St. Bernard Finally Gets Its Chance

By Ned Griffen, Day Sports Writer

Published on 6/06/2007 by The Day

St. Bernard High School team doesn't need any motivation headed into today's CIAC Class S softball semifinal.

The Saints will play two-time defending champion Coginchaug of Durham, which has been their nemesis the past two seasons. The Blue Devils beat St. Bernard in the second round last year and in the semifinals in 2005.

St. Bernard plays Coginchaug at Veterans Field in East Lyme at 4 p.m. Following that game, No. 9 Lyman Memorial meets No. 5 Terryville at 7 p.m.

“We played (Coginchaug) with five sophomores and two freshman (in 2005), and they're all still on the team,” Saints coach Andrea Gaines said. “So seven of them have vivid memories of Coginchaug taking them out of the running for the finals. That's given them some determination to bring with them.

“We've not just happy to get into the semifinals. We'd like to see an All-Eastern Connecticut Conference final.”

Both Class S games are among several events being held today involving local athletes and teams. Two straight days of inclement weather has thrown CIAC tournament play into disarray. And although southeastern Connecticut had nothing but blue skies Tuesday, other portions of the state were hit with anything from heavy rain to hail, forcing a rash of postponements.

No. 5 Griswold will play top-seeded Seymour in a Class M semifinal at West Haven at 7 p.m.

In baseball, Eastern Connecticut State University will play host to a Class M doubleheader. No. 11 Montville plays No. 7 Seymour at 3:30 p.m., followed by top-seeded Waterford against No. 5 Woodland Regional of Beacon Falls at 7 p.m.

In addition, top-seeded St. Bernard will play No. 12 Trinity Catholic of Stamford in a Class S semifinal at Muzzy Field in Bristol at 7 p.m.

The CIAC State Open track and field meet was postponed for the second straight day will be held today at Willowbrook Park in New Britain at 1:30 p.m. The Division III golf tournament, which began Tuesday before play was suspended by rain, will conclude today at Fairview Farms Golf Course in Harwinton at 8 a.m.

There are two softball games scheduled for Thursday. No. 4 Norwich Free Academy plays No. 9 Cheshire in a Class LL semifinal at DeLuca Field in Stratford at 7 p.m., while the Class L semifinal between No. 3 Waterford and No. 7 Bacon Academy — which was originally scheduled for Monday — will be played at West Haven at 7 p.m.

St. Bernard (19-4) won its third straight ECC Small Division title this year and Gaines said the team has been hitting its stride of late.

“We're kind of a blue collar team,” Gaines said. “It's been all nine or 10 or 16 players fulfilling roles. ... I think we've done an exceptional job of growing and improving over the course of the season. I think we're in a good place right now; kind of firing on all cylinders. Our defense was error-free last week or so and we're hitting the ball pretty well. We just need to get through (today).”

Griswold (23-3), like St. Bernard, is playing a program with great history. Seymour has won 77 straight games and is the defending champion. The Wildcats also won the Class L title in 2004 and 2005.

Wolverines coach Rick Arremony acknowledges that his team will be considered the underdog, but has confidence in his team based on how they've fared in a tough ECC.

“The only teams we lost to this year was NFA twice, and they're in the LL semifinals,” Arremony said, “and in the first week of the season, we lost to Waterford. That game was 1-0, and they're in the L semifinals. We've played (and beaten) Bacon three times. I think we've played some quality teams, and we've been successful. I think we have a good team because of the great teams we've played against.”

NFA (23-1), which won both the ECC Large Division and conference title, will have had a five day break between games when it finally plays Thursday. Coach Jim Cotter said that is a concern, but said his team has had a laid back approach.

“This team, more than any other team I've had lately, they just seem to go with the flow,” Cotter said. “If we have to change things on the fly, like (Tuesday) with the weather, they just seem to handle every challenge that we give to them.

“It was funny. At the beginning of the season, it felt like we were trying to find our way. We lost to Fitch early and were down to our last out versus Waterford (a 3-2 win on April 19). We were kind of stumbling a little bit there, but I felt like this was the team that had the ability to play well down the stretch.”

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