Working on tourney
There is one goal left to achieve for the Woodstock Academy softball program. Make the state tournament.
The Centaurs came into the week with four games left to play against Fitch, Hale Ray and Montville this week and Haddam-Killingworth in their final home game next Monday.
They need one more win to qualify for the Class L tournament.
“You start pressing,” Woodstock Academy coach Jason Gerum admitted.
But there are winnable games left. Gerum thinks the Centaurs (7-9) have a good chance against Haddam-Killingworth and Hale Ray.
“There are teams on our schedule still left that when you look at common opponents and the level of play we’re at and what they’ve done against them and you consider all the factors, we still have a good chance of winning some games,” Gerum said.
But there is a caveat to that. “Every team left on our schedule, the programs are good. So we could go 4-0 as easy as we could go 0-4. That’s the pressing part. To get it over with, and not have to feel pressure in the last few games, is huge,” Gerum said.
The Centaurs could have erased the question May 11 but fell just short to Valley Regional, 6-4.
The Warriors have a very good pitcher in Addy Bullis; a key reason why they are now undefeated through their first 15 games.
Bullis held the Centaurs spellbound through the first three innings, not allowing a hit, while her teammates spotted her a 3-0 lead. But Woodstock Academy reached the Valley pitcher in the bottom of the fourth.
Catcher Julliana Nuttall had the first hit of the game for the Centaurs, a single, and Ashley Kaseck was sent in as a courtesy runner.
After a line out, Heather Converse walked.
Mackenzie Leveille put the Centaurs on the board with a single to center. Megan Preston then tied the game with a line drive, two-run double to center field.
But the Warriors got their three-run lead back in the sixth on a pair of doubles and a triple.
The Centaurs got back within two in the bottom of the inning when Nuttall walked, stole second, went to third on a passed ball and scored on a Converse ground out.
Leveille doubled with two outs, but was stranded when Bullis recorded one of her 12 strikeouts.
She set Woodstock Academy down in order in the seventh.
The Centaurs started out the week with one of their better offensive performances of the season when they posted an 18-4 win over Bacon Academy.
Hannah Burgess, who did not play in the Valley Regional game due to graduation exercises for her brother, led off the game in Colchester with a double. Nuttall walked and Hannah Chubbuck reached on an error.
Converse singled home two runs, Preston followed with an RBI single and Converse, on a double steal, stole home to make it 4-0.
But the Bobcats tied the game in the bottom of the inning.
“There was a tight (strike) zone in that game. It was odd. Megan likes to throw inside. She’s not afraid to go in there and we’ve capitalized on that because she jams a lot of players, doesn’t allow them to extend, but we weren’t getting any strikes called inside,” Gerum said.
Preston gave up two walks early, tried to adjust to the strike zone and yielded four straight hits including a double and a triple.
“We came in and regrouped, talked about changing how we were going to throw and we did it. Megan did a great job and we didn’t give up another run, but we pitched a totally different game from innings two through seven,” Gerum said.
But her teammates had her back.
Burgess singled home Maria Scandalito and scored on a wild pitch. Converse had a sacrifice fly and Leveille added an RBI single to make it 8-4 in the top of the second.
Woodstock Academy added another run in the third and three more in the fourth and the one-sided win was in motion.
Burgess led the way with five hits in six trips and is back up to a .667 average this season. Leveille finished with a 4-for-4, two RBI day while Converse had a pair of hits, scored three times and drove in five runs.
Preston also helped herself with two hits and two RBIs.
The Centaurs started well against East Lyme but fell to 0-5 in Division I of the ECC with a 7-1 loss May 8.
Woodstock Academy got on the board first when both Leveille and Preston reached on errors and Leveille scored on a Maia Corrado ground out to make it 1-0 in the second inning.
Then along came the bottom of the third inning.
The Vikings strung together six straight hits to start the inning including a two-run double by Anna Bomelli.
After a line out and a sacrifice fly, E. Lyme got two more singles and finished with six runs. The Vikings added another run late to put the win away. Converse was the only player with two hits for the Centaurs while Burgess, Leveille and Scandalito had the others.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
.
Legal Notice
Town of Putnam
Inland Wetland
Commission
The Town of Putnam Inland Wetland Commission held a meeting on May 8, 2019, at 7:00 P.M. at the Putnam Town Hall located at 126 Church Street, Putnam CT. The following action was taken:
Application # 2019-04: Town of Putnam – Recreational Fields at Sabin Street - APPROVED
Application # 2019-06: Wheelabrator – Ash Residue Landfill Phases 7 through 11 – TABLED - PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 12, 2019, AT 700 P.M. AT THE PUTNAM TOWN HALL.
Application #2019-07: Strategic Commercial Realty, Inc., d/b/a Rawson Materials - 15-Lot Re-Subdivision — Quinebaug Regional Technology Park Phase II – CONDITIONAL APPROVAL
Bruce Fitzback,
Chairman
May 16, 2019
Legal Notice
West Putnam
Tax District
The Electors of the West Putnam Tax District and those citizens qualified to vote in said district meetings, are hereby notified and warned that the annual meeting of said district will be held on Thursday, May 23, 2019, at 7:00 pm in the Community Room of the Putnam Town Municipal Building, 126 Church Street, Putnam, Connecticut, for the following purposes:
1. To read the Treasurer’s Report
2. To adopt a budget for the coming fiscal year 2019-2020
3. To elect officers and directors for the coming fiscal year 2019-2020
4. To discuss any other business proper before said meeting
Peter G. Newth,
President,
West Putnam Tax District
Kelly A Newth,
Treasurer/Secretary,
West Putnam Tax District
May 16, 2019
Legal Notice
Town of Putnam
Planning Commission
The Town of Putnam Planning Commission will hold a meeting on May 28, 2019, at 6:00 P.M. at the Putnam Town Hall located at 126 Church Street, Putnam CT. A public hearing will be held on the following:
Application #2019-02: Strategic Commercial Realty, Inc. d/b/a Rawson Materials — Request for a 15-lot re-subdivision for a proposed second phase of the Quinebaug Regional Technology Park. Property located between the end of Technology Park Drive and Town Farm Road. Property noted by location as 79 Town Farm Road, Town Assessor’s Map 44, Lot 1. Zoned QTP.
Edward Briere,
Chairman
May 16, 2019
May 23, 2019
.
PUTNAM —The Putnam Science Academy Prep boys’ basketball team will have a brand new look next year. Only three prep players are back from last year’s team.
The first fresh face added is a 6-foot, 5-inch guard from Sarasota, Fla., Johnnie Williams. The 180-pound guard from Booker High School will look to bring toughness to the Putnam Science Academy Prep program from day one, something Head Coach Tom Espinosa looks for in his players.
“Johnnie is a tough, hard-nosed kid who plays with a chip on his shoulder” said Espinosa. “Those are the type of kids we want to coach and honestly the type of kids we look to win with here at PSA.”
Williams turned heads during his senior year at Booker High as a captain scoring 11.3 points per game and attacking the glass relentlessly with 6.7 rebounds per game. Williams also made an impact on the defensive end adding 3.5 blocks per game in 25 games. “We see (Johnnie) Williams stepping into Chuck’s (Charles Pride) role this upcoming season” said Espinosa. “We’re very excited to add a player like Johnnie, he’s a perfect example of the type of kid we want here in Putnam.”
Williams holds offers from Division 1 schools: Florida Gulf Coast, Arkansas State and Southeastern Louisiana but almost certainly will receive more offers upon his arrival and play at Putnam Science Academy.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
.
It was a long time in coming.
The Woodstock Academy Centaurs have been a member of the ECC since 2000. In that time, according to coach Ann Rathbone, the girls’ tennis team has never defeated Stonington. That changed May 8 when the Centaurs finally got the monkey off their backs with a 4-3 win in Stonington.
The problem is the season is not over. The Centaurs still have second matches to play against two Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I opponents including another encounter with the Bears.
The Centaurs (9-2 overall) are on top of the division at 4-0 heading into those matches after a 5-2 win over Fitch May 11y.
The Centaurs did that against the Falcons. Woodstock Academy started on the wrong side of the score when No. 1 singles player Mari Ruggieri fell to Samantha Cote 0-6, 2-6.
Morgan Bassett evened things up with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at the No. 2 singles. But the back-and-forth continued when Hannah Darigan fell at No. 3 singles 1-6, 1-6 and Rachel Holden persevered for a 7-5, 7-5 victory at No. 4.
The doubles teams ended all doubts. Adeline Smith and Caitlyn Sroczenski posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles. The team of Rachel Lambert and Emma Durand were 6-3, 6-1 winners at second doubles. Annabelle Bastura and Jackie Trudeau completed the sweep with the 6-1, 6-1 victory in their doubles match.
It was a nice way to put a star on a week that was memorable already after the win over the Bears. Ruggeri lost to Stonington’s Maddie Hamm 6-1, 6-1, but the Centaurs rallied in No. 3 and 4 singles. Darigan posted a 6-2, 6-0 win over Holly Foster and Holden prevailed 6-3, 6-1 over Erin Metherway.
The first and second doubles teams, however, stumbled. Smith and Sroczenski lost 1-6, 4-6 at No. 1 doubles and Bastura and Trudeau were downed, 5-7, 2-6.
It put the pressure on the No. 3 doubles team of Izetta Asikainen and Sophia Rakovan. They lost the first set to Grace Milne and Mia Lewendowsky 1-6. Asikainen and Rakovan had provided the winning margin in 4-3 victories over Fitch and RHAM.
The Woodstock Academy coach continued to watch the other matches and noted that third doubles were still on the court. Asikainen and Rakovan won the second set, 6-4. The third went six games each to force a tiebreaker which was just as much a back-and-forth battle with the Centaurs duo finally pulling out the 14-12 win.
Bassett, the second singles player for the Centaurs, was able to watch some of that tussle while her match was in progress and gained some momentum from their perseverance.
The senior had to take Advanced Placement tests and arrived to the match late.
It pushed Bassett’s match with Alison Margolice to last in the line.
And suddenly, the match as a whole was on the line.
“There was a little pressure, a lot of people watching,” Bassett said. “I knew, after talking to Coach Rathbone, that it had to be done and we were not going to get another opportunity like this in a long time.”
Bassett has been hovering near the .500 mark in individual matches this season and was questioning herself.
“I’m really proud of her because she stepped up to the No. 2 spot and has asked me the past couple of days, ‘What do I have to do to get a win?’ She’s been really close. I told her that it doesn’t matter if she wins, it’s about playing hard and setting an example for the rest of the team. She has bought into that,” Rathbone said.
This time, however, the Centaurs needed the win. The senior provided it. She won the first set 6-4.
But Bassett made it a little nerve-wracking when she lost the second by that same score, only to come back and roll to a 6-0 win in the third set.
“That was a pretty dominant performance in the third set which was easier on my nerves. You never know how that set is going to go,” Rathbone said.
“It was really exciting,” Bassett said. “The girls stormed the court and gave me a bunch of hugs and stuff. We were screaming for what seemed like 20 minutes on the Stonington court. It was the best feeling.”
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
.