Lady Bobcats Move On to Finals

Softball - SWC Semi-Final:

Brookfield (17-5) faced off with the number one seed Masuk (17-5) in the SWC semi-final on Thursday night and considering that the Lady Bobcats were seeded fourth, a win might be considered an upset. Taking into consideration the fact the Lady Bobcats had defeated the previously undefeated-in-conference Lady Panthers twice in the final week of the season, a win was certainly not out of the question.

Brookfield jumped on Masuk with three runs in the first inning to propel them into the championship game with a 5-3 victory.  

The win, which was the team's 12th in their last 13 games, puts Brookfield in the final for the first time since 2006. They will match up with the number six seed Pomperaug (14-8), who upset defending champion Newtown and last year's runner-up Lauralton Hall to advance to the title game to be played Friday night at Deluca Field in Stratford.  Brookfield beat Pomperaug 6-3 at home in their only meeting of the year.

Danielle DeMarco got the first inning rally going with a leadoff single.  Felicia Lennon would knock her in with a double and Wendi Westmark made it 2-0 with a run-scoring triple.

Brookfield would add two insurance runs in the fifth inning that turned out to be crucial. Jessie Angelo used her base-running skills to put herself in scoring position with two outs and Lennon came through again with a run-scoring single. Lennon would then score when Masuk committed two errors for a 5-0 lead.

Brittany Fusek, pitching for the second straight day, was in control through the first four innings but ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth with Masuk attempting to save their season by rallying for three runs.

The Lady Panthers forced Fusek to work in the seventh inning as they began to take pitches and drew three walks. Catcher Ashley Lamparelli gunned down a would-be base stealer to help thwart the comeback and second baseman Giuliana D'Arcangelo snared a line drive to end the game with two runners on base.    

Golf:

The boys golf team finished up their regular season strong, with two more wins, moving their record to 10-4, 7-4. They also competed in the two-man, best-ball Chappa Memorial Golf Tournament where they finished tied for 25th out of 88 teams that competed.

To start the week, they knocked off Masuk, pushing their rival to below .500 on the season. Dan Flood led the team with a 1-over 36 on their home course at Sunset Hills.

They then traveled to the Mill River Country Club to face of with Stratford later in the week. Again Flood led the team with a round of 39 as they moved their record into double-digit wins.

Flood teamed up with Scott Martin to shoot a combined 72 on the par 69 course of Longshore Country Club in Westport in the Chappa Tournament.

Brookfield 169, Masuk 176 (at Sunset G.C., par 35):

Brookfield — Dan Flood 36, Scott Martin 47, Steve McGorty 43, Tom Juliano 43.

Masuk — Adam Polverari 45, Jon Belush 43, Josh Mondo 41, Frankie Katz 47.

Brookfield 175, Stratford 187 (at Mill River C.C., par 36):

Brookfield — Dan Flood 39, Tom Juliano 44, Scott Martin 46, Steve McGorty 46.

Stratford — Tyler Figgis 39, Mark Murray 45, Tom Nalezynski 48, Ryan Steinberg 55.

The girls golf team competed in the SWC Championship on Tuesday, playing at the Orange Hills Country Club in Orange. In their first season of play, they finished fifth among the five teams who competed. Masuk came away as the champion, edging out Lauralton Hall by four strokes in the 18-hole contest.

SWC Girls Golf Championship at Orange Hills CC, par 74:

Masuk 391 — Jamie O'Meara 95, Carlie O'Meara 95, Monika McCarter 96, Suz Rowan 105.

Lauralton Hall 395 — Alexa Gherlone 90, Chelsea Donovan 98, Ali Armstrong 101, Emma Catalfano 106.

Weston 419 — Dylan Katz 95, Carlye Rosen 100, Marlena Bonafide 102, Hannah Smith 122.

Bunnell 443 — Nicole Craven 97, Kelly Benson 98, Lauren Thomas 116, Shannon Boyle 132.

Brookfield 536 — Shannon Bugliese 111, Kimberly Bowers 136, Jackie Meldon 142, Morgan O'Dell 147.

Tennis:

The boys tennis team finished their season by winning their third straight match, defeating Bunnell 4-3 on Saturday. Their match against Berlin on Tuesday was cancelled due to rain. The winning streak to end the season helped erase what was a tough overall year as they finished with an overall 4-11 record.

The girls team split their final two matches of the regular season, defeating Bunnell 4-3 in a match that began on Saturday but wasn't completed until Monday due to rain and losing a tough 4-3 decision at New Fairfield on Tuesday.

The team has qualified for the state tournament with a record of 9-6.

Brookfield 4, Bunnell 3:

Singles: Kayla Carlucci (Br) def. Jill Broadbin (Bu) 6-2, 6-2; Lindsey Szuch (Bu) def. Mary Petruska (Br) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Jess Becker (Br) def. Natalie Groves (Bu) 6-1, 6-1; Christina Marconi (Br) def. Michelle Karasik (Bu) 6-1, 6-3.

Doubles: Katarina Sokol/Carly Kascak (Bu) def. Kerri Lally/Kristie Pino (Br) 6-4, 3-6, 7-0 (tiebreak due to darkness); Emily Laughlin/Lauren Pelczar (Br) def. Lauren Dereinzi/Jessica Giammattei 6-0, 6-4; Mary Torok/Debbie Jossick (Bu) def. Mackenzie Morehouse/Megan Bingman 6-4,6-4. 

New Fairfield 4, Brookfield 3:

Singles: Kayla Carlucci (B) def. Jess DeRobertis (NF) 4-6, 7-6, 6-3; Amber DeRobertis (NF) def. Mary Petruska (B) 6-1, 6-3; Jess Becker (B) def. Julianne DePaoli (NF) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6; Brooke Hirsheimer (NF) def. Shelja Patel (B) 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles: Taylor Ryan/Megan Ryan (NF) def. Rebecca Vulcano/Keri Lally (B) 7-6, 4-6, 7-6; Melissa Vessechia/Caitlin Ogrizovich (NF) def. Emily Laughlin/Lauren Pelczar (B) 6-3, 6-1; Kayla Beazer/Mackenzie Morehouse (B) def. Preetha Naidu/Laura Milleville (NF) 6-1, 6-2.