Hawks win first-ever NVL softball title
NAUGATUCK – Starting her third game in four days, Katie Alfiere allowed just two runs—one earned—and provided all the offense she needed with a two-run double and a two-run home run Thursday to lead Woodland to its first-ever Naugatuck Valley League softball championship in a 4-2 win over defending champion Seymour.
NHS girls’ tennis tops Wilby on senior day
NAUGATUCK — It was Sunday night, less than 24 hours before senior day, and Greyhounds girls’ tennis coach Jodie Ruccio had a dilemma on her racket.
“I was saying, ‘What do I do for senior night for tennis?’ the first-year skipper, better known as a hoops coach, said during Tuesday’s home match against Wilby, which Naugatuck won, 7-0. “You know, for basketball, it’s you get on the PA, you say something before the game, you do the flowers and the basketballs and all that sort of stuff. So I called a couple of the girls, and they’re great. They took care of everything. We have a very strong sophomore class. So the sophomores did a bunch of things, we got some flowers, the parents are here. It’s nice.”
NHS girls’ tennis 9-0 with win over Kennedy
NAUGATUCK — It’s no surprise that halfway through the season, a local girls’ tennis team is undefeated. That the team hails from the borough, not the Woods, however, is a stunner.
The Greyhounds are led by a coach, Jodie Ruccio, who had never played tennis—never mind taught it—until March. Their roster is such a hodgepodge of first-time players and athletes borrowed from other sports that 14 different girls have played in at least one match.
CN Sportsflash 4-30-10
The Woodland and Naugatuck softball teams pick up victories en route to their Saturday clash, and NHS girls' tennis remains undefeated.
Doubles teams keep Hawks unbeaten
BEACON FALLS — Woodland used a sweep of the doubles matches to break a singles stalemate and stay undefeated with a 5-2 win over visiting Watertown Monday afternoon.
No. 1 singles player Stephanie Badale continued her domination of all Naugatuck Valley League opponents not named Dre Moschello, with an 8-0 victory over Alyssa Mucciaro. Since the beginning of last season, Badale is 26-1 against everyone but Holy Cross’ Moschello, but 1-3 versus the two-time defending league champion.
Krakowski wins but WRHS boys’ tennis falls
WATERTOWN — The Hawks got a grit-your-teeth win from Mike Krakowski at No. 1 singles, but it was the team’s lone victory Monday morning in an 8-1 loss to Watertown at Crestbrook Park.
The right-handed Krakowski was playing with ruptured blood vessels in his dominant hand, a nagging affliction that has caused head coach Jim Amato to hold back his ace between matches.
Diver honored at PJF opening ceremony
NAUGATUCK — The sky above Peter J. Foley Little League Stadium alternated between sunshine and cloudiness Sunday afternoon, a sort of organic reflection of the sentiments shared by the venerable building’s several hundred patrons.
The opening ceremony of the league’s 61st season showcased both ends of the emotional spectrum: Joy in the baby-toothed smiles of ballplayers bounding across the diamond for the first time this spring, and sorrow in the wistful tears of almost everyone who knew Dustin Diver, the former borough baseball standout, who died unexpectedly in December, at age 31.
Naugy girls’ track and field ekes by Seymour
Seniors Tori Pisco and Rosa Moriello ran three events apiece, helping Naugatuck beat Seymour, 76-74, Wednesday. The Greyhounds also defeated Watertown, 120-30, and Derby, 126.5-9.
Bulldogs too tough for Greyhounds on court
All three Naugatuck doubles teams won their matches, but it wasn't enough to overcome Crosby's sweep of the singles matches, as the Bulldogs won in the borough Wednesday, 6-3.
