It was a wild week as the regular season came to an end for Southington High sports teams. Teams scrambled to get as many games in as possible before the tournament deadlines. Throw in the announcement of a new Blue Knights' head football coach and it made for a hectic week at Southington High.
Wednesday, May 25 – Football
Defensive coordinator promoted to head coach
Mike Drury was named the Blue Knights' head coach, following the departure of one-year coach D.J. Hernandez. Drury, 28, was Southington's defensive coordinator last season and was the unanimous choice of the search committee from a field of more than 40. Mike's father Chuck, the long-time head coach at Pomperaug High in Southbury, stepped down on Wednesday to join his son on the Blue Knights' staff.
Saturday, May 28 - Boys Lacrosse
Class L: Southington 13, Westhill 9 @ Southington
The 13th-seeded Blue Knights (11-6) opened postseason play with the qualifying- round victory over No. 20 Westhill at home. Southington travels to Fairfield Prep to face the No. 4 Jesuits Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in a first-round game.
Saturday, May 21 - Boys Lacrosse
Glastonbury 13, Southington 7 @ Glastonbury
Matt Prezioso scored four goals and Zach Wholley had two goals and an assist as Southington dropped its final regular season game. Billy Thomson had 15 saves for the Blue Knights.
Thursday, May 26 – Baseball
New Britain 8, Southington 7 @ New Britain
Southington (15-5) couldn't hold on to a 7-6 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning in dropping its regular season finale. Tyler Burns went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI and Ben Nichols had three hits including two doubles and an RBI for Southington. The seventh-seeded Blue Knights host No. 26 Ridgefield in a first-round CIAC Class LL state tournament game Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 25 - Baseball
Southington 11, Newington 3 @ Newington
Sal Romano (8-1) allowed one hit in six innings, striking out 10 while walking three. Alex Roger went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI for Southington.
Wednesday, May 25 – Baseball
Southington 6, Northwest Catholic 5 @ Southington
The Blue Knights returned home for Senior Night after the road win at Newington, using a hit by Zach Niles following a double by Sal Romano to break a 5-5 tie and score the winning run.
Tuesday, May 24 – Baseball
Berlin 5, Southington 1 (6) @ Berlin
Southington led 1-0 heading into the sixth inning, but gave up five runs before heavy rain stopped the game. The Blue Knights were initially awarded a 1-0 victory by game officials, but was reversed according to National Federation rules.
Saturday, May 21 – Baseball
Southington 9, Farmington 1 @ Farmington
Chris Lee went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Ben Nichols went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI for Southington. Zach Niles went 3-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI for Southington, which was the home team when the Blue Knights' field was deemed unplayable.
Tuesday, May 24 - Boys and Girls Track
CCC West Championships @ Hall HS, West Hartford
Both teams finished in seventh place out of eight teams at the divisional meet. The Blue Knights' girls team finished with 45 1/4 points as Simsbury (195) finished first. Southington's boys team totaled 63 points with Simsbury (156 1/2) finishing atop the scoring chart. The Class LL meet is slated for Tuesday at Willow Brook Park in New Britain. Dan Snyder is the Blue Knights' highest seed at No. 7 in the javelin for the boys, while Cherraine Davis is the top seed in the shot put and discus for the Southington girls. Erica Kosienski is seeded No. 2 in the 100.
Thursday, May 26 – Softball
Northwest Catholic 5, Southington 2 @ West Hartford
The Blue Knights' 16-game winning streak came to an end with the loss in the regular season finale. Northwest Catholic jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on the way to the victory. Four of the Indians' runs were unearned and the Blue Knights (17-2) finished with only three hits. Southington drew a first-round bye for the CIAC Class LL tournament and will host the Fairfield Ludlowe-Staples winner Wednesday in a second-round game at 4 p.m.
Wednesday, May 25 – Softball
Southington 16, Farmington 1 (5)
Michelle Sirois had three hits and three RBI as the Blue Knights rolled to the mercy-rule victory. Caitlin Downes went 3-for-3 with a double and four RBI and Julia Bocek had a triple and double for Southington.
Tuesday, May 24 – Softball
Southington 7, Hall 0 @ West Hartford
Senior All-State pitcher Jess Davenport returned for the first time since April 14 due to a right knee injury, tossing two innings in the Blue Knights' road win. Jordyn Moquin had three hits and pitched the final five innings in a game in which Southington was the home team. Nicole Rossitto went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Julia Bocek went 2-for-3 with one RBI for the Blue Knights.
Monday, May 23 - Boys Volleyball
Southington 3, Glastonbury 0 @ Southington
Mike Cannata had 19 kills and Chris Sherwill had eight for the Blue Knights in the 25-6, 25-16, 25-14 win. Zac Nichols (five blocks), Vin Romano, Matt Russo and Shane Quadrato each had five kills. Ryan Masters had 26 assists and seven digs, Alex Zajda had 16 assists, Matt Macchi had eight digs and Peter Delbuono had seven digs for Southington.
Wednesday, May 25 - Boys Volleyball
Southington 3, South Windsor 0 @ South Windsor
The Blue Knights wrapped up the regular season with a 16-2 record, sweeping the Bobcats in three games. Mike Cannata had 16 kills and Dan Carbone added 14 in Southington's 25-14, 25-22, 25-22 win. Ryan Masters had 33 assists, while Carbone and Matt Macchi each had eight digs as the Blue Knights won their ninth consecutive match. Seeded No. 2, Southington opens defense of its Class L championship in the quarterfinals on Friday at home at 7 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday's first-round match between No. 10 Amity and No. 7 Greenwich.
Wednesday, May 25 - Boys Tennis
Hall 7, Southington 0 @ West Hartford
Southington (12-5) closed out the season with the loss to Hall, dropping every match in straight sets. The Blue Knights now await the draw for the Class LL tournament, which will be released Wednesday. The Class LL event begins Thursday at Hall.
Saturday, May 21 - Girls Lacrosse
Southington 16, Newington 6 @ Southington
Carolynn Keal and Gretchen Egan each scored four goals and Sarah Pelligrinelli added three in the Blue Knights' victory that clinched a ClAC Class L state tournament berth. McKenzie Watson and Madison Altweis each had two goals for Southington.
Sunday, May 22 - Girls Lacrosse
Farmington 13, Southington 11 @ Southington
Farmington rallied for the victory, scoring seven of the game's last nine goals. Sarah Pelligrinelli had four goals, while Gretchen Egan and Madison Altweis each had two for the Blue Knights.
Monday, May 23 - Girls Lacrosse
Conard 15, Southington 11 @ West Hartford
Southington concluded the regular season with the road loss to the Chieftains, finishing at 6-8 overall. The Blue Knights, seeded No. 20 in Class L, will play at No. 13 Amity-Woodbridge in a qualifying-round game Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Newington 6, Southington 1 @ Newington
Tuesday, May 24 - Girls Tennis
No. 3 Courtney Race posted the only victory for the Blue Knights in the CCC West match at the Newington Tennis Center.
Wednesday, May 25 - Girls Tennis
Hall 5, Southington 2 @ Southington
Courtney Race had the lone singles win for Southington at No. 3, taking a 6-3, 6-0 decision. The No. 2 doubles team of Emily Sherwill and Jocelyn Ceruti won 7-6, 6-2 for Southington.
Thursday, May 26 - Girls Tennis
Southington 4, Rocky Hill 3 @ Rocky Hill
Southington 6, New Britain 0 @ New Britain
The Blue Knights finished up the regular season at 11-4 with a pair of wins. Seeded No. 12, Southington plays in the CIAC Class L tournament at North Haven against No. 21 Fitch on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The winner of the match faces No. 5 North Haven immediately after in a first-round match.
Tuesday, May 24 - Boys Golf
Hall 153, Southington 159 @ Rockledge, West Hartford
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A day after a loss to Farmington at Tunxis, the Blue Knights dropped a tight match to the Warriors. Jim Stylinski (38) led Southington, followed by Aaron Skarzynski and Dave Valentukonis (40) and Kevin Twerago and Jared DeGumbia (41).
Friday, May 27 - Boys Golf
Northwest Catholic, Southington 158, Conard 158 @ Hawks Landing, Southington
After an easy win over New Britain at Stanley on Wednesday, Southington wrapped the week with a tie and a loss at home. Kevin Twerago and Dave Valentukonis each shot 39, while Aaron Skarzynski and Jim Stylinski finished at 40. Southington (4-9-1) plays St. Paul on Monday to conclude the regular season before finding out whether it qualified for the Division I tournament. The qualifiers will be released Thursday at 5 p.m.
