Softball Moves On to SWC Semis, Baseball Knocked Out of Playoffs

Softball - SWC Quarterfinals:

With summer-like weather finally arriving in the area, the Lady Bobcats had to keep from melting down in the heat to hold off New Fairfield in the opening round of the SWC playoffs.  When the tension was at its hottest point, the number four seed Brookfield kept cool and came away with a tense 3-2 victory at home.

"I could tell a lot of the players were laboring a little bit out there," Brookfield head coach Frank Bonacci said of the team dealing with sudden change in temperatures and conditions.  "We did what we had to do, I knew this wasn't going to be an easy game.  We always play good games with them and it was just that — a good game."

The Lady Bobcats took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when the meat of their lineup came up with back-to-back-to-back hits.  With one out, Felicia Lennon stroked a single.  Wendi Westmark knocked her in with a double and Melissa Pierce drove in Westmark with a single.

New Fairfield loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fourth inning but starting pitcher Brittany Fusek came up with back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat and hold the lead.

Brookfield would then score what turned out to be the winning run in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Jessie Angelo would beat out an infield hit with one out to start the rally.  Danielle DeMarco moved Angelo into scoring position with a single, her second of the game. Lennon then came up with her second hit of the game to drive in Angelo for a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead.

Three straight hits in the fifth inning by the Lady Rebels quickly erased the comfort however.  A bases loaded walk following the consecutive hits would bring in the first run for New Fairfield and the fourth single of the inning would make the score 3-2.  Fusek again was able to battle through the heat and work her way out of the jam.  She induced a pop-up to third base before getting her fifth strikeout of the game to end the rally.

The tense moments were only beginning for Brookfield as New Fairfield wouldn't give in.  In the sixth inning the Lady Rebels got a leadoff single that was followed by a hit batsman to put two runners on.  After the runners advanced to second and third Brookfield's defense came up big.  

Angelo came on to catch a ball in center field and deliver a strike to the plate to hold the runner at third.  Lennon then climbed the ladder to come up with a catch on a hard line drive to shortstop to keep Brookfield in front.

After imploring the team between innings to fight through the heat, Fusek worked a perfect one, two, three seventh inning to get the win.  Westmark snared a hard liner to first for the final out.

"I'm waiting for kids to pick up the pace and do that," Bonacci said of Fusek at times taking on the role of a vocal leader.  "Take advantage of being a leader of a team.  I need someone to step up.  We're not going to just win, we have to go out there and prove it and show teams that we are there and we have to have players who show their teammates that they are going to lead the team and that we have to follow them."

Brookfield will play in the second game of the semi-finals on Thursday to be held at Deluca Field in Stratford.  They will face the number one seed Masuk, a team they have beaten twice in the past week and a half.

Baseball - SWC Semi-Final:

Making their first ever appearance in the SWC semi-final game, Brookfield had the tall task of knocking off a defending champion Pomperaug team that had beaten them handily twice already this season.

The Bobcats were energized to start the game and jumped on the Panthers with a run in the first inning for an early, albeit short-lived lead.  Pomperaug would respond with three runs of their own in the first inning and three more in the second to take a commanding 6-1 lead en route to a devastating 16-4 win.

Brookfield's best chance to put Pomperaug on their heels came in the opening inning when Evan Mozingo delivered a double down the right field line with two men on base.  Austin Yusko would score and Janco Cornelius raced towards the plate behind him but he was called out on a bang-bang play.

Starting pitcher Harlan Zeerip couldn't hold the lead for long as he was unable to contain the potent Pomperaug attack.  Zeerip, who was making his first start since since suffering an arm injury caused by a line drive while pitching, worked into the second inning before giving way to Yusko.

Yusko kept the game in check into the fourth inning when Brookfield tried to rally from a 7-1 deficit.  The Bobcats were able to put together a two-out rally that saw Bryson Herr deliver a run scoring single and the team loaded the bases, forcing Pomperaug to make its own pitching change.  The Bobcats were unable to come up with another big hit however and were forced to settle for just the one run.

The Panthers put the game away for good in the bottom of the fourth when they scored three more runs with two outs for a 10-2 lead.

Brookfield will lick its wounds and turn its attention to the upcoming state playoffs.  

Amazingly, earlier in the day, the team played its final regular season game of the year.  Due to the extensive amount of rain their game against Danbury had yet to be played (as was the case with many other teams in the area still scrambling to complete their seasons).  The state playoff committee mandated  that the two teams complete the game on an afternoon when the Bobcats would be playing in a conference semi-final in the evening or risk being disqualified from the state tournament.

Using mostly back-ups, Brookfield knocked off the Hatters — who played their starters — 6-1.  Jeff Faber picked up the win and A.J. Cresci led the team by going 2-for-3 and driving in two runs.