Barlow Softball Celebrates Senior Day With 13-0 Win Over Kolbe-Cathedral

The Barlow softball team finished the regular season in fine fashion, first by honoring co-captains Sonia Giorgio and Emma Traggianese and then routing Kolbe-Cathedral 13-0 on Saturday.

Morgan Bonis (7-4) helped celebrate Senior Day with a one-hit shutout as she lowered her Colonial Division-leading ERA to 1.69.  She struck out three and yielded only one walk.

The Falcons took full advantage of a series of walks and errors, needing only two hits to notch their 11th victory of the season.  Barlow, 11-8 overall and 9-8 in the SWC, fell just one game short of making the SWC playoffs, which has evaded the locals since 1998. 

The Falcons have qualified for the CIAC state tournament  for the second consecutive season and now await their assigned opponent.

The only hits for Barlow were Olivia Ventricelli bases-clearing double into the right-center field gap and Sarah McAniff's RBI single to center.

Shaky Cougars pitching kept the bats on the shoulders of the potent Falcons' offense. Kacey Hale and Katherine Acocella each walked three times and scored twice as the hosts begin to focus on the upcoming states. 

Not lost on this day were the solid careers of the program's only seniors. Giorgio, a mainstay behind the plate for the past two seasons, has been a solid offensive contributor in key situations this year. Traggianese, a four-year starter at third base, also has been an offensive and defensive leader on the team.

Giorgio will be attending the University of Connecticut at Storrs in the fall and Traggianese won't be too far away from her career teammate as she will be entering Springfield College. 

They also will be playing in this year's summer travel season with the Stratford Seahawks U-23 team, which will include leading college players from around southwestern Connecticut.