TRUMBULL — Milford rallied from a 2-0 deficit and won a 3-2 decision from Trumbull in a Babe Ruth 13U state tournament game at Unity Park on Sunday.

Manager Jerry Payne’s team, the District 4 champions, are off until Tuesday when they play Norwalk at 8 p.m. Trumbull, District 2 champions, had opened state play with a 15-0 shut out of Danbury. They will meet either Waterford or Naugatuck on Monday at 8.  

“The boys never quit, they never quit,” Payne said. “We made mistakes, but came back. This is a great group of kids.”

Milford scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. It won in the home seventh when Gavin Kaminski, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and went to third on a grounder to shortstop, raced home as Matt Galligan’s two-out grounder was misplayed.

The miscue ended a long string of outstanding two-out plays by manager Mike Buswell’s Trumbull combine.

Trumbull left-hander Sean Francouer left two runners in scoring position in the first when Jake Hull in left field hauled in a long drive to left-center by opposing hurler Zach Worzel.

A walk and a hit-and-run single by Ethan Long in the Milford third looked promising, but catcher A.J. Albaladejo threw a runner out at third with Luca Antonio making the tag. Milford wasn’t done.

Galligan drove the ball into the outfield, but the runner had to hold up in case the liner was caught by the second baseman. Matt Wood got the ball in quickly for a force play and out number two. Ryan Bull kept the rally going with a single. With runners on second and third, Albaladejo got to a short pitch that kicked to the right and threw to Antonio covering third to retire the side.

In the Trumbull third, D.J. Amaral singled. Jackson Depino sacrificed him to second, with Galligan at first base making a great scoop of a low throw. With two down, Conlan Deshane at second leapt over a sliding Galligan and made a great run-saving catch on Francouer’s soft liner over first base.

Trumbull broke through in the top of the fourth inning.

Matt Wood opened with an infield single. Derren Wood’s walk on a 3-2 pitch, and a double steal, led to Nick Lobuono getting an RBI on a ground out to second. After a strikeout, Albaladejo singled to center to score the second run. A strong throw by Brandon Payne in center to Bull at the plate got the third out on a sliding Lobuono.

Deshane walked to open the Milford fifth. Kaminski advanced the runner and Long singled sharply to center. The ball went through and Deshane scored to make it 2-1. Galligan once again swung a good bat, only to be denied a hit. This time Trumbull shortstop Jack Durland went to his left to catch his liner in the tip of his glove. He stepped on second for the unassisted double play.

Milford’s defense showed it stuff in the top of the sixth. The left-handed Worzel struck out his seventh batter and made a fine play on a chopped ball up the third base line. Deshane sprinted into shallow-center field from his second base position to snare Lobuono’s pop up.

Brandon Payne, who came on to pitch in relief in the fifth inning, doubled to deep left field with one out in the sixth. Worzel, who had moved to the outfield, singled him home to tie the game at 2 all. Jake Colucci, in to pitch to open the frame, got the second out on a foul pop. Ethan Domingue then ripped a ball in the gap that was tracked down by Hull.

Brandon Payne had two strikeouts around Milford’s first error to keep things deadlocked in the top of the sixth.

Milford, which drew a first-round bye on a draw from a hat, had outscored District 4 opponents 52-0.

The post Babe Ruth: Milford 13s rally to defeat Trumbull in state opener appeared first on Milford Mirror.

MILFORD — Haley Stroffolino is pleased to be a member of the Milford All Star team. Toward that end, she made a pair of outstanding plays in center field and smacked a two-run single to plate the eventual winning run when Milford defeated North Branford, 5-3, in the District 4 Little League championship game at Foote Field on Friday.

“I’m grateful to be on this team,” Stroffolino said. “It is an honor to have a chance to go out there and play my best. It is a big job to play center. There is a lot of room to cover and I have to get to any ball I can. When I came up (in the fifth), I was nervous because it was a one-run game. I put that all behind me and looked to get my bat on the ball.”

The No. 9 batter in the lineup, Stroffolino stepped into the batter’s box with two down and the bases loaded and drilled a two-run single. Teagan Garfield added an RBI hit to stake Milford to a 5-1 lead.

“Against North Branford, you need every run,”Milford manager Scott Worzel said. “They scratch and claw and were up at the (dugout) fence battling until the last out.”

Natalia Lucibello’s led off North Branford’s sixth with a single to left, the fourth hit off Milford starter Madison Bull. When Lexi Falcioni drew a walk, Milford brought Talia Salanto in from shortstop to defuse the rally. She got a force out on a comebacker to the circle, but an errant throw to get another out resulted in two runs crossing the plate.

Milford catcher Mya Dawid made a fine catch on a pop up for the second out, but North Branford had some two out magic of its own. Kiley Mullins walked to put the tying run on base. Salanto reached back and earned a strikeout to send Milford to the Sectional Tournament that opens in Orange Sunday with a 7 p.m. game with Wilton from District 1.

North Branford and Milford were the two best teams, and brought 5-1 pool records into the title game. North Branford took the first meeting 3-0; Milford the second 4-2.

“Summer is a different brand of softball,” North Branford manager Chris Hills said. “These girls gave us a 100 percent commitment and we appreciate it. We worked every day, fielding hundreds of ground balls and catching hundreds of fly balls, to get them ready for Districts and for the next level of play. They were fully engaged and in the bottom of the sixth we had the go-ahead run at the plate. They picked each other up.”

Neither team showed off its best defense in the first inning.

North Branford took a 1-0 lead on Lucibello’s RBI single after a pair of errors on Lindsey Onofrio’s drive put her on third base.

Milford had a chance to get that run back, and more, in the bottom of the inning. Three errors, two on one play, put runners on base. Falcioni at first made an outstanding catch on a foul pop by the fence. Gabi Senerchia then went to her right on a grounder toward the bag and threw out the runner from her second base position.

Stroffolino robbed Adriana Hills on a base-clearing extra base hit with a running catch in right-center field to end the second.

“Haley worked very hard to make this team,” Worzel said, “It was very competitive and we had a lot of talented players try out. We are very happy to have her.”

While Bull set down North Branford in the middle two innings, with Stroffolino making another catch in the alley and Garfield going behind first base to catch a challenging fly ball, Mullins stranded two Milford runners in the second.

Salanto singled with one out in the third, stole two bases, and scored on Dawid’s double to left field. Mullins notched a strikeout, before Mulvihill doubled to right center to give her team a 2-1 lead. A fine play by Leah Pinette in center halted the rally.

Grace Hess and Avery Falco singled to get Milford’s three-run rally going in the fifth.

“Two-out hitting was huge,” Worzel said. “The bottom of our lineup hit the ball well, getting us back to the top of the batting order. Teagan Mulvihill had a two-out double to give up the lead (in the third) and then Haley came through.”

MILFORD 5, NORTH BRANFORD 3

North Branford 100 002 – 3-4-5

Milford                002 03x – 5-9-4

Batteries: North Branford- Kiley Mullin (LP), Reece Hebert (5) and Adriana Hills; Milford- Madison Bull (WP), Talia Salanto (6) and Mya Dawid

Records: North Branford 5-2, Milford 6-1

”

The post Clutch play carries Milford to District 4 championship appeared first on Milford Mirror.

Pitching in the first game for the Stratford Brakettes will be Raeanne Geffert (2-1, 0.39 ERA), while taking the mound for the Junior Brakettes will be her younger sister Jenna (5-2). It is the first time in the Brakettes 73-year history that sisters will face each other on opposing teams.

Raeanne was one of the stars of the 10th annual Women’s Major Softball National tournament last year, winning the Most Valuable Pitcher award. She will be a senior at Bucknell University next fall, which figures to be a top contender for the Patriot League title. Her only loss came in the season opener by 3-1 against the Junior Brakettes, who scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning to snap a 1-1 tie.

Jenna got a late start with the Junior Brakettes because her Seymour High School softball team reached the CIAC Class M finals. One of her losses was against the Stratford Brakettes. Nursing an injury in June, Jenna is now back at top form. She compiled a 38-3 record during her four-year Seymour career. She will take her talents to Colgate, another Patriot League team, next fall, so this match-up may not be the only time they will face each other on the diamond.

Entering the game with a 22-1 overall record, manager John Stratton’s club has been on a hitting and scoring streak of late. In their last nine games the team has scored 89 runs. Leading the team in hitting is 2018 batting champ Lauren Pitney of Ansonia at .554. Among her 23 hits are one double, three triples and four home runs.

Third baseman Jolie Duffner, a senior-to-be at Florida Atlantic University, has narrowed the gap as she now sports a .538 average with a team-high 29 RBIs and eight doubles. Alex Heinen (.439, four home runs and 25 RBIs) and all-time home run leader Denise Denis (.377, 23 RBIs, five home runs) are the other leaders.

While Denis has already announced her retirement, this could be the final year for Duffner, who hopes to attend medical school in the fall, and Heinen, a Boston University grad who plans to return to San Clemente, CA.

Coach Mary Sciglimpaglia has guided the Junior Brakettes to a 14-6 record at the midway point of their season. Five of those setbacks have been to the Stratford Brakettes. Friday night’s action is the only one this week for the Juniors as games with the Ridgefield Rebels and Team Connecticut had to be rescheduled because of field conflicts.

Speedy center fielder Rebecca Johnson (.481) of Seymour, Kaitlyn Flood (.383) of Southbury, and Alexa Milius (.371) of Thomaston lead the Juniors at the plate.

The Stratford Brakettes will host the New England Diamond Gems of New Hampshire Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. at DeLuca Field.

The post Sisters match pitches when Brakettes take on Junior Brakettes tonight appeared first on Milford Mirror.

The Milford 13U Babe Ruth All Star team swept through District 4 competition to earn a berth in the state tournament, beginning in Trumbull at Unity Park on Friday, July 5.

Milford is comprised of many players from the team that won the District title a year ago, when they finished the season one game away of making the regionals.

Milford, managed by Jerry Payne, who is assisted by Matt Bull, defeated Shelton 17-0 in its opener. The locals next shut out Naugatuck 20-0. In the championship game with Naugatuck on June 27, Milford posted a run-rule 15-0 victory after four innings.

The top teams from the state tourney will play in the regional tournament in Stamford. Regional winners advance to the World Series, which is hosted in this summer by Westfield (Mass.).

The post Babe Ruth baseball: Milford advances to 13U state tournament appeared first on Milford Mirror.

Shelton’s Kaysee Talcik (7-0) picked up the win in the first game as she allowed six hits and struck out five batters. Her teammates took a quick 3-0 lead and never looked back, finishing with 15 hits, led by a 4-for-4 effort from Val Suto.

Shelton’s Britt Lampert and Westport’s Gillian Birk both had three hits. Jolie Duffner added two hits and drove in three runs, while Birk, Julia Handfield, and Stamford’s Charlee Horton all had two RBI.

Seymour’s Rebecca Johnson had two hits to lead the Junior Brakettes.

In the nightcap, Abby Abramson picked up her fourth win, allowing only three hits. One was a big hit by Alexa Milius, a three-run home run in the third inning after the Stratford Brakettes had built a 9-0 lead.

Briana Marcelino, the former Barlow all stater, led the offensive attack with two hits, including a home run and six RBI. Alex Heinen added three hits and two RBI, while Julia Handfield also hit a home run for manager John Stratton’s team which improved to 18-1.

The Stratford Brakettes open a weekend series Friday night with the Maryland Chill at 7 p.m. at DeLuca Field, while the Junior Braekttes (12-6) play at Windsor High School Friday against the Connecticut Eliminators 18 plus team in a 6 p.m. doubleheader.

The post Brakettes sweep twin bill behind Talcik and Lampert appeared first on Milford Mirror.

Now it appears that the Stratford Brakettes have a pretty nice rivalry of their own going against the program’s 18U Junior Brakettes. The two talented teams meet in Round Two on Thursday at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field in a 7 p.m. doubleheader.

Joyce arrived back in town last night for Saturday’s second annual Brakettes/Joan Joyce Pitch & Putt golf tournament at Short Beach par-3 course. She will be at Thursday’s softball battle and will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Joyce played 17 years for the Brakettes and compiled a 429-27 record and an all-time high of 5,677 strikeouts. Eight times chosen the MVP of the National ASA tournament, Joyce also played 19 years on the LPGA tour. She will get a chance to renew an old friendship with Brakettes’ manager John Stratton, who served as her assistant coach at FAU for 10 years.

“We always had great games with the Coeds,” said Stratton. “They had a crafty lefty, Alice Coursen, who always gave us fits. She always managed to beat us at least twice a year. It was a great local rivalry, probably one of the best in softball.”

The Junior Brakettes (12-4), who have won six in a row, stunned the Stratford Brakettes 3-1 opening day on June 1. Stratton’s club responded with three straight wins over the Juniors and enter this clash with a 16-1 record.

Ali DuBois (3-0, 0.00 ERA), Abby Abramson (3-0, 0.58), Julia Handfield (3-0, 0.78) and Shelton’s Kaysee Talcik (6-0, 1.09) are all available to pitch for the Brakettes.

The Junior team will have Seymour’s Jenna Geffert (4-1), Sydney Senerchia (3-1), New Canaan’s Gillian Kane (2-2) and Bridgeport’s Tiffany Diao (2-2) ready for coach Mary Sciglimpaglia’s club.

Ansonia’s Lauren Pitney (.553,13 RBIs), Val Suto (.512) and Jolie Duffner (.510, 18 RBIs), who plays for Joyce at FAU, lead Stratton’s team in hitting.

Both teams face a busy weekend.

The Stratford Brakettes host the Maryland Chill for doubleheaders Friday and Saturday (7 p.m. starts) and Sunday at noon in a single game. The Junior Brakettes are in Windsor Friday night to face the Connecticut Eliminators 18 plus at 6 p.m. and they will play the Chill Sunday at 10 a.m.

Tickets for the Battle of the Sexes VI, between the Stratford Brakettes and New Britain Bees of the Atlantic Baseball League, are on sale at every Brakettes’ home game until the July 21 exhibition at New Britain Stadium.

Veteran softball pitcher Nick French will pitch for the Bees. Tickets for the 7 p.m. game are $10.

The post Brakettes rekindle backyard rivalry on Thursday appeared first on Milford Mirror.

Judy Tarczali struck out eight of the 10 batters she faced when the Milford Softball All-Star team defeated Annex Little League, 18-0, in a run-rule District IV game at Foote Field on Wednesday.

“We will play each team twice,” Milford head coach Scott Worzel said. “We opened with North Branford (a 3-0 loss) and will play at Amity tomorrow, at North Branford Friday, host Amity here on Sunday (4 p.m.) and then play at Annex on Monday.

“The top two teams will play for the championship, with the game played at the home field of the team with the best record.”

That game is scheduled for Friday, July 5, at 5:30.

When asked what is most difficult about coaching the All Stars, Worzel answered, “Getting the players to play with urgency. All played Little League and some played travel ball as well. It’s taken a couple of games, but we played very well on offense tonight.”

Tarczali struck out the side in order in the top of the first inning.

Milford sent 17 batters to the plate when it came to bat.

It began when Teagan Garfield battled Annex pitcher Nyla Thomas for eight pitches before she singled to right field. The floodgates soon opened. Ten hits and four walks later, Milford held a 13-0 advantage.

Mya Dawid was the catalyst. She doubled in two runs in her first trip to the plate in the frame, then the lefty swinger cleared the bases with a triple.

Grace Hess (single), Avery Falco (single) and Tarczali (double) tacked on RBIs.

Falco had doubled to make it 5-0. Tarczali and Talia Salanto (single) also drove in runs the first trip through the batting order.

Tarczali hit Sophia Gambardella with a 2-2 pitch to open the second — then set down the next three batters on strikes.

Haley Stroffolino (single), Emily Krauss (single) and Madison Bull (walk) set the table in Milford’s five-run second.

Salanto and Teagan Mulvihill had RBI singles. Angie Robinson worked out a walk to reload the bases for run-scoring hits from Garfield and Kelsey Flanagan.

Tarczali then struck out two batters around Mulvihill’s grab of a foul pop behind the plate to invoke the run rule (15 runs after three innings, 10 runs after four, 8 runs after five) in the third.

The post District IV softball: Milford All Stars defeat Annex Little League appeared first on Milford Mirror.

The Milford Recreation Softball League boasts 10 teams competing in two divisions.

The rules have five women and five men playing the field for each team.

It was apparent from the outset when Environmental Design/Bonfire Grille and Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café met on Friday, however, that the league by-laws must include three directives — family first, socialize afterward and be competitive between the foul lines.

“Most of us have been playing softball together for 20 years,” Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café manager Mary Loch said after her club posted a 13-9 victory before a large group of fans at Platt Field. “I started playing in the women’s league, and then was asked to join the coed team with my husband Ray. This is the greatest group. We have fun. If we win the game, we are happy. If we lose, well let’s say we still get together and socialize.”

Environmental Design/Bonfire Grille came together this season.

“A lot of the team is family or close friends,” manager Jim Cullen said. “It’s about sharing the experience. We practice on Sunday and then get back together on Friday to play, compete, and have fun. We have a blast.”

Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café put three runs on the board in the bottom of the second inning.

Megan McNiff and Eric Zentkovich opened the frame with singles. Kenny Lawton’s one-out hit made it 1-0. Josie Hill’s fielder’s choice grounder scored the second run, before Gregg Water smacked a long RBI triple.

Environmental Design/Bonfire Grille batted around to score eight runs in the top of the third.

T.J. Mallico had a pair of hustling doubles, including one that began the rally. Ashley Auddino and Rick Acampora (RBI) followed with base hits before Zentkovich made a good play from his pitcher’s position and got the force out to Scott Warner at third.

Four consecutive hits followed. Steve Mullins and Courtney Ferraro had singles. Chris Palko doubled in two runs for a 4-3 lead. Liz Mahoney plated a run with a single and another scored on a sacrifice fly. Chelsea Mullins singled and Mallico doubled in two to take the score to 8-3.

Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café put together a three-run, two-out rally in the home third despite some fine leather showed by Mallico from the circle.

Stacy Loch and Joe Kondor each singled to set the table for an RBI hit from Kelly Tyrrell and a two-run triple from Warner.

They tied the game in the fourth on Water’s sacrifice fly.

Fine defensive plays by Kondor at shortstop and Michele Bacon at second base kept Environmental Design/Bonfire Grille off the board in the fourth and fifth innings.

Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café took a 13-8 lead in the fifth.

Chuck Williams Jr. tripled and scored on a poor relay for a 9-8 lead. Kodor and Tyrrell had hits to bring in another run. Warner singled, McNiff walked and Zentkovich was ruled safe at first with an infield hit. Kenny Lawton accounted for the final run with an RBI hit.

Auddino and Acampora opened the Environmental Design/Bonfire Grille’s sixth with back-to-back singles. The next three batters were retired in order.

Rob Page doubled and Water singled for Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café only to be stranded in the home sixth.

Environmental Design/Bonfire Grille hit the ball hard in its final at bat, but it could only manage one run.

Palko singled, but Mahoney’s hard liner was caught at shortstop by Kondor. A double put runners on second and third for Mullins, whose liner was speared by Warner at third for the second out.

Mallico’s single brought Palko home, but Warner’s strong throw to McNiff at first on Auddino’s ball in the hole at short secured the win for Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café.

Kondor Construction/Pit Stop Café’s team roster includes Chuck Williams Jr., Stacy Loch, Joe Kondor, Kelly Tyrrell, Scott Warner, Megan McNiff, Eric Zentkovich, Michele Bacon, Kenny Lawton, Josie Hill, Gregg Water, Debbie Pittman, Rob Page, Lee Hill, Vinny Ditchkus, Mary Loch and Ray Loch.

Rostered for Environmental Design/Bonfire Grille are Chelsea Mullins, T.J. Mallico, Ashley Auddino, Rich Acampora, Dee Ezzo, Steve Mullins, Courtney Ferraro, Chris Palko, Liz Mahoney, Jim Cullen, Scott Prouty and D.J. Ladore.

The post Coed softball more than family and friends getting together appeared first on Milford Mirror.

Denis will bring her .421 batting average and team-high 18 RBIs into action Thursday night when the Brakettes begin a seven-game weekend against the Connecticut Eliminators 23U squad at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. The Eliminators defeated the Brakettes twice last year.

Manager John Stratton’s club hosts the Ridgefield Rebels 23U Friday and Stratford’s XTreme Chaos Saturday in a pair of 7 p.m. twin-bills before they host the Stratford Fire Department in their annual charity game Sunday at 6 p.m. The Junior Brakettes pitching staff and catchers will provide the battery for the Stratford Fire Department.

The CT Firefighters Charitable Foundation announced that Sunday’s fundraising game will benefit local firefighter Bill Hansen, who has had a long-term illness, and his family. The foundation will be conducting raffles and selling t-shirts at the game as well.

“Denise told me last year that this would be her last,” said manager John Stratton. “However, when we started the season she was wavering, but she finally made it official. She has been such a remarkable player for us, I hope she goes out in style.”

The team’s all-time home run leader with 131, Denis is second in career triples (151), trailing Joan Joyce by two, runs scored (708) and RBIs (689). She is third in games played (829) and hits (826). Denis is a 10-time All-America, won the 2014 batting title, and has hit over .400 nine times.

Lauren Pitney of Ansonia and St. Joseph High is the leading hitter with a .559 average. Jolie Duffner (.500) is second in RBIs. Brittany Younan (.500), Val Suto (.500), Stamford’s Adriana Gambino (.467) and Alex Heinen (.435), the Patriot League’s MVP from champion Boston University, are the other leaders.

Shelton’s Kaysee Talcik (5-0, 1.09 ERA), Julia Handfield (3-0), and Abby Abramson (3-0) lead the pitching staff.

The post Softball: Brakettes’ Denise Denis calling it quits appeared first on Milford Mirror.

Seymour’s Rebecca Johnson has taken over the team batting lead with a .481 average (13-for-27) while Bridgeport’s Maggie Britt (.365), Southbury’s Kaitlyn Flood (.333), Bridgeport’s Tiffany Diao (.318) and New Canaan’s Gillian Kane (.316) are all swinging good bats.

Alexa Milius leads with nine RBIs followed by Diao and Hamden’s Kiana Robinson with eight.

Seymour’s Jenna Geffert (2-1) figured in three decisions last week, following her banner career for the Class M runner-up Wildcats.

The post Softball: Junior Brakettes hosting doubleheaders this weekend appeared first on Milford Mirror.