By Michael Letendre

MERIDEN – The Central Connecticut Conference tournament final in softball, a simply amazing battle to witness on Friday night, went down to the wire as top seeded Southington was pushed to the brink by No. 2 Bristol Central.

And the Rams nearly knotted the game up over seventh inning action.

The final play of the showdown saw Central with runners on first and second base and two outs.

Kaley Laird was at the plate, squaring off against Southington relief pitcher Madison Furniss.

Laird eked out a slow roller towards shortstop, a ball that base runner Mya Porrini had to leap over on her way from second to third.

The throw over to get Laird at first base was not in time as the Rams suddenly had three runners on but Porrini was waived home from third during the chaos.

She steamrolled to the dish as the ball was thrown in by Southington first baseman Stella Blanchard to catcher Elyse Picard.

Porrini, eluding the first tag, didn’t slide and actually went past the plate.

And when Porrini came back from the opposite side, Picard tagged her out as the game was over and the Knights wrapped up a 1-0 victory to win its third straight CCC Tournament title.

Southington moved to a perfect 23-0, though the squad had to sweat out the contest until the bitter end, while Central enters the postseason fray at 21-2 with a No. 2 ranking in the Class L mix.

“I think physically and emotionally, we’re certainly drained but they literally left everything they had out there,” said Central coach Monica Hayes of her squad. “I know it’s so cliché but it’s so true. A big hit with a runner in scoring position, I guess, is what we missed. We just couldn’t find a hole.”

It was a hard luck loss for Central pitcher Sophia Torreso who was absolutely sensational in defeat.

She allowed the one unearned run over a six hit, nine strikeout, two walk performance that – at any other time – would have won Central the game and her a CCC Tournament MVP award.

“[Southington has] five All-Staters and she shut them down,” said Hayes of Torreso. “She shut them down numerous times over the last couple years.”

Laird had three hits while Lorelei Stancavage generated the other.

Blanchard (5 IP, one hit, 11 strikeouts) struck out the Central side in the top of the first while Sam Rogers generated a two-out single up the middle to get something brewing for the Knights.

But she was stranded on first base to end the frame as the game was off and running without the benefit of a score.

Central’s Lillian VanNostrand drew a one-out walk in the second for the Rams, but Blanchard fanned two straight batters to get out of the inning.

Central’s defense came to the forefront in the bottom of the second as with one out, Southington’s Nicole Szuba laid down a perfect bunt that no one was able to scoop in.

But Stancavage, an All-State caliber catcher for the Rams, eventually threw out Szuba trying to swipe second base as the inning went 1-2-3.

Laird got Central’s first hit in the third with a two-out shot up the gut but never made it home.

The Knights attacked in the third frame as Shelby Jordan slipped in an infield bunt and when Picard singled to right, two runners were on with one out.

And Central nearly got out of the jam when Emily Moskal lined out to Laird at shortstop who quickly threw the ball to second base – nearly putting the finishing touches on an inning-ending double play.

But the ball bounced into the outfield and the throw home was too late to get Jordan, making it a 1-0 contest.

However, Picard was eventually tagged out at third base and the damage was limited to just a single run through three.

Blanchard retired Central in order in the fourth while Rogers started the bottom of the tilt with a Texas leaguer to short center – moving to second base via a passed ball.

But Torreso remained poised, inducing two Ks and a pop-out to second base that was cleanly fielded by Porrini, to keep things a 1-0 game heading into the fifth.

Central went down in order in the fifth, attempting to play a little small ball along the way, as did Southington in the bottom of the stanza.

Blanchard led off with a single to right while a sacrifice bunt put a runner in scoring position.

Jordan eventually walked but Picard drew Torreso’s eighth strikeout and Moskal flew out to short left to keep things a tight 1-0 contest as the sixth inning approached.

In the top of the sixth, Central was just a single away from tying the affair up with Furniss (three hits, two Ks, three walks) looking to close out the event over the final two innings, replacing Blanchand in the circle.

With one out, Laird laid down a perfect bunt that was quickly thrown to first base.

The official at first, completely stumped by the play, called the speedy Laird safe and off a passed ball, Central had a runner in scoring position.

And then Tori Hogan had an epic at-bat, fouling off ball, after ball, after ball.

At one point, Hogan appeared to have slapped a base hit off the glove of Blanchard at first base, but the home umpire called the ball foul.

While the defender was in fair territory, the ball Blanchard attempted to catch was not, leading to the foul call.

Eventually, Hogan’s persistence paid off, leading to a full count walk, putting two on with just one away.

“I think that was the best at-bat I’ve seen in quite some time,” said Hayes of Hogan’s base-on-balls. “To have it come from a freshman in a big-time situation was unbelievable.”

The pressure was then on Southington with Torreso at the plate and the Central batter was scratching and clawing for a game-tying hit.

She eventually popped out for out number two, but Stancavage slipped in an infield hit as the ball was not playable at third base – loading things up.

VanNostrand ended up hitting into a fielder’s choice, with a force out at home plate, as the chaotic sixth frame came to an end for Southington with the program still up 1-0.

Rogers walked in the bottom of the sixth but three outs later, Central was looking to tie up the affair and nearly did in the top of the seventh.

Porrini and Dez Nickerson each earned walks to put a couple runners on and with two away, Laird dropped in her hit to shortstop – arriving safely at first base.

But on the throw in home, Porrini was eventually tagged out to end the game as Southington zipped up the CCC title, winning 1-0.

“I’m just so proud of this team, the effort,” said Hayes. “I know the outcome isn’t what we wanted but I’m just really proud of them.”

NOTES…Central was tremendous during CCC Tournament play, going 2-1 overall and outscoring the competition 24-2 against Plainville, Edwin O. Smith, and Southington…The over-under line on the inning Laird would take her bathroom break against Southington was not made public on Friday night. The rumor was the third inning, but that fact was never unconfirmed.

Bristol Central Softball – CCC Tournament Finals

SOUTHINGTON 1, BRISTOL CENTRAL 0 

from the Dunn Sports Complex, Meriden

Bristol Central (21-2) 000 000 0 – 0 4 2

Southington (23-0) 001 000 x – 1 6 0

WP – Stella Blanchard (Southington); LP – Sophia Torreso (Bristol Central); S – Maddie Furniss (Southington)

Bristol Central Hitting

2B – None

3B – None

HR – None

Southington Batting

2B – None

3B – None

HR – None

Records: Southington 23-0 overall; Bristol Central 21-2 overall.