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06/28/2016 12:00 AMBranford’s 14-U and 11-U girls’ All-Star softball teams both recently took first place in the fifth annual Firecracker Tournament that was held at Foote Park on June 25.
The Branford 14-U squad defeated a tough East Haven All-Stars team to win the title. In the first game, Branford won a close contest that could have gone either way. The second game saw Branford jump on East Haven early and never relinquish the lead. In game three, East Haven took a big lead early and went on to get the victory. Branford’s Brooke Kustra was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament as she went 7-for-7 at the plate and made several excellent plays on defense.
The athletes who led Branford to the title were Jillian Cofrancesco, Lily Hitchcock, Rebecca Flynn, Lily Moore-Markey, Molly Klarman, Sophia Esposito, Kaitlyn Dugan, Aliyah Myrick, Madison Acquarulo, Marzia Johnson, Leila Czekaj,
Anne Plunkett, Kustra, and Francesca Valletta. The team was coached by Mark Johnson, Ron Markey, Rocco Esposito, and Shane Dugan.
Not to be outdone, Branford’s 11-U All-Star team also won its division in the Firecracker Tournament by sweeping two games against East Haven. Branford scored early and often in winning game one easily and then prevailed in a much-tougher matchup for the second game.
Branford’s championship roster was comprised of Cheyenne Cardone, Adrianna Ramos, Kathryn Copperthite, Tatum Spinato, Grace Riccardelli, Ellie Burger, Lily Penner, Katie Rozear, Jade Bocciarelli, Sydney Baker, Shay Barrett, Grace D’Addio, Kailey Colon, and Assunta Coletta, The club’s coaches were Jim D’Addio, Tanya Spinato, Bob Burger, Scott Penner, Ed Cooperthite, Wendy Joyce, and Brianna Gavigan.