By Michael Letendre
It’s time to play the game on Monday.
In the biggest regular season showdown Bristol will see in the city this year, the Bristol Central softball team will host undefeated Southington (11-0) in a CCC interdivisional extravaganza.
Game time is 4:45 p.m. from the softball field from Bristol Central High School.
The battle is going to be an event you simply can’t miss between two of the top-five programs in Connecticut.
Respect BC
We hear about Southington all the time through various media sources and the like.
And most of the talk on the scholastic softball front is about someone other than Bristol Central.
We hear about Newtown, Masuk, Woodland and Southington far too much.
And the Rams from Bristol deserve and command the same respect.
This is a team that’s currently 12-0 with a boatload of talent at tis disposal.
What about Bristol Central?
If the Rams can pick up a huge victory over the Knights, the talk is about to change in a major way.
Defense has fueled both teams in 2023
The teams have combined to give up a total of 11 runs this season, very few of them earned.
Only Newington and Bristol Eastern have been able to tally multiple runs against Central – scoring twice against the Rams over tough losses.
Over Central’s last eight games, opponents are averaging 0.5 runs-per-game.
Over that same stretch, the Knights have given up only three runs for an average of 0.4 runs-an-outing.
Defense will be key in this one on Monday.
One and done between the squads?
The Rams were an outstanding 22-5 last season with three of those setbacks coming against the Knights, including the final game of the Class LL championship in 2022.
And unless the squads square off in the CCC Tournament (wink, wink), this will be the only time this season Central and Southington will battle each other.
In 2023, the Rams are right where they should be in Class L while the Knights still compete in Class LL and defend that championship when the postseason rolls around.
Who does Central put on the mound against Southington?
When you have two NCAA Division I pitchers at your disposal, there isn’t any wrong answer on who Central head coach Monica Hayes puts in the circle.
Sophia Torreso and Alex Sciarretto are both bulldogs from the rubber and yet to taste defeat – carrying an ERA of less than 0.40.
And while Southington pitching is equally as impressive, those two studs from Bristol don’t know the word quit.
Either choice is correct and Torreso or Sciarretto are capable of handing Southington its first loss of the campaign.
And don’t forget, the duo has somewhere around 140 strikeouts for the season.
That’s not chump change.
And don’t forget Lorelei Stancavage behind the dish, catching for those outstanding pitchers.
That battery is one of the best in the state, period.
Central has some pop in the lineup…
Just think about the top five the Rams employ in the batting order.
Kaley Laird is a human jumping jack with enough energy to keep the power in Bristol up and running over the next 50 years.
Laird leads off, small ball specialist Sam Sklenka bats second while sister Leah Sklenka, ready to hit the ball into the outfield, hits third for the Rams.
Then throw in Sciarretto and Torreso over the next couple slots in the order and you can see how potent the lineup is over just the first five.
That crew is just talented defensively at it is offensively.
Knights on the mound
And who makes the start for the Knights in the circle?
Will it be Stella Blanchard?
At one point this year, she carried a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 31-to-1. That’s big-time stuff.
The squad was batting right round .400 after four games this season and has not relented.
There aren’t any easy answers around here when dealing with Southington.
The class of the CCC
There are only two teams undefeated in the CCC – Bristol Central and Southington.
And those programs have a one-game lead over the rest of the squads in the conference.
After the Rams and the Knights, Windsor is the next best program at 12-2 while surprising Plainville also carries the same ledger.
Tolland (10-2) is just a game behind the Windsor/Plainville contingent.
But Windsor fell to Southington (10-1) back on April 17 while Plainville dropped a tough 13-1 decision to Central on April 12.
Between Central and Southington, both top-five ranked programs in the state, who is truly better than that CCC duo?
State Tournament Rankings
In the Class LL rankings, Southington is rated second behind undefeated Newton (14-0).
Fairfield Warde (14-1) is currently in third place.
Looking at the Class L rankings, North Haven (15-0) is in first place while the Rams (12-0) are in second.
Masuk is hanging tough in third place with a record of 14-1.
Must see affair
This game against Southington is for the taking by Central.
A victory by the Rams over the Knights will shake up the state rankings in Connecticut.
But no matter how things go down, this showcase event is a must see for event for anyone who loves the sport of softball.
And, the one thing you can bank on, is that the energy is about to shift…
