Masuk was voted No. 1 in the state for the fourth straight year while Fairfield Ludlowe and Danbury were the two teams from the FCIAC who were ranked in the Final 2022 GameTimeCT Top 10 Softball Poll.
Kat Gallant, Masuk’s superb ace senior pitcher, led the Panthers to the CIAC Class L Softball Tournament championship for the fourth consecutive year and that was what led to Masuk receiving eight of 14 first-place votes for that fourth straight No. 1 ranking.
Fairfield Ludlowe was ranked No. 4 while Danbury was No. 7 as the two FCIAC teams in the final Top 10. They both were eliminated in the semifinals of the Class LL state tournament.
It was a pair of perennial powers – Masuk (26-1) and state Class LL champion Southington – in the top two spots.
Masuk, which reeled off 26 straight wins after its season-opening 2-0 loss at Fairfield Ludlowe, received 406 points. Southington received three first-place votes and 390 polling points.
Woodland, which had a perfect 27-0 season after winning the state Class M championship, had the other three first-place votes and 372 polling points.
Fourth-ranked Fairfield Ludlowe, the FCIAC champion, took the No. 1 ranking into the state Class LL tournament. Ludlowe’s third-seeded Falcons finished 26-2 after their 7-3 loss to Southington in the semifinals.
Southington then won its third consecutive Class LL title with a convincing 13-1 victory over Bristol Central and that gave the Blue Knights the national record of 20 state championships. They were tied with two other teams going into this season.
Class L runner-up Waterford (22-5) was ranked fifth and Class LL runner-up Bristol Central (22-4) was No. 6.
Danbury’s seventh-ranked Hatters finished 23-3 after their 4-1 loss to Bristol Central in the Class LL semifinals.
They were followed by Cromwell (22-3), East Haven (23-3) and Hall (18-5) in the Top 10.
St. Joseph and Trumbull were the two FCIAC teams among the 15 total in the “Also receiving votes” category. St. Joseph (18-7) received the 12th most polling points and Trumbull (17-7) got the 15th most among the 25 teams who received votes.
St. Joseph and Trumbull both advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 FCIAC Softball Tournament.
Top-seeded Fairfield Ludlowe defended its conference crown with a 2-0 victory over second-seeded Danbury after the Falcons defeated fourth-seeded Trumbull, 13-2, in the semifinals. Danbury advanced with a 2-0 victory over third-seeded St. Joseph.
There were 15 players selected to the 2022 All-FCIAC Softball First Team. Fairfield Ludlowe, St. Joseph, and Stamford led the way with three selections apiece.
Alex Lewey of Fairfield Ludlowe was one of the three pitchers chosen while her teammates Chelsea Villar and Rosanna Merturi were among the 10 fielders selected.
Lauren Wasikowski of St. Joseph was another first-team pitcher and her teammates Niamh Dougherty and Jillian Guilfoyle made it as fielders.
Sam Albert of Stamford was one of the two all-conference catchers, and her teammates Cassie Robotti and Charlie Karukas made the first team as fielders.
Haley Pucci was one of the three pitchers and Cassandra Pinho made it as a fielder for Danbury.
Jen Westphal of Staples was the other catcher on the all-conference first team while the three other fielders were Fairfield Warde’s Gabby Mercado, Trumbull’s Caroline Cummngs, and Westhill’s Kara Sciglimpaglia.
Cindy Judge of Brien McMahon was named the Coach of the Year.