Printer Friendly Version - H-K Girls’ Lacrosse Takes States Opener in OT; Softball Loses in Shoreline Semifinals

Junior Kaleigh Bodak and the H-K softball team lost to North Branford in the Shoreline semifinals, but are still sporting an overall record of 19-3 as they get ready to compete in the Class M State Tournament this week. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Source

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ lacrosse team took a loss to Old Saybrook in the Shoreline semifinals, but came right back to grab a overtime win against Montville in the qualifying round of the Class S State Tournament last week. The Cougars have an overall record of 8-10 as they get ready to face Old Saybrook again in the first round of states.

No. 4 seed H-K took a 16-4 loss at top-seeded Old Saybrook in the semifinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament on May 24. Then on May 28, the 18th-seeded Cougars hit the road to play No. 15 Montville for a Class S qualifying game and won the contest by the final score of 8-7 in overtime.

Junior Audrey Wrinn scored the game-winning goal for the Cougars with two seconds left in the OT period. Wrinn’s goal capped off a wild comeback that saw H-K erase a 4-1 deficit to knot the game at 7-7 after regulation. Senior Yumi Imai, senior Grace Cassidy, and sophomore Sammy Ruimerman also scored goals for H-K.

Freshman Ava Ramino, Freshman Seanna Ruimerman, and Imai all forced turnovers by snagging interceptions in the victory. Head Coach Sheila Reilly also praised junior Sophia Ramino and junior Nicole Goosen for doing an excellent job of picking up ground balls for the Cougars.

H-K played at No. 2 seed Old Saybrook in the first round of the Class S bracket on May 31 (after press time). With a win, the Cougars would move on to face the winner of No. 7 North Branford and No. 10 Tolland in the quarterfinals on Friday, June 3. The semifinals are on Tuesday, June 7; and the Class S state final takes place on Saturday, June 11 at Sacred Heart University.

The Haddam-Killingworth softball team won its quarterfinal contest in the Shoreline Conference Tournament before taking a semifinal loss against North Branford last week. The Cougars are sporting an overall record of 19-3 as they open play in the Class M State Tournament this week.

Top-seeded H-K started off the Shoreline draw by claiming a 13-3 home win over No. 8 East Hampton on May 23. The Cougars held a 5-2 lead entering the fifth inning and then broke the game open by plating 7 runs in the frame. Brooke Hickman hit a 3-run home run to highlight the big inning.

Hickman also pitched 2.1 innings of hitless relief to finish off the victory for H-K. Junior Kaleigh Bodak started the game and notched the win by tossing the first 3.2 innings. Eight H-K batters had at least 1 hit and 1 RBI in the win.

The next day, the Cougars hosted No. 5 seed North Branford and lost to the Thunderbirds by a 5-0 score.

H-K is the No. 3 seed in the Class M State Tournament and has a bye through the first round. The Cougars hosted the winner of No. 14 Wilcox Tech and No. 19 Goodwin Tech in the second round on June 1 (after press time). The quarterfinals are on Friday, June 3; the semifinals are on Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7; and the Class M title game takes place on either Friday, June 10 or Saturday, June 11.

The Haddam-Killingworth baseball team took a loss to North Branford in the quarterfinals of Shoreline Conference Tournament last week. H-K is bringing an overall record of 13-8 into the Class S State Tournament.

No. 4 seed H-K hosted No. 5 North Branford for a Shoreline quarterfinal game on May 23 and lost to the Thunderbirds by a 6-5 final. The Cougars have the No. 13 seed in the Class M State Tournament and hosted No. 20 Bullard Havens in the first round on May 31 (after press time). If H-K won, it faced the winner of No. 4 Barlow and No. 29 Barlow for a second-round game on June 1 (after press time).

The Class M quarterfinals take place on Saturday, June 4. The semis are on Tuesday, June 7, and the championship game will be held at Palmer Field in Middletown on either Friday, June 10 or Saturday, June 11.

The Haddam-Killingworth boys’ golf team competed in the Shoreline Conference Championship and also participated in a pair of regular-season matches last week. The Cougars finished in fourth place at Shorelines and then took three defeats in their other meets to move to 6-7-1 for the regular season.

H-K recorded a team score of 350 on its way to placing fourth at the Shoreline Conference Championship at Stanley Golf Course on May 25. Senior Andrew Fleig led the Cougars by shooting an 18-hole score of 85 to finish in a tie for 10th place. Senior Gabe Barile carded an 87 to finish in a tie for 14th place the meet. Junior Jacob Maier and freshman Andrew Crayton each shot an 89 to finish in a tie for 20th place. Declan Kessler finished in a tie for 33rd place with a score of 94.

The next day, H-K went up against Old Lyme and Hale-Ray in a road match at the Black Hall Club. The Cougars posted a score of 196 and took losses against Hale-Ray (187) and Old Lyme (189) in the contest. The day after that, H-K dropped a 179-187 decision at Hale-Ray in a road match at Black Birch Golf Course.

The Haddam-Killingworth boys’ tennis squad sent several players to participate in the Shoreline Conference tournaments at Morgan and Old Lyme on May 23 and 24. Sophomore Eddie White advanced to the semifinals of the 1-2 singles bracket, while freshman Bryce Leiberman made it to the quarterfinal round of the tournament.

White earned a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the first round of the Shoreline Conference 1-2 Singles Tournament and then claimed a 6-4, 6-2 win in the quarterfinal round. White went on to drop a 6-4, 6-2 decision in his semifinal contest.

Leiberman posted a 6-1, 6-2 win in his opening matchup of the 1-2 singles bracket. Leiberman went on to take a 6-2, 6-0 defeat in his quarterfinal contest.

Senior captain Joe Mercier took a 6-2, 6-2 loss in the first round of the 3-4 Singles Tournament. Head Coach Rod Pakus praised Mercier for the leadership that he brought to the program during his three years in a Cougars’ uniform.

H-K also had a team compete in the Shoreline Conference Doubles Tournament. The duo of Joe Wessinger and Guz Luzietti lost a 6-1, 6-4 decision in the first round of the draw.

The Haddam-Killingworth girls’ tennis team was represented by one athlete when the Shoreline Conference tournaments took place at Old Saybrook and Westbrook on May 23 and 24. Senior Kameron Narducci competed in the Shoreline Conference 1-2 Singles Tournament on behalf of the Cougars last week.