction and this year, we put it on the map with some big wins during the season. Next year, we plan to make even more noise.”
Perhaps the biggest thing for Simmone said isn’t necessarily the wins and losses on the field, but the way he has seen his girls fight and sacrifice for each other throughout the season.
“The biggest surprise and someone who will always bring a smile to my face is Destini Kennedy. She pitched every inning but one the entire season. Alyssa Millan is another one who fought all season long and never gave up. It was Destini’s first year pitching and Alyssa’s first year catching and they both sacrificed a lot for the greater good of the team,” Simmone said, while fighting back tears.
The boys’ baseball team finished with a regular season record of 12-8 and after a three-way tiebreaker was sorted out, they were ranked 17th in the Class LL tournament. They traveled several miles away to face off against the Farmington Indians, who also finished with a regular season record of 12-8 and were ranked 16th in the tournament.
In the regular season, New Britain and Farmington split the series, with Farmington winning the first match-up 1-0. On May 18, New Britain defeated them 4-0, with freshman pitcher Will Homar carrying no hitter into the last inning before it was broken up with two outs remaining. While many thought it would be another pitcher’s duel, it was not the case as there was a ton of offensive action from both teams throughout the game.
The Indians scored two runs in the first and then tacked on one more in the third. New Britain was hitting the ball early but nothing was breaking their way, with Farmington making great defensive plays all over the field.
“Early on in the game, it seemed like nothing was going our way. I told our guys to be patient because it’s a long game. I told them to keep on fighting and I’m proud of the way they kept on battling back, especially down by three runs,” head coach Roberto Mercado said.
In the top of the fourth, with two outs, Justin Lawson hit a shot over the center fielder’s head to drive in two runs, making the score 3-2 with the Indians still on top. In the top of the fifth, with bases loaded, Mike Ortiz drove it over the first baseman’s head to score two runs, making it 4-3 with the Hurricanes now on top.
With the score still 4-3, the game entered the seventh inning and Tyree Burns earned his way to first base. Then, Elvin Silva executed a perfect hit and run and drove the ball to right field. After a bobble by the outfielder, Mercado sent Burns home but the throw got there before him, resulting in a run-down between third and home. After a few throws, the Indians’ catcher threw the ball into left field, scoring two runs for the Hurricanes to make it 6-3.
“They thought we were going to bunt. We were practicing the hit and run situation all week so I said we were going to execute it. The right fielder bobbled it and Tyree is such a great athlete that he was able to get out of the run down between third and home to help score two huge runs,” Mercado said.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, Homar, who had pitched a fantastic game, ran into trouble after getting the first out on an amazing diving catch by Alex Silva in left field. A few hard infield hits later and it was 6-4 with runners on first and second. That’s when Mercado brought in Jakari Pelligrini to close the game. He did just that, striking out the last two batters to secure the win. In that situation, Mercado knew that Pelligrini was the right man for the job.
“Jakari did a great job closing out the game. I’m very proud of our guys. One thing I have to say about our bench is that they have a lot of energy and are a big part of who we are.”
The team traveled to Norwich Free Academy on Thursday, June 4 to face off in the second round. NFA finished with a regular season record of 17-3 and were ranked number one in the tournament. As of press time the game had not yet taken place.
