Softball catcher Victoria Wiatrak and pitcher Lily Kenney embrace between innings during the Panthers 9-0 semifinals win over North Branford in Meriden last Monday.
Cromwell High School softball made the state championship game for a second straight season after blanking conference rival North Branford, 9-0, in the Class S semifinals at Dunn Sports Complex in Meriden on June 5. It was an extra sweet victory for the Panthers, who had lost the previous three meetings to the Thunderbirds this spring, including a conference tournament defeat and a pair of 2-0 losses in the regular season. “The girls had nothing to lose today and that’s the attitude we had. We are built for these moments,” said CHS head coach Angelo Morello. “The girls all along had confidence. We are a very loose bunch and you could see that in the pregame. You could tell they were ready.” Lily Kenney pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing only three hits and striking out 10. Kenney also sparked the team from the plate, connecting on a leadoff double and eventually reaching home following a line drive single from catcher Victoria Wiatrak. Kenney, one of five seniors, said the team used the three losses to North Branford as motivation, particularly after the team failed to score in 14 innings in the regular season against their Shoreline Conference (SLC) foes. “I think there was a fear of knowing what North Branford is capable of and I have so much respect for North Branford, they are an amazing team,” stated Kenney. “But that fear sparked something in us and our adrenaline was there the entire game, and once we got ahead there was no going back.” Kenney added that she and Wiatrak have an extra special bond. Along with having the pitcher-catcher connection, they also bat first and second in the lineup. “She is amazing, no word can describe how much I trust her behind the plate,” Kenney said of her junior teammate. “Whenever I’m down, she picks me up and it’s awesome to have her right behind me.” North Branford entered the game as the No. 2 seed in the state tourney and had only lost once all season, but the No. 11 Panthers were clearly the more motivated team from the opening pitch and broke the game open in the third and fourth innings, scoring four runs in each frame. In the top of the third, Wiatrak doubled to drive home Kenney and Grace McFarlin. Wiatrak and Marlena Signorello then scored following a double from Alyssa Brodeur. Wiatrak said it was “confidence” that allowed the Panthers to put the previous losses to North Branford behind them. “We’ve been in these games before and we’ve been in these games against North Branford, and I feel like we wanted it more than them,” added Wiatrak, who drove three runs. McFarlin, Signorello, Emma Ribera, and Annika Peters added runs in the top of the fourth, turning the semifinal grudge match into a blowout. McFarlin, the team’s center fielder, was one of several Panthers to make noteworthy catches in the game, keeping the normally potent Thunderbird scoreless for the first time all year. She said that getting to the neutral site field nearly two and a half hours prior to first pitch allowed the Panthers to settle in. “Obviously it paid off,” McFarlin said of the early arrival. “Everything needed to be covered. We couldn’t make any errors because we knew that they could score off of any error.” Following the program’s first state championship last spring, the Panthers had an up-and-down regular season in 2023, winning 13 of 20 games. For a second straight season, the Panthers lost to a North Branford team in the conference tourney. The Thunderbird went on to win the SLC for an eight straight conference title. However, just like they did a year ago, the Panthers got revenge in the state tourney. McFarlin said the team remained “positive” throughout the regular season struggles, adding “We picked each other up. It’s not a team, it’s a family.” “We knew we had the potential,” added Kenney. “What I tried to tell the girls is that if we keep working hard, we will get to where we want to get.” On Saturday, the Panthers bid for a second straight title fell short, losing to Coventry 3-2 at the University of Connecticut. It marked Coventry’s first state title and prevented the Panthers from repeating. Despite the loss, the handful of graduating seniors — Kenney, McFarlin, Signorello, Broduer, and Alyssa DeLucco — leave a historic mark on the program. After the 2020 season was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Panthers won 45 games over the next three seasons. Over that time span, Cromwell also won 9 of 11 state tourney games, including a 3-0 win over North Branford in the 2022 state title, hanging the initial state championship softball banner inside CHS.
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AuthorSports Editor for the Rare Reminder, Glastonbury Citizen, and Rivereast News Bulletin Archives
April 2024
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