Thomaston takes advantage of mistakes, walks to bounce Canton

Thomaston’s Nina Barone slides into home plate as Canton catcher Katie Hill tries to tag her out. Barone knocked the ball loose and was safe to extend the lead to 8-0.

THOMASTON – It’s one thing to make a mistake on the softball diamond. Make a mistake against a good team and they will make you pay. No. 3 Thomaston made the Warriors pay in the Class S quarterfinals with a 14-2 decision.

Canton made four errors and three Warrior pitchers served up 10 walks to a patient Thomaston team that refused to swing at pitches above the level of their hands when swinging.

“They are very selective hitters, very confident hitters,” Thomaston coach Gene Torrence said. “We try to be disciplined and not swing at anything above our hands. They’re not afraid to hit with two strikes . If we strike out, we strike out.”

The walks put Thomaston in position to make some key hits.

In the third inning of a scoreless ballgame, Alexa Torrence got a one-out single to left field. Karley Conway coaxed a walk from Canton starter Morgan Scarfuri and each runner moved up a base on a passed ball. Thomaston’s Abbey Hurlbert’s two-RBI single gave the Bears a 2-0 lead. Hurlbert eventually made it 3-0 scoring on a passed ball.

Canton’s Katherine Winsor can’t get an errant throw at third base, allowing Thomaston’s Abby Hurlbert to score.

In the fourth, Thomaston (18-3) took advantage of three walks and two errors to score four runs without the benefit of a hit for a 7-0 advantage.

“We work on taking pitches and putting pressure on the defense and opposing pitcher,” Torrence said.

Canton coach Charley Batan blamed himself for his team’s defensive woes. “We didn’t come prepared to play and that’s my fault,” he said. “That was a great team. They were very disciplined and we got beat by a better team.”

Thomaston added five more runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth.

No. 6 Canton scrapped together a pair of runs. In the sixth, Hill walked and moved to third on a double from Brittany King. Hill scored on a RBI ground ball out by Scarfuri. In the seventh, Katherine Winsor singled to centerfield and moved to second on an error. She moved to third on a ground ball out and scored on a sacrifice fly from Hill.

The loss put a bit of a damper on an outstanding season by the Warriors, who finished at 16-5. Canton won six of its last seven games in the regular season and were 12-4 in the NCCC, good enough for fourth place and a spot in the NCCC Tournament, which was cancelled due to rain.

Defense was the key along with the leadership from the lone four seniors on the squad  — Winsor at shortstop, Amber Batan in center field, Jess Falzone in right field and King at first base.

Canton played an excellent game in its tournament opener – a 2-1 win over East Hampton in eight innings. The visiting Bellringers (9-12) broke open a scoreless game in the eighth with a single by Taylor Muncy and an error.

But the Warriors rallied in dramatic fashion.

Winsor led off the eighth with a walk and Jill Patraitis singled. But after two outs, Canton was down to their last chance. But King ripped a two-out single to left field to score Winsor from second to tie the game at 1-1. Scarfuri ripped another shot into left field to score Patraitis from second and win the game.

Scarfuri was sharp with 11 strikeouts and three hits allowed. She scattered five walks.

It wasn’t so dramatic in a 6-2 decision over Goodwin Tech of New Britain in the second round of the tournament. Canton built a 4-0 lead after two innings. Patraitis had a RBI triple in the second while Amber Batan had a RBI single in the same inning.

Scarfuri struck out eight Gladiators and walked just one. Batan added a RBI double in the sixth to add icing on the cake. Winsor finished with two of Canton’s eight hits.

“Our chemistry was great this year,” coach Charley Batan said. “The kids had a fun season together. Some of them said this was most fun they’ve had playing a sport.”

King and Batan were named to the All-NCCC team for their performance this spring on the diamond. Batan also praised the efforts of volunteer coach Jesse Parr, a former All-State softball player at Canton (2004), who was a huge help this season.

The loss wasn’t the most lopsided defeat for the Warriors in the Class S tournament. They lost by 16 to Old Saybrook in the quarterfinals in 1988. 

Thomaston 14, Canton 2
At Thomaston
Canton (16-5)                        000  001  1 –   2-4-4
Thomaston (18-3)                  003  452  x – 14-7-4
Morgan Scarfuri, Jill Patraitis (4), Gabby Rose (6), Scarfuri (6) and Katie Hill; Abby Hurlbert and Rachael DePaulo; WP: Hurlbert: LP: Scarfuri; 2B: Brittany King (C); 3B: Scarfuri (C); HR: Hurlbert (T) 

Canton 6, Goodwin Tech 2
At Canton
Goodwin Tech (15-7)             000  000  2 – 2-3-2
Canton (16-4)                        130  101  x – 6-8-1
Shyleen Ortiz and Luciano; Morgan Scarfuri and Katie Hill; WP: Scarfuri; LP: Ortiz; 2B: Amber Batan (C); 3B: Jillian Patraitis (C) 

Canton 2, East Hampton 1 (8)
At Canton
East Hampton (9-12)              000  000  01 – 1-3-0
Canton (15-4)                        000  000  02 – 2-7-1
M. Reinhard and K. Ryan; Morgan Scarfuri and Katie Hill; WP: Scarfuri; LP: Reinhard