Griswold softball eclipses last year's win total at halfway mark

With the softball season nearing the halfway point, a contender for the most improved team in the Eastern Connecticut Conference has emerged.

Right now, the award belongs to the Griswold Wolverines.

Stirring one-run victories over Montville and Ledyard this week have lifted Griswold’s won-lost mark to a robust 7-2. Yup, the Wolverines have already eclipsed last spring’s six-win total.

“They’ve got a little more spirit to try and win games this year and it’s because last year we were a sophomore-laden team and this year we’re a junior-laden team,” Wolverines coach Rick Arremony said.

Griswold’s lineup in Tuesday’s come-from-behind 5-4 win over Montville included seven juniors: pitcher Abby Matheson, infielders Summer McLean, Kierra Neilson and Arisnaely Diaz, catcher Arianna Pedraza, outfielder Cameron Williams, and designated player Madison Lebrecque.

“We all have experience, and we know how he (Arremony) wants us to play,” Matheson said. “We all know each other just from playing together and growing from our freshman year.”

Matheson’s improved performance in the circle has been a big part of the Wolverines’ resurgence this spring.

“She’s starting to ask questions about things,” Arremony said. “It’s, ‘Hey, what’s going on with this? This is what I’m doing. This is what I’m feeling.’ Then I can be her mirror and tell her what she can do and make adjustments.”

A three-sport star (volleyball, basketball, softball), Matheson was thrust into the starting pitcher’s role as a freshman when the Wolverines top hurlers were injured.

“It was horrible,” said Matheson, who kept a calm demeanor while battling through a slew of lopsided games during a two-win season.

There was some marked improvement a year ago. And her development as a top hurler with more velocity and control has continued this spring.

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“I try to hit spots here and there,” Matheson said. “I’m a lot more around the plate. Before the St. Bernard’s game we changed just my grip and since then it’s been a little better.”

Against Montville, Matheson struckout 11, including two of the last three batters, and walked only three.  The following day she struck out eight over 10 innings in a thrilling 6-5 win against Ledyard.

Tied at 5 in the top of the 10th, Griswold freshman Alex Crowley reached on a two out single. Matheson followed with a triple to knock in the eventual winning run.

In the bottom of the 10th, Matheson struck out the first two Ledyard batters before inducing a lazy fly ball to second base for the final out.

“We’ve been battling,” Arremony said. “We’re not given up when the game gets ahead of us. Our bats are still fighting and the kids are still fighting to win.”

Freshman shortstop Bella Bruno homered against Ledyard, while sophomore outfielder Elaina Conrad had two hits and scored a run in the big win.

“We can get the bats around too,” said Matheson, who had three hits, including two triples, and three RBIs against Ledyard. “We’re definitely working on that.”

Griswold’s roster also includes senior Catherine Greene, sophomores Shanleigh Taylor and Ella Cash, and freshmen Madelyn Ryan, Lanah Holeman, and Emma Martin.

“It hasn’t been easy. We still go through rough roads,” Arremony said. “But things are looking up.”

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Arremony, who recently celebrated his 300th career win, guided the Wolverines to an ECC championship in 2018 and an appearance in the 2018 Class M state final. He’s coaching this spring for the first time without his brother, Bob Arremony, the longtime Plainfield coaching icon who passed away last January.

“He’s still a part of it,” Arremony said. “He was a calming influence for me. I always had the good cop, bad cop going with him. I always felt comfortable with that. Now it's a little different. Now it's just bad cop me. So sometimes I  have to shift it down a little bit.”

Former East Lyme star Shae Crosby is now in Bob’s familiar spot: inside the third base coach's box. Crosby helped the Vikings win the ECC crown in 2013. She went on to have a terrific career at Keene State College where she became an All-Little East Conference third baseman.

“Shae’s been great,” Arremony said. “Now I’m helping out a third base coach and she’s taking blame on stuff but you try to learn from mistakes. Every day is a learning experience for everybody, myself and the players. I know right now my kids are working and they want to get better. They’re asking a lot of questions and that’s what I want. They’re going to have success and they're going to have failure and we just have to move on and try to reduce failure.”

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Griswold High School softball eclipses last season's win total