STORRS – Masuk had been here before. Ellington hadn’t been here in 40 years.
The undefeated Masuk softball team, which had won its last five state championships, won another one Saturday night, 4-0 over Ellington for the Class L state title at Burrill Family Field at UConn.
Junior pitcher Julia Bacoulis, who was honored as the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year last week, struck out 10 and allowed one hit for top-seeded Masuk (27-0).
Masuk beats Ellington 4-0 for the Class L softball title #ctsb pic.twitter.com/hMo90m89DX
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) June 9, 2024
Ellington’s junior pitcher Cam Fisher had 11 strikeouts but gave up five hits, including a home run to Madison Aguirre in the fifth inning.
“That’s like the most hits I’ve had in a game all season,” Fisher said. “They deserved it. It wasn’t like error after error – they hit hard ground balls, pop-ups, home run – yeah, they deserved it.
“I am proud, even though we didn’t win. Last year we made it to the semifinals. This year was one step closer. It’s good. We got to play in the championship game.”
Ellington, which hadn’t been in a state final in softball since 1984, was stopped last year in the semifinals by Masuk, losing 7-0. So the Knights knew what they were up against, but Ellington (23-3) was a more experienced team this season.
“The girls had a great season,” Ellington coach Tom Gordon said. “We were not the better team today. Masuk did a fantastic job. Our girls worked very hard, got as far as this group could go, I feel, although it would have been nice to win this one.
“They were a little nervous today which is understandable.”
Kaleigh Flaherty was the only Ellington player to get a hit against Bacoulis – a single in the first inning. After that, nothing.
“She’s freaking unreal,” Fisher said of Bacoulis. “She’s the Gatorade Player of the Year, she’s good on and off the field. I gotta give it to her. She has it all – movement, speed, everything.”
Masuk scored on an error in the third inning then got another run on a double by Aubrey Zvovushe-Ramos in the fourth. The two-run home run completed the scoring in the fifth; Fisher gave up a single and a home run and had three strikeouts in the inning.
“She pitched well,” Gordon said. “There were a couple mistakes we made in the infield which we normally don’t do – attribute that to nerves or the moment – other than that, there were only one or two bad pitches and that was really the difference in the game.
“They are a tremendous team. You make mistakes against them, they make you pay.”