CT Championship Previews: Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Volleyball

CONNECTICUT — State championship time has arrived for high school baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse and boys volleyball teams across Connecticut, as 16 CIAC tournament finals are scheduled from Thursday through Monday.

All four baseball finals will be played at Palmer Field in Middletown, and for the first time, the four softball finals will be contested at Burrill Family Field on the campus of the University of Connecticut. Three boys and three girls lacrosse championship matches will take place at Sacred Heart University, and title contests in boys volleyball are slated for Newtown High School and the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford.

Due to postponement of all 12 lacrosse semifinal matches Wednesday and Thursday, semifinals were played Friday at the homes of the higher seeds, rather than at neutral sites. Note: This article has been updated.

Here are some interesting facts about a number of the teams involved in championship contests.

• There will be a proliferation of Panthers, as two schools with that nickname (Masuk, Cromwell) will play for titles. Two different sets of Eagles (Wolcott, Trumbull) are in championship contests, while the Rams will be represented by Cheshire and New Canaan.
• In addition to those already mentioned, animal-themed teams will be arriving by land (Mustangs, Bobcats, Cougars), by air (Falcons, Hawks) and even by sea (Sharks). There will be Tigers (Daniel Hand), but no lions or bears ... however, there will be Grizzlies (Guilford). Oh my!
• A half-dozen schools (Coventry, Masuk, Darien, Staples, Cheshire, Weston) have teams which have earned berths in two championship matchups.
• Southington softball is far and away the leader among finalists with an incredible 20 state championships. Darien girls lacrosse, with 11, is the only other contending program in double figures.
• All four softball champions from 2022 (Southington, Masuk, Woodland, Cromwell) and the three girls lacrosse champions (New Canaan, Guilford, New Fairfield) have a shot at duplicating that success. Other defending titlists seeking to repeat are Fairfield Warde baseball (LL), Staples boys lacrosse (L), Weston boys lacrosse (S) and Darien boys volleyball (L).
• In boys lacrosse, the top four seeds in each of the three divisions made it to the semifinals, and each final will match up the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. Meanwhile, in baseball, 3 appears to be the lucky number, as the top-ranked teams remaining in all four divisions are the No. 3 seeds (Staples, Guilford, Nonnewaug, Haddam-Killingworth).
• Brookfield baseball (L) will be making its first appearance in a title tilt. Five teams have made previous finals appearances, but never won a state crown: Nonnewaug baseball, Haddam-Killingworth baseball, Fairfield Ludlowe softball, Coventry softball and Daniel Hand boys lacrosse.
• Of the teams with previous state championships, Jonathan Law softball has waited the longest for another, winning its only title in 1980. Others with 15-plus year spans include Trumbull boys volleyball (2001) and Guilford baseball (2007)).

Tickets for CIAC spring championship events will only be available digitally, and may be ordered here.

Here is complete information about each championship contest, including title game histories and links to team rosters and season records.

BASEBALL

All games at Palmer Field, Middletown

Class LL
6/10, noon

No. 3 Staples Wreckers vs. No. 4 Fairfield Warde Mustangs

Regular season: STA 16-4; FW 15-5
The road to the finals:

• STA: d. Farmington 7-3; d. Newtown 5-0; d. South Windsor 7-0; d. Westhill 10-2
• FW: d. Simsbury 6-2; d. Amity Regional 9-7; d. Southington 2-1; d. Newington 3-1

Title game record: STA 3-2; FW 2-2
Last state championship: STA 2019; FW 2022
Rosters

Class L
6/10, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Guilford Grizzlies vs. No. 5 Brookfield Bobcats

Regular season: GUI 17-3; BRO 15-5
The road to the finals:

• GUI: d. New London 11-4; d. Bethel 6-5; d. Wethersfield 2-0; d. Berlin 1-0
• BRO: d. Bunnell 15-6; d. Torrington 5-0; d. Masuk 5-0; d. Notre Dame-West Haven 3-1

Title game record: GUI 1-1; BRO 0-0
Last state championship: GUI 2007; BRO none
Rosters

Class M
6/10, 3:30 p.m.

No. 3 Nonnewaug Chiefs vs. No. 13 Wolcott Eagles

Regular season: NON 17-3; WOL 13-7
The road to the finals:

• NON: d. Wolcott Tech 17-4; d. Sheehan 7-4; d. Killingly 8-0; d. St. Joseph 7-5
• WOL: d. Lewis Mills 7-6 (8); d. Rocky Hill 3-2 (8); d. Northwestern Regional 1-0; d. New Fairfield 6-5 (8)

Title game record: NON 0-1; WOL 1-2
Last state championship: NON none; WOL 2016
Rosters

Class S
6/9, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Haddam-Killingworth Cougars vs. No. 4 Coventry Patriots

Regular season: HK 16-4; COV 15-5
The road to the finals:

• HK: d. East Hampton 8-0; d. Immaculate 4-3; d. Old Lyme 6-3; d. Lyman Memorial 4-0
• COV: d. Kolbe Cathedral 16-0; d. North Branford 10-2; d. Windsor Locks 6-0; d. Valley Regional 3-2

Title game record: HK 0-5; COV 2-3
Last state championship: HK none; COV 2019
Rosters

SOFTBALL

All games at Burrill Family Field, UConn

Class LL
6/10, 7 p.m.

No. 1 Southington Lady Knights vs. No. 2 Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons

Regular season: SOU 20-0; FL 19-1
The road to the finals:

• SOU: 1st round bye; d. Wilton 7-0; d. Danbury 13-3; d. Ridgefield 3-0
• FL: 1st round bye; d. Glastonbury 3-2; d. Amity Regional 3-0; d. Newtown 6-4

Title game record: SOU 20-5; FL 0-1
Last state championship: SOU 2022; FL none
Rosters

Class L
6/10, 10 a.m.

No. 3 Jonathan Law Lawmen vs. No. 4 Masuk Panthers

Regular season: JL 18-2; MAS 17-3
The road to the finals:

• JL: 1st round bye; d. Brookfield 3-0; d. Rockville 12-0 (5); d. Bristol Central 2-0
• MAS: 1st round bye; d. Waterford 7-0; d. Windsor 5-3; d. Ellington 7-0

Title game record: JL 1-0; MAS 8-2
Last state championship: JL 1980; MAS 2022
Rosters

Class M
6/10, 1 p.m.

No. 1 Woodland Hawks vs. No. 18 Sacred Heart Academy Sharks

Regular season: WOO 20-0; SHA 13-7
The road to the finals:

• WOO: 1st round bye; d. Granby 14-0 (5); d. Sheehan 5-4; d. Mercy 8-3
• SHA: d. Weaver 22-2 (5); d. O'Brien Tech 16-1 (6); d. RHAM 12-8; d. Oxford 7-4

Title game record: WOO 1-1; SHA 1-3
Last state championship: WOO 2022; SHA 2011
Rosters

Class S
6/10, 4 p.m.

No. 1 Coventry Patriots vs. No. 11 Cromwell Panthers

Regular season: COV 19-1; CRO 13-7
The road to the finals:

• COV: 1st round bye; d. St. Paul 3-2 (8); d. Holy Cross 15-5; d. Shepaug Valley 2-0
• CRO: d. Hale Ray 10-1; d. Lyman Memorial 7-0; d. Notre Dame-Fairfield 2-0; d. North Branford 9-0

Title game record: COV 0-1; CRO 1-0
Last state championship: COV none; CRO 2022
Rosters

BOYS LACROSSE

All matches at Sacred Heart University

Class L
6/11, 3 p.m.

No. 1 Fairfield Prep Jesuits vs. No. 2 Staples Wreckers

Regular season: FP 14-2; STA 12-4
The road to the finals:

• FP: d. Newtown 19-2; d. Simsbury 23-7; d. New Canaan 12-7
• STA: d. Hall 19-3; d. Glastonbury 19-4; d. Darien 9-8

Title game record: FP 6-4; STA 1-3
Last state championship: FP 2013; STA 2022
Rosters

Class M
6/11, 12:30 p.m.

No. 1 Cheshire vs. No. 2 Daniel Hand

Regular season: CHE 13-3; DH 11-5
The road to the finals:

• CHE: d. Newington 25-4; d. Joel Barlow 19-7; d. Guilford 13-3
• DH: d. Watertown 16-2; d. Farmington 18-9; d. Notre Dame-West Haven 12-11

Title game record: CHE 2-1; DH 0-6
Last state championship: CHE 2010; DH none
Rosters

Class S
6/11, 10 a.m.

No. 1 St. Joseph vs. No. 2 Weston

Regular season: SJ 13-3; WES 13-3
The road to the finals:

• SJ: d. Granby 17-2; d. Sheehan 18-6; d. Northwest Catholic 20-9
• WES: d. Waterford 15-2; d. Stonington 20-5; d. New Fairfield 14-5

Title game record: SJ 7-3; WES 5-4
Last state championship: SJ 2021; WES 2022
Rosters

GIRLS LACROSSE

All matches at Sacred Heart University

Class L
6/12, 8 p.m.

No. 1 Darien vs. No. 2 New Canaan

Regular season: DAR 13-0; NC 13-2
The road to the finals:

• DAR: d. Stamford 20-2; d. Simsbury 20-2; d. Greenwich 15-5
• NC: d. Glastonbury 18-0; d. Cheshire 20-7; d. Wilton 10-7

Title game record: DAR 11-3; NC 7-3
Last state championship: DAR 2021; NC 2022
Rosters

Class M
6/12, 6 p.m.

No. 1 East Lyme vs. No. 3 Guilford

Regular season: EL 15-1; GUI 10-6
The road to the finals:

• EL: d. Foran 19-6; d. Farmington 13-9; d. Pomperaug 13-12
• GUI: d. Waterford 15-4; d. Branford 15-4; d. Brookfield 14-3

Title game record: EL 2-0; GUI 2-0
Last state championship: EL 2019; GUI 2022
Rosters

Class S
6/11, 5:30 p.m.

No. 1 Weston or No. 4 Canton vs. No. 2 New Fairfield

Title game record: WES 2-2; CAN 1-0; NF 6-0
Last state championship: WES 2013; CAN 2016; NF 2022

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Class L
6/8, 7 p.m.
at Newtown High School

No. 1 Darien Blue Wave vs. No. 2 Trumbull Eagles

Regular season: DAR 19-0; TRU 18-2
The road to the finals:

• DAR: d. Greenwich 3-0; d. Enfield 3-0; d. Conard 3-0
• TRU: d. Amity Regional 3-0; d. Ridgefield 3-0; d. Southington 3-1

Title game record: DAR 5-3; TRU 1-3
Last state championship: DAR 2022; TRU 2001
Rosters

Class M
6/9, 6 p.m.
at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy, Hartford

No. 4 Masuk Panthers vs. No. 6 Cheshire Rams

Regular season: MAS 17-3; CHE 16-4
The road to the finals:

• MAS: d. Oxford 3-0; d. Wolcott Tech 3-0; d. New Canaan 3-2
• CHE: d. Putnam 3-0; d. Rockville 3-0; d. Farmington 3-2

Title game record: MAS 1-1; CHE 2-1
Last state championship: MAS 2009; CHE 2012
Rosters