Norwich Tech, Ellis Tech softball teams have big postseason goals

NORWICH – The Norwich Tech softball team’s offensive prowess was on full display against rival Ellis Tech again during Wednesday’s potential Connecticut Technical Conference playoff preview in Norwich.

The Warriors defeated the Golden Eagles, 18-2, on April 23. The rematch was much closer than the final score – Ellis Tech was one big hit away in the top of the fifth from making things interesting – but it’s becoming clear now that the road to the CTC championship is traveling through Norwich.

“My goal is to win the Connecticut Technical Conference championship and we’re going to have to go through these guys again to do it,” Ellis Tech coach Brooke DiFormato said following the Warriors’ 17-5 victory.

Norwich Tech, which fell to three-time defending champion O’Brien Tech in last year’s CTC final at Albertus Magnus College, also has designs on raising the league’s championship banner.

“That’s our biggest goal right now,” Norwich Tech junior Autumn Hanks said. “Everybody has that in their head.”

Hanks was the winning pitcher for the sixth consecutive game. The right-hander came on in relief two weeks ago against Griswold when freshman Maya Stimson was experiencing arm trouble and has given the Warriors a huge boost. Hanks has played every position for the Warriors during her career but hasn’t spent a lot of time in the circle.

“She’s literally done everything we have asked her to do and going into pitch is not easy,” Norwich Tech coach Pam Pinch said.

Hanks, who was coming off a five-inning no-hit performance against Vinal Tech, allowed just five hits while striking out seven against Ellis Tech.

“I didn’t pitch a lot last year,” Hanks said. “I pitched when I was younger … nothing fancy. I always knew how to do it but was always the backup here. Maya’s arm was down and I just picked up the team.”

When Ellis Tech, which was trailing 12-5, loaded the bases with three consecutive singles in the top of the fifth, Hanks ended the threat with back-to-back strikeouts.

“Nothing fazes her,” Pinch said. “She’s very level headed and she just does what she has to do. We obviously appreciate that because we’ve thrown her in some crappy situations. She’s been hitting great too which has helped her situation on the mound.”

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Norwich Tech’s offense has been scoring runs in bunches. The Warriors led 3-2 in the bottom of the second and had nobody on base with two outs before staging a six-run uprising. The inning’s highlights included an RBI triple from Khai Maldonado, a two-run double by Hanks, and a two-run homer from Nyomi Barboza, who went 4-for-4.

Warriors senior catcher Morgan Cook was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored, while Diana Kozerefski and Maya Stimson each had two hits to pace Norwich Tech’s attack.

“Our hitting has been carrying us,” Pinch said. “We’ve been making mistakes and we've been trying to clean up the little things defensively but our hitting has been really strong.”

Warriors ninth batter, junior third baseman Evelyn Brimmer, hit for the cycle in Monday’s 22-1 win over Vinal Tech.

Ellis Tech (10-4) saw its five-game winning streak end. The Golden Eagles have been led this season by their two seniors, Kylie Damble and Emma Ethier, sophomore pitcher Rose Lopez, juniors Liz Ploof and Tierra Collette, and freshman starters Hailey Haggett, Camryn Murray, Ava Ethier, and Khloe Volle.

“We just came out flat and we have some things to address but we’re working on them every day,” DiFormato said. “I have a large group of freshmen that are talented and eager so we’re trying to work out the kinks and, honestly for them, we’re working on the mental game. We have a strong core of players and we’re really looking forward to seeing what they can do in the postseason.”

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Norwich Tech, which is undefeated (8-0) in the CTC, improved to 9-7. The Warriors are currently the No. 1 seed for the CTC playoffs, which begin on May 20.

“We have a great group of girls. They’re all supportive of one another which makes our job easier,” said Pinch, who co-coaches the team with Adam Lachendro. “We’re in a really good spot right now. We’re peaking at the right time. We really want to hopefully get back there (to the championship) and win it this time.”

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Tech, Ellis Tech softball teams have big CTC postseason goals