By Ron P. Coderre

The five local girls’ high school softball teams that qualified for the CIAC postseason officially closed the scorebook as all went down to defeat after putting up valiant efforts.

Putnam and Tourtellotte both extended their seasons by one extra contest by winning their opening games.  Plainfield, Ellis Tech and Woodstock Academy exited tournament play after one game.

Tourtellotte & Putnam Capture 

Opening Games

Putnam High School, seeded #19 opened tournament play against a familiar rival #14 Ellis Tech in a game played in Danielson.  The Lady Clippers and Lady Golden Eagles had split two games during the regular season.  In the postseason, Putnam behind the tosses of MacKenzie Livingston prevailed 9-2.  Ellis Tech closes the books on 2016 at 13-9.

Livingston, who’s started 21 of Putnam’s 23 games this season, was outstanding in the circle striking out 10 Tech batters.  Her 10 K’s gave her 204 on the season.  Her effort projected her for the second time in her four year career to more than 200 strikeouts in a season.

The Lady Clippers then moved on to face #3 seed Wamogo in a Second Round contest.  Despite a nine strikeout performance by Livingston, Putnam fell 9-1 to the higher seed essentially closing down their season.  Livingston had two of Putnam’s five hits in the game.  The Lady Clippers finish the year with a respectable 14-10 log.

Tourtellotte, seeded #17, faced off against #16 seed Coventry in a First Round game and emerged victorious 8-4.  Christina Kopacz had a big day at the plate with a pair of doubles and four runs-batted-in to pace the Lady Tigers offense.  Abby Poirier and Carinne Sosnowski each scored two runs in the game as Tourtellotte erupted with four runs in the fifth inning, breaking a 2-2 tie.

Thanks to the luck of the draw, Tourtellotte’s fate was to face #1 seed Holy Cross of Waterbury in its next contest.  The Lady Tigers threw a scare into the #1 Crusaders before falling 4-2.  Poirier was 2-for-3 in the loss and Sosnowski opened the game with a triple and scored a run for Tourtellotte, which finishes the season at 14-9.

Woodstock Academy seeded #18 played #15 Joel Barlow and fell by a score of 6-1.  Rylee Hehir had two hits in the loss for the Lady Centaurs who close the 2016 books at 11-10.

Plainfield, a #25 seed, faced archrival #8 Griswold in a First Round game and was shutout by the Wolverines 4-0.  The Lady Panthers finish the season at 10-12.