By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – The last time the Bristol Central softball team took the field in CIAC Class L postseason play, the squad dropped a tough 5-1 decision at home to No. 18 Foran in first round play back on May 29, 2019.
But that sophomore crew, now seniors, learned from that tough outing and to open the state tournament in 2021, the 11th ranked Rams defended their home turf – needing an extra frame to seal the deal against a very good Brookfield aggression.
Because through seven innings of play, the game was a 1-1 stalemate as late heroics was going to decide the victor this time around.
In the bottom of the eighth, Central’s Janessa Bartell generated the game winning hit as the Rams picked up a huge 2-1 victory over No. 22 Brookfield to move on to second round play
Bartell, as well as blasting out the walk-off tally, went 2-for-4 on the afternoon with two RBI.
Lorelei Stancavage picked up two hits and ended up scoring the game-winning run for the Rams.
In the circle, the combination of Sophia Torreso and Alex Sciarretto did the job for Central.
The duo combined for 10 strikeouts as Torreso picked up the win in the end.
The victory propelled Central to a showdown against No. 6 Ledyard on the road today at 4 p.m.
The Colonels were 14-2 in regular season play this season, but the 16-4 Rams have enough firepower to pull off a second round upset.
Gwen Torreso honored
In more postseason news for the locals, Bristol Central’s Gwen Torreso was named to the Connecticut High school Coaches Association Softball All-State Class L Team.
She one was of twenty-four players honored this year.
Torreso is a dual threat on both sides of the ball and one of the featured shortstops in all the Central Connecticut Conference.
She also has home run power and nearly helped the squad at Central take two wins over Bristol Eastern this year – hitting a home run at the game from King Street in a 2-1, eighth inning near miss before leading her team to a 13-2 victory against the Lancers back on May 24.
