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05/02/2016 12:00 AMAfter losing a host of players off last season’s club that went 21-5 and reached the Shoreline Conference final, the Morgan softball team could have settled into the middle of the pack in its league this season. However, instead of having a rebuilding year, Head Coach Sal Fiorillo’s crew sits right in the thick of the race for first place in the conference and is sporting a record of 6-2 on the heels of a perfect week that featured wins against Old Saybrook, East Hampton, and Westbrook.
The Huskies’ stellar stretch began on April 25 with a game at Old Saybrook, where they won 11-6. Morgan fell behind early as the Rams led 2-0 and then 3-1 heading into the fourth inning before Morgan exploded for seven runs. The key blow came with the score tied at 3, when junior Sydney Chomicz stepped to the plate with a runner on and bombed a shot way beyond the left field fence to put Morgan ahead for good. The Huskies would tack on six more runs en route to the victory. Senior Isabella Pitarra was the winning pitcher for Morgan. Chomicz went 3-for-4 with a double and the two-run homer, while Kelsey Hopkins doubled, tripled, and scored three runs for the Huskies.
“It’s been a great start to our season, especially because of the fact we lost nine starters from last year’s team, which won 21 games,” said Coach Fiorillo. “A lot of people said that we are rebuilding this year, but we don’t rebuild; we reload. Some of these kids didn’t get much playing time last year or start, but they could have on other teams and in other leagues. They are talented kids, but we just had some tremendous four-year players ahead of them.”
On April 27, Morgan welcomed East Hampton to Clinton and won 14-2 in five innings. The Huskies jumped on the Bellringers and rang their bells as the mercy rule went into effect, halting the game in the fifth.
In their final game of the week on April 29, the Huskies earned a 13-1 win at Westbrook in another contest that was stopped due to the mercy rule. Popp was the winner on the hill as she went all six innings, only allowing one hit, while striking out 13. She also provided some pop at the plate by going 3-for-3 with three RBI. Hopkins was another Husky who had a big game at the dish as she went 4-for-5 with four RBI. Morgan has now won four-straight games and is looking forward to squaring off against some of the top-tier teams in the Shoreline Conference.
“We have a lot of respect for North Branford, who is 11-0, and they have no holes in their lineup up and down. They have a great team and there are other tough games ahead on the schedule, but we expect to be where we were the last three years and get to the Shoreline Conference Championship game,” said Fiorillo. “Right now, we have some young players that need to grow and learn how to be in certain situations, pressure situations, but so far, they are doing great. We have a freshman shortstop Rebecca Shamp, who gets better every game; we have a sophomore at third [Stephanie Terrace], who gets better every practice; and Cameron LeClaire has done great handling the game behind the plate for Emily and our pitchers and she is just a sophomore. Those are three vital positions to have such young players, but they have been doing really well for us.”
Morgan has scored in double figures its past four games and the team’s offense has been doing damage all season. Chomicz is one of the people leading the charge as she’s batting .519 with 14 hits and is tops on the team with 15 RBI. Senior captain Hopkins is hitting .464 with 13 hits and 12 RBI. Popp, also a senior captain, is batting .556 with 10 hits and five RBI. She’s also been starring on the mound with a 4-2 record and an ERA of 2.20 in 35 innings pitched to go with an incredible 54-to-2 strikeout-to-walks ratio.
2016 Morgan Huskies Softball Scores and Schedule
April 8: Morgan 15, Cromwell 0
April 11: Morgan 7, Haddam-Killingworth 6
April 13: North Branford 6, Morgan 2
April 14: Coginchaug 3, Morgan 1
April 20: Morgan 15, Old Lyme 3
April 25: Morgan 11, Old Saybrook 6
April 27: Morgan 14, East Hampton 2
April 29: Morgan 13, Westbrook 1
Friday, May 6: at Haddam-Killingworth at 3:45 p.m.
Monday, May 9: vs. Cromwell at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 11: vs. Coginchaug at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 14: at Bassick at 10 a.m. (doubleheader)
Tuesday, May 17: at Holy Cross at 4 p.m.
Wednesday, May 18: at Portland at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 20: at Valley at 4 p.m.
Monday, May 23: vs. Hale-Ray at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, May 24: at Suffield at 4 p.m.