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06/06/2021 12:00 AMOn the heels of an excellent regular season, the North Branford softball team entered the Shoreline Conference Tournament with an opportunity to win its sixth-consecutive league title. The Thunderbirds used a strong pitching performance and some timely hitting to earn a 5-0 victory over Old Lyme in the Shoreline final and reign atop the conference for the sixth-straight campaign.
Following the Shoreline tourney, North Branford won its first two games in the Class M State Tournament to advance to a matchup against Woodland in the semifinals. Junior Bella Hills threw a perfect game for the T-Birds in their second-round victory against Kaynor Tech. North Branford has an overall record of 20-2 on the year and has won 19 of its last 20 games.
After defeating Hale-Ray and Coginchaug in the first two rounds of Shoreline Conference Tournament, the Thunderbirds advanced to the final to play No. 5 seed Old Lyme, which had just knocked out top-seeded Haddam-Killingworth, in the final at North Branford High School on May 27. North Branford scored one run in the first, three runs in the fifth, and another run in the sixth to win the game by a 5-0 score and claim the conference crown for the sixth season in a row.
Freshman Kiley Mullins threw a complete game to lead the T-Birds to the victory. Mullins allowed just four hits and struck out six in her shutout performance.
Junior Lauren Ackerman had three hits with two RBI, while senior captain Erica Piercey had two hits and scored two runs for North Branford in the win. Fellow senior captain Sophia Ouelett had one hit with one RBI and one run scored for Head Coach Nick DeLizio’s club.
Coach DeLizio was thrilled to see the North Branford stake its claim to the Shoreline six-peat, especially since the T-Birds got to accomplish that feat on their home field.
“You really didn’t know what the expectations were at the beginning of the year. The upperclassmen were underclassmen last time we were on the field. You have a whole new crop of girls come in. We tried a bunch of different combinations to see what works. I think we found that combination and have been riding it to six in a row,” said DeLizio. “The Shoreline is really good this year. It was great to have it at our field in a packed house. It was a special moment. It’s always great watching them hold up the trophy.”
With another Shoreline title in the books, North Branford entered the Class M State Tournament as the No. 5 seed and had a bye through the first round. DeLizio felt that having a few days off between Shorelines and states worked to the T-Birds’ benefit and that they were well-prepared for their second-round contest.
The Thunderbirds hosted No. 12 seed Kaynor Tech in the second round of states on June 2. North Branford took control early by plating eight runs in the first inning and never looked back on its way to a 15-0 win in a game that was called after five innings.
Hills retired all 15 batters that she faced, striking out 13 of them, on her way to pitching a perfect game. Piercey, Ouellet, and Jada Miconi, who are North Branford’s senior captains, combined for six hits, six RBI, and five runs scored in the win. Freshman Lindsey Onofrio had one hit with three RBI and one run scored for North Branford.
“It’s huge. Bella is a two-year pitcher, and she had a great opportunity against Kaynor Tech,” Coach DeLizio said about Hills’s perfect game. “The first time through the lineup, she struck out everybody. Only two balls were put into play that game.”
North Branford moved on to face No. 13 seed Jonathan Law for a quarterfinal home game on June 4. The T-Birds notched a 3-1 victory as Mullins tossed a complete game in which she allowed just three hits and struck out five.
North Branford was threatening to break the ice in the first inning, but left the bases loaded. However, in the second inning, Ackerman hit a sacrifice fly to put the T-Birds up 1-0, after which Piercey hit an RBI single to make it 2-0. Law scored its lone run of the game in the third inning, but the T-Birds added an insurance run on a passed ball in the fifth, and then hung on for the 3-1 victory. Ackerman also had a triple for North Branford in the game.
“Any pitch that was thrown into the zone, we put the bat on it and hit it pretty hard. We took advantage of that and had a couple stolen bases,” said DeLizio. “We had a great pitching performance from Kiley Mullins. She induced a lot of soft contact, which is what you have to do.”
The Thunderbirds faced No. 1 seed Woodland in the Class M state semifinals on June 7 (after press time). If North Branford won, it will face the winner of No. 3 Granby and No. 10 Seymour in the final on either Friday, June 11 or Saturday, June 12.
Coach DeLizio said that the T-Birds have to keep playing their brand of softball and continue playing for each other if they want to bring home state gold.
“We have to play our game. We have to be the best version of ourselves at all times. If there’s something good, ride on that. If something goes bad, brush it off and focus on the next play,” DeLizio said. “The girls are playing for each other every game. Everybody’s record in the states is 0-0 every game. We’re going to keep doing our thing and, hopefully, we can ride this out as far as we can go.”
The North Branford softball squad’s roster features senior captains Jada Miconi, Erica Piercey, and Sophia Ouellett; juniors Lauren Ackerman, Nichole Gomez, Bella Hills, Maissa Caso, Hanna Senerchia, and Gianna Depino; sophomore Tessa Juniver; and freshmen Kiley Mullins, Lindsey Onofrio, Gabrielle Senerchia, Natalia Lucibello, and Gianna Fico.