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Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while rooting for the Carolina Hurricanes, once known as the Hartford Whalers, to win the Stanley Cup.
The last week of May is always a fun time. It’s chasing banners time for spring sports.
The Norwich Tech softball team is ready to challenge the Norwich Sea Unicorns as our biggest local sports dynasty.
The Warriors had another terrific regular season, clinching the Connecticut Technical Charter Oak Division title last week. The CTC softball tournament begins on Tuesday, May 26 with quarterfinal round action at the sites of the higher seeds and the two-time defending champion Warriors are a good bet to get to the finals again. The CTC championship is Friday, May 29 at noon at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.
On the other side of the hill, the Norwich Free Academy softball team looks poised to defend their Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament crown. Who can forget Amelia Driscoll’s thrilling walk-off home run against Fitch in last year’s ECC championship game?
The ECC tournament also begins on Tuesday, May 26 with quarterfinal round action at the sites of the higher seeds. The Wildcats, who made a couple of appearances in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, won the ECC Division I regular season title. NFA is certainly battle-tested, having gone toe-to-toe with some of the best programs (Masuk, Brookfield, North Branford, Coventry, Hale Ray, Amity) in the state this season.
The ECC Division I and II softball championship games are Thursday, May 28 at Mitchell College in New London. Here’s hoping that Driscoll and her talented teammates, including seniors Aubrey Martin and Sophie Miner, and the Bourdon twins, juniors Dakota and Olivia, lead the Wildcats to a memorable postseason.
More: Norwich Free Academy boys golf team ranked among the state's best
The ECC and CTC baseball tournaments get underway on Tuesday, May 26. Norwich Tech and Ellis Tech have a chance to meet in the CTC semifinals (May 27) with the winner advancing to the championship game on Friday, May 29 at West Haven High School’s Whitey Piurek Field.
And it wouldn’t surprise me to see the NFA and Killingly nine make some noise during this postseason. The ECC tournament semifinals are at Dodd Stadium on Thursday, May 28. The Division I and Division II championship games are also at Dodd on Friday, May 29.
Killingly must have drawn the short straw in last weekend’s ECC-SCC baseball challenge. Instead of facing Lyman Hall, who are the defending Class L champions and the No. 1 ranked team in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, the Trailblazers would have matched up better against Daniel Hand, Sheehan, Foran, and Jonnathan Law, all Class M teams from the Southern Connecticut Conference.
The undefeated Trojans were as good as advertised and topped the Trailblazers, 8-3, at Owen Bell Park in Danielson. Still, you got the feeling that Killingly head coach Ben Desaulnier and his staff and players relished playing the undefeated Trojans.
“I told the guys I was proud of the effort,” Deaulnier said. “I felt like we got better playing that kind of level of team. Clearly, the top of their lineup is just elite. They got dues that can really hit. And they do all of the little things. They run the bases really well. We force a back pick at first and their guy at second is all over it to take third. They do all of those things. It shows our guys that this is the difference between a good team and a great team. We talk about that and our level of expectation and our standard and wanting to keep it at a high level. And that’s what teams like Lyman Hall do.”
More: These CTC softball rivals are ending the season on different notes
Lyman Hall flexed their muscles by hitting four long home runs, including two over the left field fence in the first inning off Trailblazers starter Joe Gould. Gould bounced back and blanked the Trojans in the second inning. Gaighe DeBella and Matt Poirier also pitched for Killingly and I thought the trio did a pretty good job under the circumstances.
“They’re a great team,” Gould said. “I was just trying to get the ball over and they swung it well. I was feeling some of my offspeed stuff so I was relying on those pitchers a lot more than my fastball. They worked for some time but they still got bats to it.”
Lyman Hall head coach Bill Rich played at UConn and then spent some time in the Detroit Tigers minor league system. His three sons, Owen, Aaron, and Ethan, helped the Trojans win the Class L state championship last June. Owen graduated but senior twins Aaron and Ethan, who are also champion and record-setting indoor track standouts, are a big part of Lyman’s success again this spring. Aaron, an outfielder, went 4-for-4 with two home runs while Ethan spearheaded the Trojans defense at shortstop against Killingly.
I asked Bill Rich if his team was feeling any pressure to repeat as state champs and stay undefeated.
“They’re just rolling and having a good time,” Rich said. “One guy is picking up the next guy, and we’re just trying to keep our heads up and play positive. I just have such a competitive group of kids. I’ve got track kids who are All-Americans and hockey players who have won a state title. This collective group is just so used to playing at a high level.”
More: Norwich Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2026 | Zanor column
The Norwich Sports Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2026. The five new inductees are Myles Bradley, Roland Carrignan, Chris DeLucia, Bryan Moretti, and Jeff Mullen.
The Hall of Fame Celebration takes place on June 7 at the Holiday Inn Norwich starting at 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased by contacting Jim Homiski at 860-7106676. They can also be purchased online on Norwichsportshalloffame.org.
On May 20, 1976, Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-5 with a pair of two-run homers to lead the defending American League champion Boston Red Sox to an 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Tied at 2 in the top of the eighth, Yaz crushed a home run to deep right field off reliever Tippy Martinez. Yaz also homered to right field off reliever Ron Guidry in the ninth inning.
Rick Burleson added a two-run homer in the seventh that gave the Sox a 2-1 lead.
The game, however, was noted for a bench-clearing brawl that started when Lou Piniella bowled over Carlton Fisk at home plate in the bottom of the sixth. Piniella tried to score from second on a two-out single from Otto Velez. But Boston right fielder Dwight Evans, who should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, threw a strike to home plate. Fisk held onto the ball for the third out but wasn’t happy about being body blocked by Piniella and punches were thrown.
During the ensuing melee, Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee, who had allowed no earned runs through six innings, was picked up by Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles and thrown to the ground. Lee suffered a separated shoulder and missed most of the season.
Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: ECC, CTC baseball, softball tournaments set to begin in Connecticut
Continue reading...
Chasing banners
The last week of May is always a fun time. It’s chasing banners time for spring sports.
The Norwich Tech softball team is ready to challenge the Norwich Sea Unicorns as our biggest local sports dynasty.
The Warriors had another terrific regular season, clinching the Connecticut Technical Charter Oak Division title last week. The CTC softball tournament begins on Tuesday, May 26 with quarterfinal round action at the sites of the higher seeds and the two-time defending champion Warriors are a good bet to get to the finals again. The CTC championship is Friday, May 29 at noon at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.
On the other side of the hill, the Norwich Free Academy softball team looks poised to defend their Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament crown. Who can forget Amelia Driscoll’s thrilling walk-off home run against Fitch in last year’s ECC championship game?
The ECC tournament also begins on Tuesday, May 26 with quarterfinal round action at the sites of the higher seeds. The Wildcats, who made a couple of appearances in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, won the ECC Division I regular season title. NFA is certainly battle-tested, having gone toe-to-toe with some of the best programs (Masuk, Brookfield, North Branford, Coventry, Hale Ray, Amity) in the state this season.
The ECC Division I and II softball championship games are Thursday, May 28 at Mitchell College in New London. Here’s hoping that Driscoll and her talented teammates, including seniors Aubrey Martin and Sophie Miner, and the Bourdon twins, juniors Dakota and Olivia, lead the Wildcats to a memorable postseason.
More: Norwich Free Academy boys golf team ranked among the state's best
The ECC and CTC baseball tournaments get underway on Tuesday, May 26. Norwich Tech and Ellis Tech have a chance to meet in the CTC semifinals (May 27) with the winner advancing to the championship game on Friday, May 29 at West Haven High School’s Whitey Piurek Field.
And it wouldn’t surprise me to see the NFA and Killingly nine make some noise during this postseason. The ECC tournament semifinals are at Dodd Stadium on Thursday, May 28. The Division I and Division II championship games are also at Dodd on Friday, May 29.
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Facing the best
Killingly must have drawn the short straw in last weekend’s ECC-SCC baseball challenge. Instead of facing Lyman Hall, who are the defending Class L champions and the No. 1 ranked team in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, the Trailblazers would have matched up better against Daniel Hand, Sheehan, Foran, and Jonnathan Law, all Class M teams from the Southern Connecticut Conference.
The undefeated Trojans were as good as advertised and topped the Trailblazers, 8-3, at Owen Bell Park in Danielson. Still, you got the feeling that Killingly head coach Ben Desaulnier and his staff and players relished playing the undefeated Trojans.
“I told the guys I was proud of the effort,” Deaulnier said. “I felt like we got better playing that kind of level of team. Clearly, the top of their lineup is just elite. They got dues that can really hit. And they do all of the little things. They run the bases really well. We force a back pick at first and their guy at second is all over it to take third. They do all of those things. It shows our guys that this is the difference between a good team and a great team. We talk about that and our level of expectation and our standard and wanting to keep it at a high level. And that’s what teams like Lyman Hall do.”
More: These CTC softball rivals are ending the season on different notes
Lyman Hall flexed their muscles by hitting four long home runs, including two over the left field fence in the first inning off Trailblazers starter Joe Gould. Gould bounced back and blanked the Trojans in the second inning. Gaighe DeBella and Matt Poirier also pitched for Killingly and I thought the trio did a pretty good job under the circumstances.
“They’re a great team,” Gould said. “I was just trying to get the ball over and they swung it well. I was feeling some of my offspeed stuff so I was relying on those pitchers a lot more than my fastball. They worked for some time but they still got bats to it.”
Lyman Hall head coach Bill Rich played at UConn and then spent some time in the Detroit Tigers minor league system. His three sons, Owen, Aaron, and Ethan, helped the Trojans win the Class L state championship last June. Owen graduated but senior twins Aaron and Ethan, who are also champion and record-setting indoor track standouts, are a big part of Lyman’s success again this spring. Aaron, an outfielder, went 4-for-4 with two home runs while Ethan spearheaded the Trojans defense at shortstop against Killingly.
I asked Bill Rich if his team was feeling any pressure to repeat as state champs and stay undefeated.
“They’re just rolling and having a good time,” Rich said. “One guy is picking up the next guy, and we’re just trying to keep our heads up and play positive. I just have such a competitive group of kids. I’ve got track kids who are All-Americans and hockey players who have won a state title. This collective group is just so used to playing at a high level.”
More: Norwich Sports Hall of Fame announces Class of 2026 | Zanor column
Norwich Sports Hall of Fame
The Norwich Sports Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2026. The five new inductees are Myles Bradley, Roland Carrignan, Chris DeLucia, Bryan Moretti, and Jeff Mullen.
The Hall of Fame Celebration takes place on June 7 at the Holiday Inn Norwich starting at 4 p.m. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased by contacting Jim Homiski at 860-7106676. They can also be purchased online on Norwichsportshalloffame.org.
Comments and observations …
- The 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It will be televised by FOX. Guess who is serving as the race’s grand marshal? The GOAT. Yup, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark will be at “The Brickyard” to give the traditional command for drivers to report to their cars during the official pre-race ceremonies. If I were Gainbridge, who is the Indy 500 corporate sponsor, I’d also have Clark hand the winning driver the traditional bottle of milk during the post-race festivities.
- New York basketball fans are still buzzing over the Knicks historic fourth quarter comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks trailed by 22 points with seven minutes left in regulation before storming back and winning in overtime. I’m sure it was hard to watch for Cavs fans but hey, this is the NBA in 2026. This rarely happened in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. If you had a 20 point lead with seven minutes to go back then, you’re not hoisting up 3-pointers and taking bad shots. You’re working the clock and looking for high percentage shots. I was watching the game with my son, Eddie, and after Cavs guard James Harden missed a 20-foot pullup jumper with six minutes left, we looked at each other and said the Cavs are going to shoot the Knicks back into this game. NBA basketball in 2026.
- As of Thursday morning, the Boston Red Sox were only two games behind in the standings for an American League Wild Card spot. And Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet should be coming off the injured list soon.
STUCK IN THE 70s
On May 20, 1976, Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-5 with a pair of two-run homers to lead the defending American League champion Boston Red Sox to an 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
Tied at 2 in the top of the eighth, Yaz crushed a home run to deep right field off reliever Tippy Martinez. Yaz also homered to right field off reliever Ron Guidry in the ninth inning.
Rick Burleson added a two-run homer in the seventh that gave the Sox a 2-1 lead.
The game, however, was noted for a bench-clearing brawl that started when Lou Piniella bowled over Carlton Fisk at home plate in the bottom of the sixth. Piniella tried to score from second on a two-out single from Otto Velez. But Boston right fielder Dwight Evans, who should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, threw a strike to home plate. Fisk held onto the ball for the third out but wasn’t happy about being body blocked by Piniella and punches were thrown.
During the ensuing melee, Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee, who had allowed no earned runs through six innings, was picked up by Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles and thrown to the ground. Lee suffered a separated shoulder and missed most of the season.
You must be registered for see images attach
Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: ECC, CTC baseball, softball tournaments set to begin in Connecticut
Continue reading...
