Stearns, Granby Memorial High Shut Out Ellington 3-0

In a well-played early season contest between two of the top teams in the North Central Connecticut Conference, pitcher Neve Stearns struck out six and scattered four hits over seven innings to lead the softball team to a 3-0 victory over Ellington High in Granby on Wednesday afternoon.

Stearns mixed in a series of off-speed pitches to keep Ellington’s batters from making solid contact all afternoon, and Granby Memorial’s defense played nearly flawlessly, all of which made it a long afternoon for the Purple Knights’ offense. The Bears made just one error all game.

“Neve keeps batters off balance; [batters are] going to make contact,” Granby Memorial head coach Vicki Malone said. “On defense, we’re good. I have five starting juniors and they know my philosophy. They’re ready for every pitch. Defense keeps you in games.”

The Bears (5-0) also benefitted from timely hitting and opportunistic baserunning to seize a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning.

Meg Nilson (1-for-3, run, RBI) scampered home with Granby Memorial’s first run on a wild pitch and Haley Makuch (1-for-2, RBI) singled home Emily Martel to give the Bears a two-run advantage.

In the bottom of the fourth, Nilson’s safety squeeze drove in Elle Bourque to put Granby Memorial up 3-0.

“I was happy with how we moved runners,” Malone said. “Every kid who was asked to bunt got her bunt down and we got a big hit when we needed it. Haley came up big for us. That’s softball right there.”

Ellington pitcher Rachel Tshonis pitched well, yielding just seven hits and three runs while striking out five. But the Purple Knights just could not get their bats to heat up.

“We’ve been hitting the ball good all year. Today we had [four] hits,” Ellington head coach Tom Gordon said. “No matter how well or not well we play, [four] hits are not going to win many games.

“We’re going to work on our live batting and hopefully we’ll put together all three facets of the game: defense, base running and hitting, which we haven’t done all year. We either hit like crazy, or play good defense or pitch great, but not everything at the same time.”

Danielle Pare, Haley Brown, Emily Fillfon and Samantha Anthony each singled, but no Ellington runner advanced past first base. Fillfon’s hit was erased when she got caught stealing in the top of the third and Anthony’s fifth-inning lead off single was erased when she was doubled off first on Paige Brunelle’s liner that was caught by Granby Memorial second baseman Morgan Malone.

Going forward, Granby Memorial coach Vicki Malone said her team’s performance reaffirmed that the Bears will be a strong contender for the NCCC title this season.

“Ellington is a good team,” Vicki Malone said. “I think everybody was wondering if we were a good team and I think we showed that today. We set some team goals. We’re shooting for the conference and move each game in the states.”

Both teams play on the road again on Friday, with Granby Memorial facing Somers at 3:45 p.m., and Ellington scheduled to play Windsor Locks at 4 p.m.