Norwich Free Academy wins ECC softball championship

Ever since she was a wide-eyed Little Leaguer, Madison Waltke has dreamed of hitting a big home run in a championship game. She got her wish.

Powered by Waltke’s a two-run homer, a terrific performance in the circle from Hailey Smith, and another fine defensive performance anchored by shortstop Melina Graziano, Norwich Free Academy captured the Eastern Connecticut Conference softball tournament championship with a 7-3 victory over East Lyme on Thursday night at Griswold High School.

It was the Wildcats first ECC title since 2019. NFA fell to Waterford in last year’s ECC final. 

“This is incredible,” NFA coach Athena Jaskiewicz said. “We’ve been getting closer every year. We’ve been working for this for the past three years. The kids work so hard. They deserve this recognition.”

Waltke, a senior third baseman who will play at Quinnipiac University next season, was named the game’s most outstanding player. She paced NFA’s offense with two hits and three RBIs.

“We worked four years for this and I just couldn't be more proud of us,” Waltke said. “We’ve come so far and been so close and we finally got it this time and it felt so good.”

Waltke’s towering two-run homer over the left field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning gave the Wildcats some breathing room with a 7-3 lead.

“It was so sweet. I’ve never felt a better feeling in my life,” Waltke said. “It’s something I dreamed of when I was little. What better feeling is there to have than to help your team out in a big way.”

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East Lyme (16-7), which roared into the tournament final by upsetting Waterford the day before on Grace DuBrava’s eighth inning home run, grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on Karly Sorrentino two-run double to the fence in left field and Natalie Knowlton’s RBI single to center.

“That doesn’t faze us,” Jaskiewicz said. “We perform better under pressure. When we went back to hit, they knew what to do. We said, ‘No more.’ And that was it.”

Smith blanked the Vikings the rest of the way. The senior righthander didn’t allow another hit until Kinzie Donohue laced a two-out single in the top of the sixth.

“Honestly, I just settled down. I was nervous,” Smith said. “I didn’t even care about strikeouts or stats, I just wanted to get the outs.”

Smith allowed just four hits while striking out three.

“She performs so well under pressure,” Jaskiewicz said. “She’s a competitor and just goes back out there every inning and does what she does.”

The Wildcats (14-8), which defeated East Lyme twice (10-3 and 11-2) during the regular season, took the lead for good with a four-run uprising in the third inning against Vikings starter Abby Robinson.

“She’s (Robinson) incredible and has had a great season,” Jaskieiwicz said. “A lot of props to her. We knew that we could hit her and had some confidence coming up to the plate.”

Trailing 3-1, sophomore Aubrey Martin (two hits) and Waltke led off with base hits and Graziano (two hits) followed with an RBI single to make it 3-2. Smith’s deep flyball moved runners into scoring position for junior Ava Boenig, who dropped a two-run single along the right field line for a 4-3 advantage.

Boenig scored on Tackling’s infield out and the Wildcats led, 5-3.

The Wildcats were solid defensively. Tackling, a senior left fielder who also had two hits, made a great catch on Knowlton’s long drive to the warning track in the top of the fourth. The Wildcats also turned a 6-4-3 double play in the top of the fifth.

“We just had to put our heads down and compete the way we know how,” Graziano said. “I’m so proud of the team and Hailey. She pitched her heart out. We rose to the occasion.”

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NFA (14-8) edged Fitch, 2-1, in the semifinals. Amelia Driscoll drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly, Waltke and Tackling each had two hits, and Smith allowed just one earned run in another complete game performance.

“We’ve been waiting four years for this,” Smith said. “All the girls worked so hard. We all wanted this badly.”

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Free Academy tops East Lyme for ECC softball championship