The GameTimeCT Top 10 Softball Poll: A shakeup, but no shakeout ahead of postseason

With the SCC teams knocking each other off, Fairfield Ludlowe maneuvered into a No. 5 ranking heading into the 2021 postseason.

It seems as if the Top 10 teams have firmly solidified themselves over the weeks, as no teams dropped out for a second week in a row.

The top three and bottom three teams held positioning, but a shake-up in the middle took place following Cheshire’s first loss of the season.

Masuk, Waterford and St. Joseph all remained undefeated at the top. Masuk and Waterford retained their first-place votes while St. Joseph claimed the first place vote previously reserved for Cheshire.

After losing to No. 10 Amity 4-3, Cheshire falls out of the top 10 for the first time since the pre-season Poll at No. 6.

Despite defeating the Rams, Amity stayed in the tenth spot having been walked-off on by No. 7 East Haven. East Haven dropped two spaces after 3-0 loss to Cheshire in last week’s SCC roller coaster.

Ludlowe and Southington both benefited from the SCC fallout, climbing to a season high No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

No. 8 Notre Dame-Fairfield remained there, but only one more point ahead No. 9 Woodland, with No. 10 Amity trailing Notre Dame by just four points. It couldn’t be any closer at the bottom.

As the regular season ends for most teams this week, expect to see some movement as teams squeeze their remaining games in and the playoffs begin.  

Big games this week that could make waves in the poll include Waterford against Griswold and Ledyard (which both received votes), No. 5 Southington at No. 6 Cheshire  on Thursday, and No. 8 Woodland has games against Seymour and Oxford (both received votes).

The GameTimeCT Top 10 Softball Poll (May 18)

Stats and records through Sunday, May 16

		TEAM (1st place votes)			REC	PTS	LAST	CLASS
		1. MASUK (8)			15-0	434	1	L
Latest Results: Def. Bethel 20-0, Newtown 1-0, Stratford 17-2. This Week: at Pomperaug, Monday, (W 9-0); vs. Barlow, Thursday, 4. Bottom Line: Newtown held Masuk to one run, but one is enough with Kathryn Gallant pitching. Masuk will enter the postseason as the top team in the state.
		2. WATERFORD (4)			14-0	412	2	L
Latest Results: Def. NFA 12-2 and 7-4, Bacon Academy 4-2, Fitch 7-0, New London (Forfeit). This Week: at East Lyme, Tuesday, 4; at Ledyard, Wednesday, 4:15; at Stonington, Thursday, 5; vs. Griswold, Saturday, 11. Bottom Line: Waterford got the win in each of its five scheduled games last week. Four more games this week include tough opponents in Ledyard and Griswold before the ECCs begin Monday.
		3. ST. JOSEPH (3)			14-0	408	3	L
Latest Results: Def. Wilton 5-1, Trumbull 4-3, Stamford 5-3. This Week: at McMahon, Monday, 4; at Ridgefield, Wednesday, 4:30. Bottom Line: St. Joseph won three close games this week including a walk-off win against Trumbull and will enter the FCIAC tournament as the favorite.
		4. LUDLOWE			15-1	322	6	LL
Latest Results: Def. Ridgefield 12-0, Warde 13-3, Harding 19-0. This Week: vs. Danbury, Monday, (W 13-1). Bottom Line: Ludlowe moves into a season-high ranking at No. 4. With its win on Monday, Ludlowe ended the regular season with a 16-1 record, the lone loss being to St Joseph.
		5. SOUTHINGTON			13-1	310	7	LL
Latest Results: Def. Glastonbury 6-0, Farmington 12-0, E.O Smith 10-0. This Week: at Windsor, Monday, 7; at Conard, Wednesday, 4:45; vs. Cheshire, Thursday, 4; vs. Hall, Friday, 3:30. Bottom Line: Southington will look to extend its 12-game win streak, but will be challenged with four games in five days, ending with No. 6 Cheshire and Hall.
		6. CHESHIRE			15-1	302	4	LL
Latest Results: Def. East Haven 3-0, Lyman Hall 5-3, West Haven 7-3. Lost to Amity 4-3. This Week: vs. Hand, Tuesday, 4; vs. Guilford, Wednesday, 4; at Southington, Thursday, 5. Bottom Line: Cheshire drops two spots after losing its first game this year to Amity 4-3. Bri Pearson held East Haven scoreless for the second time in Cheshire’s 3-0 win. Cheshire will finish the regular season against No. 5 Southington.
		7. EAST HAVEN			14-2	262	5	L
Latest Results: Def. Amity 7-4, Sheehan 11-0, SHA 7-0. Lost to Cheshire 3-0. This Week: vs. Mercy, Monday, (W 2-0); vs. Branford, Tuesday, 4:30. Bottom Line: East Haven falls two spots after losing to Cheshire for a second time, however it also defeated Amity for the second time.
		8. NOTRE DAME-Ffld.			14-1	229	8	S
Latest Results: Def. Brookfield 19-1, New Milford 10-0. This Week: vs. New Fairfield, Monday, (W 11-1), vs. Barlow, Tuesday, 4:15. Bottom Line: Notre Dame-Fairfield had two easy wins last week and held steady at No. 8. The Lancers lone loss to this season was to No. 1 Masuk 2-1.
		9. WOODLAND			16-0	228	9	M
Latest Results: Def. St. Paul 21-3, Ansonia 16-0, Derby 20-0. This Week: vs. Seymour, Tuesday, 3:15; vs. Oxford, Wednesday, 3:15; at Kennedy, Thursday, 3:35. Bottom Line: Woodland has remained undefeated in a competitive NVL, but will be tested again with rematches vs. rivals Seymour and Oxford this week.
		10. AMITY			12-3	225	10	LL
Latest Results: Def. Lyman Hall 4-3, Cheshire 4-3. Lost to East Haven 7-4. This Week: at North Haven, Monday, 7; at Lauralton Hall, Wednesday, 3:45; vs. Wilbur Cross, Thursday, 4:15. Bottom Line: After losing to East Haven for a second time, Amity bounced back to hand Cheshire its first loss of the season and holds positioning at No. 10.
Dropped Out: None. First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis.
Others receiving votes: Berlin (14-1), 132; Ledyard (10-1), 109; Granby (15-0), 92; Hall (12-2), 52; Haddam-Killingworth (13-1), 52; Wolcott (14-2), 45; Griswold (13-1), 43; Staples (11-3), 36; North Branford (12-1), 32; Seymour (13-3), 30; Windsor (16-2), 19; Enfield (13-2), 16; Stamford (9-5), 10; Oxford (13-3), 9; Trumbull (9-5), 9; Maloney (13-3), 7. Records through Sunday, May 16
The following voted: Tim Jensen, Patch Media Corp; Vickie Fulkerson, The Day; George DeMaio, WELI; Jimmy Zanor, Norwich Bulletin; Will Aldam, GameTimeCT; Mike Madera, Hearst Connecticut Media; Dave Phillips, Hearst Connecticut Media; Bryan Burdick, NFA; Nick DeLizio, North Branford; Richard Zalusky, Willimantic Chronicle; Ken Pereiras, Seymour; Jeff Babineau, St. Joseph; Terry Dinan, New Canaan; Tony Calcagni, Mercy. Compiled by Will Aldam