Hounds, Hawks hope to slug it out for NVL softball crown

Woodland and Naugatuck have been slugging the ball all year and the softball teams are peaking on the brink of the postseason.

Both are title threats for the upcoming NVL Tournament.

As of May 8, Woodland had a 15-2 record and was riding a nine-game winning streak. Naugatuck was 12-5 after a 6-5 win over Seymour, which came thanks in large part to a pair of three-run bombs off the bat of Quinnipiac-bound slugger Aryn Bombery.

The victory was the 300th in the career of veteran head coach Kevin Wesche. He has a 300-176 career record and is in his 21st season as head coach of the Greyhounds.

“The milestone has been achieved because there have been so many contributors over the years both as players and assistant coaches,” Wesche said. “The team had a poster for me at the end of the game. I wasn’t even thinking about the milestone, but it was certainly a good win against a very good team and a very successful program.”

Assistant coach Maribeth Ford has been by Wesche’s side for the duration. Alex Barton is also an assistant.

Leah Chatfield earned the win in the circle and slugged two hits along with University of Saint Joseph-bound Sophia Onofrio. She’s hitting .423 with 26 runs scored.

Onofrio is the team’s leadoff hitter, Chatfield hits second and Bombery hits third. Both of her three-run homers cleared the center-field fence, in the first and third innings, respectively.

Bombery’s two dingers made it eight on the season and 26 for her career. The four-year starter has eclipsed 100 hits, 100 RBIs and 100 runs in her career. The shortstop is hitting .533 with 33 RBIs, 30 runs and .631 on-base percentage.

Chatfield is hitting .491 with 21 RBIs, 25 runs and a .563 on-base percentage. She leads the team with 27 hits.

In the circle, Chatfield is 12-5 with a 1.87 ERA. She’s fanned 167 against 38 walks. She’s rapidly approaching 400 career strikeouts.

The Greyhounds graduated six seniors last year and had a lot of spots to fill. Wesche said the team has been coachable and shown a great work ethic this spring.

Wesche said the usual NVL powers will be favorited in the upcoming NVL tournament, but he said not to overlook Naugatuck.

“I wouldn’t look past Naugatuck and our ability to do some damage,” Wesche said. “On any given day, this team has proven they can put it together against the best teams. Leah has been strong on the mound. I’m optimistic this team can go far.”

The Hawks have won back-to-back state titles and have won three total NVL Tournament championships in Loren Luddy’s tenure as head coach.

Woodland made it nine wins in a row with a 14-2 victory over Wolcott. Ace Ella Van Alstyne fanned 10 on three hits in the gem.

Lucia Rubano had four hits and a pair of RBIs to power the offense on May 7.

On May 6, Woodland outlasted St. Paul, 9-8. Freshman Ayla DeCrescenzo crushed a game-tying solo homer in the seven inning. It was her first high school home run. Paige Chiaramonte scored the winning run on a passed ball.

Caitlyn Braun earned the win with two innings of no-hit relief. Rubano and Breanna Thurston, Woodland’s two lone seniors, were honored before the St. Paul game.

Luddy said the NVL Tournament is wide open this spring.

“We’ve had some very close games this year and everyone is beating each other,” Luddy said. “We have to be on top of our game both offensively and defensively. Offensively, we have been hitting and defensively we’ve been up and down.”