BY KEN MORSE
CITIZEN’S NEWS
There is a fine line between success and failure, and it begins and ends with the trust a team has in one another. That trust, commonly known as camaraderie, takes time to develop because it’s a process and processes take time.
Naugatuck coach Kevin Wesche has found a way to usher in that trust and facilitate the process with trips to Disney every other season. Over time that success has taken root in the Greyhound softball team.
“I thought the trip went well,” said Wesche. “We split a pair of games but that is just a small part of why we do this. We are trying to bond as a team. You are together every day for a good ten weeks of the season and the quicker you form that bond, the better your team is going to be.”
Naugatuck got right after the task at hand when they returned from the trip, taking on WCA on April 15. Sophia Audi scattered four hits and struck out four in five innings in the circle as the Greyhounds scored a 12-0 win.
Nadia Cestari led the fireworks by belting three hits (two triples), scoring three runs and driving in three more. Samantha Mullin added three hits (triple), two runs scored and an RBI. Felicia Salvati also had three hits (double), two runs and two RBI.
Naugy put together back-to-back, three-run innings to take a 6-0 lead into the third. A five-run fourth inning put the finishing touches on the win. Kendall Allen and Lauryn Ramalho each had two hits, two RBI and a run scored.
“It didn’t take us too long to get back in the swing of things once we got back from the trip,” said Wesche. “We had a good game against Waterbury Career and then practiced the next day.”
So we are back to where we need to be. Had a tough one against Torrington. Their pitcher was throwing strikes. We just didn’t make enough contact. We are looking to get back into a groove with the bats and we have a couple of tough ones coming up against Woodland and Oxford.”
The Greyhounds lost to Torrington, 6-1, on April 18. Bethany Carroll, Salvati, Allen and Mullin collected the hits for Naugy.
It didn’t take long for Naugy to get back in the win column as they improved to 5-3 on the season by earning a 13-1 victory over St. Paul on April 20. Aryn Bombery led the parade, belting a pair of home runs and driving in five runs.
Sophia Onofrio had three hits (double), one run and one RBI. Audi added three hits with an RBI while keeping the Falcons in check from the pitchers’ circle. Allen tallied three hits, with a double and three runs scored.
Naugatuck will host Woodland in a rematch of last year’s NVL championship game on April 22. This week the Greyhounds are at Oxford on Monday, April 25, at Ansonia on April 27 and home on April 29 against Crosby.
