Granby Memorial Softball Wins NCCC Tourney

Having suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Watertown to close out the regular season, the Granby Memorial High softball team got back on track Friday by winning the NCCC tournament at Veteran's Park in Windsor Locks.

The Bears, the NCCC regular season champions, defeated Canton 7-1 in the semifinals and an undermanned Suffield squad in the finals 9-2.

Against Canton, Emily Martel had a single and three RBIs, Ellie Bourque had a single and two RBIs and Amy Bilodeau tripled and knocked in a run.

Pitcher Neve Stearns, the tournament MVP, was sharp, allowing one run and two hits over five innings, while striking out 10 against the Warriors. She pitched the whole game in the final, yielding just two runs.

The Bears responded well since losing their first game of the year against Watertown 3-2 in what turned out to be the regular season finale after leading 2-0 in the seventh inning.

“We had some days off, so I was hoping they would come out and do this,” head coach Vicki Malone said after the Canton victory. “We had some great practices and they got some rest. We had the prom and some end of the year things and they are motivated and much more rested.”

Olivia Bonini knocked in Canton’s only run in the semifinal with an RBI single in the fifth. Still, Warriors head coach Charles Batan was pleased with his team’s progress going into the state tournament.

Indeed, after losing 10-0 to Granby Memorial on April 30, Canton won 12 of its next 13 games.

“I feel wonderful; these girls worked hard,” Batan said. “They’re class S against Class M against bigger schools and they put up a fight. They’ve had better fights than today, so it would have been a better fight. But they’ve been working really hard and I expect us to go a long ways in the state tournament.”

The Bears (20-1) are the No. 3 seed in the state Class M tourney and have a first round bye. They will face either No. 14 Laurelton Hall or No. 19 Nonnewaug in the second round scheduled for May 30.

Canton (14-6), meanwhile, is the No. 8 seed in the state Class S tourney and will face No. 25 Old Saybrook (10-10) on May 29.

Notes: Suffield defeated Ellington in the first semi-final game, though several of its key varsity players were not available for the title game due to the high school's prom. ... Haley Makuch, Bilodeau, Stearns and Bourque were all named All-NCCC.