NVL races heating up

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Naugatuck’s Gillian Fortier connects on a bases-loaded, walk-off double May 15 to give the Greyhounds a 2-1 win over East Hartford. Naugatuck (13-6) will likely be the No. 5 seed heading into the NVL softball tournament this weekend. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI
Naugatuck’s Gillian Fortier connects on a bases-loaded, walk-off double May 15 to give the Greyhounds a 2-1 win over East Hartford. Naugatuck (13-6) will likely be the No. 5 seed heading into the NVL softball tournament this weekend. –ELIO GUGLIOTTI

Editor’s note: The NVL tournament schedule was changed Wednesday night to move games of off Memorial Day. An updated schedule can be viewed here.

Most regular seasons in the Naugatuck Valley League come to a close this week, and plenty of local squads are in contention for championships and high seeding in postseason tournaments.

Here’s the rundown of where teams from Naugatuck and Woodland stand as the postseason approaches.

Baseball: Naugatuck (14-5) knocked off Holy Cross 4-3 on Tuesday evening, thanks in part to a nifty 5-4-5 double play between Adam Tavares and Kyle Plasky in the seventh inning, to stay in contention for the NVL Copper Division title.

Naugy missed an opportunity to take control of the division with an 11-5 loss at Torrington on Monday, but the Greyhounds are still mathematically alive if they beat Crosby, the Red Raiders lose to Wilby and Holy Cross beats Sacred Heart. All games are set for Wednesday.

A Greyhounds win over Crosby would likely seal a home quarterfinal and a top-four seed in the NVL tournament.

Woodland (9-9) lost consecutive games to Derby and St. Paul to start the week, missing opportunities to essentially lock up an NVL tournament berth and contend for a home game in the Class M playoffs.

The Hawks are in a four-way battle with St. Paul, Sacred Heart and Watertown for the two final positions in the NVL tourney. Woodland’s last league game is Thursday at Seymour.

The NVL tournament is set to start Saturday with home quarterfinals, followed by semifinals Monday at Muzzy Field in Bristol and the final Wednesday at Fuessenich Park in Torrington.

Softball: Woodland (16-3) has won 10 of its last 11 games with its regular-season finale set for Wednesday against Brass Division-leading Seymour.

The Hawks are still alive for a division title with a win over the Wildcats, who would also have to lose Thursday against Ansonia for Woodland to earn the championship.

Woodland will likely be the No. 3 seed in the NVL tournament and should be one of the top seeds in the Class M state playoffs.

Naugatuck (13-6) likely lost out on an opportunity for a home quarterfinal in the NVL tourney with a 3-2 loss against Holy Cross on Tuesday in eight innings, despite two hits apiece from Gillian Fortier and Kara Klimaszewski.

The Greyhounds should be the No. 5 seed and may get a rematch at Holy Cross in Saturday’s NVL tournament quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for Monday at Woodland with the final Wednesday at Wolcott.

Boys tennis: Naugatuck (14-2) has clinched the NVL Copper Division championship but is out of contention for the NVL title. The Greyhounds’ only two losses were to Wolcott, which is undefeated. Naugy will qualify for the Class L state tournament.

Woodland (4-13) will miss the state postseason and finish outside championship contention for the first time in four years.

The NVL individual tournament will begin May 28 at Woodland and conclude May 29 at Wolcott.

Girls tennis: Woodland (16-1) clinched its second straight NVL Brass Division championship by winning five consecutive divisional matches to close out the season. That included a 5-2 win over St. Paul on May 12 after the Falcons dealt Woodland its only loss.

The Hawks will be the top seed in the NVL team tournament, while Naugatuck (15-2) will be the No. 2 seed. Naugy clinched the Copper Division title with four divisional victories in four days earlier this week.

The NVL team tournament is set to begin Thursday at higher seeds before the final rounds Saturday at Woodland. The individual tournaments will be Monday and Tuesday at Woodland.

Track and field: The Woodland boys and girls (both 16-0) completed undefeated regular seasons Tuesday with nonleague victories over O’Brien Tech and Platt Tech. Those wins came a week after the Hawks clinched the NVL and Brass Division titles.

Woodland, along with Naugatuck and the rest of the NVL, will compete at the league championships next week. Jumping trials and the javelin finals will be Tuesday at Holy Cross, while jumping finals and running events will be Wednesday at Naugatuck.

Golf: Naugatuck (10-6) and Woodland (7-7) are in the midst of their most successful seasons in recent history. The Greyhounds are still alive for championships but have a tough closing stretch, ending June 3 at Holy Cross. The Hawks have a busy last week and a half but are likely outside title contention.

The NVL championship will be June 5 at the Watertown Golf Club.