Softball Notebook: Top teams weathering slew of postponements

Masuk, Trumbull and St. Joseph sit a stop the GameTimeCT/Register Top 10 poll, and there is a realistic debate about who of three schools separated by 10 miles is the best in the state.

But the team which might be better than all three: The Postponed TBAs. They’ve claimed more victories than the above combined.

Weather has forced the postponement of countless showdowns between the top teams in the state. That trend continued as Masuk and St. Joseph’s highly-anticipated showdown was pushed back to May 4. NFA and Southington have yet to square off, as have the Cadets and Cheshire. The top of the poll remains filled with undefeated teams as result.

The Latest Top 10 Softball Poll: Top 9 remain same, Eastern joins

It’s also created a wide range in number games played through just three weeks. Undefeated West Haven (9-0) leads the pack with nine games while several teams have played just three times.

Action is set to pick up next week featuring no less than potentially five games between undefeated teams.

EAGLES, CADETS SOARING

Town rivals St. Joseph and Trumbull continue to get complete efforts up and down the roster, particularly in the circle. Mirroring each other in more ways than one, both squads have allowed just one run or fewer in five of their eight wins.

Juniors Payton Doiron and Emily Gell have primarily done the damage in the circle. Doiron has allowed just five earned runs in more than 40 innings so far this spring. She’s coming off a four-hit shutout against Greenwich, a team that had put up double-digit run totals on a consistent basis.

“She got a little tired at the end, pitching two days in a row,” St. Joseph coach Jeff Babineau told GameTimeCT’s Dave Fierro after the game. “But she has a good defense behind her and she pitched to contact and let the defense do its job.”

Kaitlin Capobianco is off to a torrid start for the Cadets. She’s batting .600 with 18 hits, including a pair of doubles. Madison Fitzgerald and Cami Heintz are each hitting .500 or better as St. Joseph has collected 108 hits in its eight wins.

The titanic matchup comes April 30 at St. Joseph.

FLORIDA SUN

E.O. Smith dropped out of the poll thanks to a pair of losses, but those weren’t any ordinary ones. The Panthers ventured to Orlando and the Wide World of Sports to compete against squads from around the country.

The Panthers went 1-2, capped by a 14-0 win over Noble (Maine). E.O. Smith doesn’t play a team from Connecticut until it visits New Britain Wednesday.

TOP PERFORMANCES

Hailee Schrader, NFA: Broke the school’s one-year old hits record (Shea Gendron) during a win over Waterford.

Charlee Horton, St. Joseph: Hit a pair of two-run homers to help lift the Cadets past Greenwich 7-0.

Alyssa Hackling, Bristol Eastern: Went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and three RBIs as the Lancers beat Enfield 5-0.

Mia Juodaitis, Cheshire: Hit two home runs as part of a 10-3 win over Fitch.

Sierra Cripps, Seymour: Hit for the cycle as the Wildcats beat Torrington 19-5.

Emily Gell, Trumbull: Threw a two-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over Staples.

Sam Schiebe, Masuk: Tossed a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a 12-0, five-inning win over Immaculate.

GAMES TO WATCH

Bristol Eastern at South Windsor, Monday, 3:45 p.m.: Rematch of last year’s Class LL second-round matchup, won by the Bobcats.

Cheshire at North Haven, Monday 4 p.m.: One team will leave the gorgeous DeMayo complex with its first loss of the season.

Northwestern at Wamogo, Tuesday, 3:45 p.m.: The top two teams in the Berkshire League square off. Both are undefeated heading into this one.

NFA at Griswold, Tuesday, 4 p.m.: A rematch of last year’s insane ECC final, which the Wolverines claimed.

Seymour at Woodland, Wednesday, 3:30 p.m.: One of these teams has yet to taste defeat this spring, and it’s not the Cats.

Cheshire at St. Joseph, Thursday, 4:30 p.m.: Another matchup between undefeated teams that could cause a significant shift in the polls.

Masuk at Barlow, Friday, 4:15: The Falcons have been the only team to get anywhere near Masuk so far, and could have knocked off the Panthers if simple mistakes were avoided. Round 2 carries some intrigue.