By Michael Letendre
How did Bristol Central softball pitching stud Sophia Torreso top last season’s All-State campaign this spring?
What about a back-to-back showing as one of the state’s best all-around players?
That’s exactly what came to pass as Torreso earned Class L All-State honors once again as the Rams put together another remarkable season.
The pitching sensation navigated all the choppy waters with style, grace and more than a little ability.
Oh yeah, ‘Pia’ also struck out about a zillion batters along the way as well.
However, athletes like Torreso are quick to pass the credit to her teammates and coaches who helped her career along the way.
“This isn’t possible without my coaches and my teammates,” said Torreso of the back-to-back All-State nods. “I mean, sure I strike out some people and I get [a lot] of strikeouts per game but it doesn’t happen without my teammates behind me.”
Torreso, currently pitching here, there and everywhere this summer, helped lead the softball program at BCHS to 45 wins over the past two years, squaring off – and defeating – some of the state’s best programs.
Just like in the CCC Tournament championship this past season, over a tough 1-0 loss to Southington, Torreso just about silenced the bats of five All-State players and coaches around the state concur that the throwing stud is one of the best pitchers in Connecticut.
“She adjusts and makes adjustments from hitter to hitter, from inning to inning, and she is, without a doubt, the best player I’ve ever coached,” said Central coach Monica Hayes. “More importantly, she’s just a great leader.”
For her career, Torreso tallied over 500 strikeouts (509 to be exact) with trusty battery mate Lorelei Stancavage back there for just about every K.
That ERA hovered around 0.45 and just in 2023, she punched out over 250 batters in 130 innings pitched.
Her improvement at the plate was also evident with her .344 batting average and 16 RBI from the clean-up spot.
She had the ultimate trust in her teammates behind her and those athletes usually made all the big plays when an opponent attempted to get a hit (there weren’t many of those allowed by Torreso this spring).
And she had some young teammates that had to step up big after a bit of a midseason mutiny.
Torreso believed in each and every one of those freshmen and sophomore contributors who all followed her lead and the guidance of the other three seniors (Kaley Laird, Adrianna Lubrico and Stancavage) whether it was on the bench, at the plate or in the field.
“Strikeouts are something I can control but when the ball gets put into play, it’s on my teammates and I just have that trust in them that they’re always going to be behind me,” said Torreso.
And all those no-hitters and perfect games Torreso rolled out?
It was just another day going up against the BCHS softball program.
Welcome to GW
The future NCAA Division I star is going to be a hit at The George Washington University as Torreso is not going to just help elevate the women’s softball program at GW but the campus itself.
On the field leaders like Torreso are successful off the field leaders in the classroom as well.
“She’s just an incredible kid,” said Hayes. “The growth that she’s shown in the last three years has been incredible. She’s so intelligent. She knows how to get people out and knows how to put together a plan and she executes it very well.”
“She’s impressive.”
The two-time All-Stater, who was also a candidate for the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year, is joining a collegiate squad that can use her throwing abilities.
The squad went 17-28 overall, using three pitchers along the way.
GW’s ERA was 3.58 which wasn’t all that bad because the crew was mainly a young throwing bunch.
Torreso has about half-a-dozen pitchers so can throw and don’t be surprised if she cracks the line-up over her first season of collegiate play.
Torreso was the glue for the BCHS softball program
Frankly, this past season could have fallen apart for the Bristol Central softball program.
But the squad took the ‘next player up’ approach and Torreso helped guide all those talented youngsters along the way.
The team won a school record 23 games, the underclassmen got a ton of playing experience and every individual on that squad got to learn from one of the best in Torreso – a positive role model for any scholastic or collegiate program.
Did she leave the program in a better place than when she joined it?
Absolutely.
“What she did with these young kids is incredible,” said Hayes. “I just feel bad that the freshmen that are coming in next year are not going to have the opportunity to play with somebody like her.”
Torreso/Ziogas connections
Torreso fits in well with the other Division I and II athletes that the Ziogas clan has and will be churning out.
She’ll have some collegiate basketball playing cousins, via Uncle Todd Ziogas, and the ability from that family spans three generations at Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern.
That legacy will continue to grow over the coming years.
Always a leader
Torreso’s demeaner, poise and pure athletic ability from the circle has most of her peers, and opponents, in awe.
And it’s not just about her chucking the ball over the dish for multiple strikeouts.
“She is a special kid and I’m really grateful that I get to coach somebody of that caliber,” said Hayes. “And not so much in terms of strikeouts but in terms of just being a good person and a quality human being. That’s what she is.”
And over that second half of the campaign this year, she didn’t take anything for granted.
Torreso absolutely thrived in the big moment, and it took one of the state’s best teams to finally knock Central out of the Class L state tournament.
She took the team under her wings, led by example and gave it everything she had every day.
Torreso will be missed next season as she’ll be chucking the ball against the best that the Atlantic 10 Conference has to offer.
“The way she led the team, especially over the month [of May], we’ve had so many conversations about leadership, about softball but we’ve also talked about stupid stuff like TV shows, and she is just a really, really great kid,” said Hayes.
Selected Highlights from 2023
*Threw a perfect game against Middletown with 18 strikeouts (faced 21 batters) over 14-0 triumph on the road on April 10.
*Posted 19 Ks and two hits over 6-1 triumph against Platt. From the plate, she went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
*Added seven strikeouts out of bullpen (three innings) in 10-2 victory over Bristol Eastern to start the month of May.
*In a 16-0 win over Lewis Mills on May 10 – the last game of a three-day stretch of CCC bouts – Pia had another perfect game. This time, she fanned 14 of 15 batters over a dominating display.
*Nabbed 17 Ks in Central’s 14-2 win against Bristol Eastern on May 18. From the dish, she was 2-of-4 with two RBI
*Had a one hitter and fanned nine in 13-1 thrashing of Edwin O. Smith in the semifinals of the CCC Tournament.
*Over her final scholastic shutout against Pomperaug on May 31, it was another no-hitter. She posted 17 Ks in 3-0 drilling in second round Class L play
*Whiffed eight batters in her final game, a 2-0 loss against Law in a Class L semifinal.
2023 Class L All-State – Softball
*Madyson Bull, Jonathan Law
*Ella Bunovsky, Masuk
*Niamh Dougherty, St. Joseph
*Brynlee Eckels, Ellington
*Camryn Fisher, Ellington
*Keyleigh Flaherty, Ellington
*Jill Guilfoyle, St. Joseph
*Annika Lachniet, Windsor
*Kaley Laird, Bristol Central
*Natalie Lieto, Masuk
*Ellie Lubas, Stratford
*Grace Muti, Waterford
*Jessica Petit, Berlin
*Alexis Real, Rockville
*Mary Rodrigues, Foran
*Elizabeth Roos, Jonathan Law
*Addison Shaffer, Windsor
*Addison Smith, Guilford
*Sophia Torreso, Bristol Central
*Emily Valentine, Bristol Eastern
*Isabel Viglione, Masuk
