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CHS Varsity Softball

CHESHIRE CT SPORTS

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JV Softball

Cheshire
Coach: Maureen DiSorbo (fifth season)
Coaching record: 92-32

2008 record: 20-5 overall; 7-1 in the SCC Housatonic, conference
champions. The Rams lost in the second round of the Class LL state
tournament 6-3 to Westhill.

Key graduation losses: Megan Ciarlelli, All-SCC centerfielder Taylor
Abelli and RF Breanna Fournier.

Captains: Srs. Emily Amento and Linda Amarante

Key returnees: Sr. C Amento (.300, 12 RBI), sr. P/1B Amarante (.380),
sr. 3B Kim Silva (.406, 20 runs scored, 16 RBI), sr. P/DH Christina
Orcutt (.326), sr. LF Cassidy Kushner (.310), jr. 1B Allison Fountain, jr.
SS Gina Gongaware, jr. 2B Lindsay Pandajis

Promising newcomers: Jr. IF/OF Nina Calhoun, so. OF Ali Giannone
and so. P Brittany Orcutt.

Outlook: The experienced Rams have high hopes for this upcoming
season following last year's SCC Housatonic championship behind
rich pitching staff and a tight defense. Cheshire should be a legitimate
Class LL state title contender.
Amarante and Orcutt provide a nice two-headed monster on the mound
for the Rams. Amarante is a southpaw who places her fastball well
and uses a drop ball, curve ball and change up to keep opposing hitter
off-balanced. She finished with a 11-3 record and a 0.35 ERA and will
be heading to Div. II C.W. Post on a full scholarship next year.
Orcutt is a right hander who features a fastball, change up, drop ball
screwball and a rise ball.
Offensively, DiSorbo said he team has something to prove.
"We put up strong numbers last year due to our change in focus during
practice; using live pitching more to work on offense and gain more
experience for our starters at the plate," DiSorbo said. "Although
defense is always the focus, the coaching staff will continue to give
more time offensively doing live hitting during practice."

Rams Drop Opener to Mercy 2-0
Cheshire dropped their home opener 2-0 to Mercy High School .
Linda Amarante pitched for Cheshire, giving up 5 hits, two of which
were back to back triples to give Mercy a 1-0 lead in the first.
Cheshire scattered 4 hits, but were unable to score. Another triple
for Mercy in the 4th coupled with a walk initiated the 1st and 3rd play
with less than two outs. We got the girl out on a steal but were
unable to get the girl out at home scoring the second run. The
Rams will travel to Milford to take on Jonathan Law on Saturday.
Game time is 11:00 as Cheshire will try to rebound from this
setback.

Cheshire 3 Lyman Hall 1
Christina Orcutt hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh
inning to lead the Cheshire softball team to a 3-1 comeback victory
over Lyman Hall. Linda Amarante picked up the win for the Rams.
Emily Amenta added an RBI single in the 3-run 7th

The Rams (1-1) had just one hit off Lyman Hall (2-1) pitcher Lauren
Zambrano through six innings.

Cheshire 13 Jonathan Law 3
Kim Silva had a home run, a triple and 4 RBI to lead the Rams over
Law 13-3. Lindsay Pandajis also added 4 RBI for Cheshire. Linda
Amarante notched 7 strikeouts for the winners who advance to 2-1
on the season. The Rams will face Shelton Wednesday at home.

CHESHIRE 200 711 1--12 19 2
LAW 002 000 1-- 3 11 2
Records: Cheshire 2-1, Law 1-2.
Batteries: C--Linda Amarante (W, 2-1) and Emily Amento;
L--Christine Akcer (L, 1-2) and Melissa Nelson.
Home runs: C--Amento, Kim Silva.
Highlights: C--Amento and Silva each went 3-for-5. Lindsay
Pandajis had two hits and three RBIs. L--Nelson had three hits and
scored twice. Michelle Nantel and Krysta Kubik each had two hits.

Rams Move to 3-1 With 18-2 Win Over Shelton
Silva, Marcucilli Lead Offense
Freshman Anna Marcucilli went 4-5 with a homerun, a triple, and 5 RBI
to lead the Rams to their third straight win 18-2 over Shelton. Kim Silva
continued her amazing week with a homerun, a triple, and 6 RBI in a
game that was over after 5 innings due to the mercy rule. Christina
Orcutt picked up the win for Cheshire striking out 6 along the way.

Amarante Near Perfect vs Sheehan 3-0
Linda Amarante lost a perfect game when Nicole Papale singled to
center with two outs in the seventh. Amarante struck out nine and also
contributed three hits and two RBI for Cheshire (4-1). Amarante
improves her pitching record to 3-1 on the year. Sheehan drops to 2-3
on the season. Since the opening day loss to Mercy, the Rams are 4-0
and outscoring their opponents 34-6. The Rams will play at Hamden
on Monday at 3:45 before hosting Amity Wednesday at 3:45.

Softball Moves to 5-1 with 3-0 Win
Christina Orcutt struck out 7 against Guilford, leading Cheshire to the
shutout win. Emily Amento, Gina Gongaware and Linda Amarante had
the Ram RBI in the win. Orcutt gave up 5 hits and walked one to
improve her record to 2-0 on the season.

Cheshire 1 North Haven 0
Freshman Caroline Kushner lined an RBI single in the 5th inning,
giving Linda Amarante the only run she would need as the Rams
shutout North haven 1-0 Monday. Amarante improved to 5-1 on the
year giving up only 3 hits, walking one, while striking out 7. Emily
Amento went 2-3 for Cheshire, now 6-1 on the year. North Haven
drops to 5-4

Rams Beat Amity, Fall to Hand
The Cheshire Softball team beat Amity on Monday 1-0 on a Kim Silva
RBI single in the 3rd inning. Linda Amarante was the winning pitcher,
striking out 7, walking two while scattering 3 hits. The win moved the
Rams to 7-1 on the season and Amarante is 5-1 on the year. On
Tuesday, Cheshire dropped a close one to Hand 7-6, letting a 6-3 lead
slip away. The loss dropped the Rams to 7-2. Hand is now 8-2.
Christina Orcutt was the starting pitcher for Cheshire, going 4 2/3
innings yielding 5 runs on 7 hits, walking 4 and striking out 3. Linda
Amarante went 1 2/3, picking up the loss, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits
while striking out 1. Amarante went 4-4 at the plate, scoring two runs
while Kim Silva continued her productive season with a two run triple
while also scoring 2 runs. Meghan Miller was the winning pitcher for
Hand, going the distance giving up 6 runs (5 earned), on 8 hits. She
struck out 5 and walked 2. The Rams will try to get some revenge on
Friday when they travel to Mercy for a rematch of the opening game 2-0
loss. Mercy is 8-0 on the season.

Rams Get Revenge 2-1
Marcucilli Single Hands Mercy 1st Loss
Anna Marcucilli’s single with one out in the sixth scored Allison
Fountain with the winning run as Cheshire edged Mercy, 2-1, in an
SCC softball game called in the middle of the seventh Friday because
of rain in Middletown.

Fountain led the Rams (8-2) with three hits. Linda Amarante pitched a
three-hitter with five strikeouts. Lindsay Pandajis played well
defensively at second base for Cheshire, which avenged an earlier
loss to Mercy (10-1).

Cassidy Kushner drove in the first Cheshire run in the fourth. The win
gives the Rams the magic 8 wins needed to qualify for the CIAC State
Tournament with a chance to now play for a high seeding.

Rams Win Wild Game in 13 Innings 5-4
Marcucilli Triple Ties, Kushner Suicide Squeeze Wins
Johnathan law pitcher Christina Akcer cracked a home run in the top of
the 13th inning to give her team a 4-3 lead. All she needed was to get
three more outs in the bottom of the inning to gain herself and her
team a win and a big upset over 8-2 Cheshire. She got one of them.
Alison Fountain singled to put the tying run on base with one out.
Freshman Anna Marcucilli then ripped an RBI triple to tie the game and
Cassady Kushner won the game with a suicide squeeze, scoring
Marcucilli with the winning run in a thrilling 5-4 game. The Rams (9-2)
were led on the mound by Linda Amarante who went the distance
giving up 10 hits and striking out 13. Law dropped to 5-7 on the
season. In a very busy week, weather permitting the Rams will play at
Hamden Tuesday, home against a tough Lyman Hall squad
Wednesday and then travel to Shelton on Friday. Cheshire stand 8th
ranked team in LL and a top ten team in the Register poll (#8).

Amarante, Silva Lead
Rams Past Sheehan 6-0
Linda Amarante pitched a one-hitter,
striking out 14 as Cheshire improved its
record to 11-3 beating Sheehan 6-0. Kim
Silva had two triples for the Rams scoring
two runs. Allison Fountain also had a big
day at the plate, going 3-3 with a run scored
and an RBI. The Rams will face Hamden
on Wednesday. Sheehan dropped to 6-8
on the year.

Rams Bounce Back, Beat Shelton 7-0
Christina Orcutt pitched a 3 hit shutout to improve her
record to 3-0 on the year as the Rams blasted Shelton
7-0 on Friday. Alison Fountain had a two-run triple to
lead the Ram offense. Gina Gongaware also added
an RBI single while going 2-4. Kim Silva continued
her hot hitting, also going 2-4 for Cheshire. The losing
pitcher for Shelton was Chelsea McDonnell who gave
up 12 hits while striking out 7. Cheshire is now 10-3
on the year and 6-1 in the Housy. Shelton drops to 5-8
overall and 0-5 in the division. Cheshire next plays
Monday at Sheehan at 3:45.

Zambrano Halts Cheshire Offense 3-2
Lauren Zambrano threw a three-hitter with 13
strikeouts and Lyman Hall scored on an error in the
bottom of the seventh to lead the Trojans over the
Rams 3-2. Zambrano is now 10-3 on the year. Linda
Amarante took the tough luck loss for Cheshire. She
gave up 2 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 strikeouts. The
Ram defense struggled in this one, committing three
errors including the one that scored the winning run
for LH. Kim Silva was again a bright spot for the
Rams going 2-3 with 2 RBI. Lyman Hall is now 10-3
overall and 3-2 in the Housy. Cheshire is 9-3 and 5-1
in the division. The Rams will try to shore up the
defense for today's game at Hamden (3-8) and
Friday's Housy Division game at Shelton (5-7).

Cheshire 6, North Haven 0
Linda Amarante tossed a four-hitter to improve her record to
12-4 and Kim Silva slammed a three-run homer for the
Rams.
Ali Gainnone added a two-run triple for Cheshire (15-4), and
Emily Amento went 2-4, including a RBI double. North
Haven drops to 11-8 on the year.

Hand 6 Cheshire 3
The bad news is that the Cheshire Softball team dropped a tough decision
to hand of Madison on Friday 6-3. The good news is that the two teams may
be on a collision course for a rematch/showdown in the SCC Tournament
which starts Tuesday night. Hand is the 1 seed and Cheshire is the 3. If
both can work their way through the first two rounds, they would meet in the
finals. Not the easiest task for each team, especially the Rams who have #2
Mercy on their side of the draw. Tonight, the Rams spotted Hand a 6-0 lead,
put together a late game rally in the 6th but it was too little too late for
Cheshire(15-5). Linda Amarante took the loss for the Rams. She drops to
12-5 on the year. She gave up the 6 runs, all earned, on 8 hits, walking 5
and striking out 2. Amarante did her best to help herself, going 2-3 at the
plate with an RBI single. Kim Silva added a two run triple in the sixth inning
rally that fell short. Both teams have finished very successful regular
seasons with high hopes for a deep run in the state tourney as well as the
SCC

CHS 2 Conard 1, Rams on to 2nd Round
Kim Silva tripled in Gina Gongaware and Linda Amarante helped
herself, driving in Silva with a sacrifice fly in what turned out to be the
winning run as Cheshire advanced to the second round of the CIAC
State Tourney. Cheshire will face upset winner Bristol Central who
upset Newington to advance. Amarante picked up the win against
Conard giving up three hits and striking out 4 to improve her record
to 14-6. Tuesday's game is at CHS at 3:30

Linda Amarante wasn't about to miss this chance. All that stood in
the way of a matchup with Masuk and Rachele Fico was Bristol
Central. Amarante made sure it would happen.....and her
teammates decided to pound the ball around the park a bit as well
as the Rams pounded Central 6-0. After retiring the first 19 batters,
it looked as though a bloop single would break it up, but Lindsay
Pandajas caught it over her shoulder to preserve the gem.
Amarante collected 10 strikouts in the win.

As for the offense, I asked for more runs today, and I got it. Emily
Amento went 3-4 with an RBI single. Alison Fountain had an RBI
double. Ali Gianone added an RBI triple. Anna Marcucilli had an
RBI single and Linda helped herself with a double. Kim Silva led
the running game with 2 of the three stolen bases by the Rams.
They will need all of that on Saturday against Fico and Masuk. The
LSU bound Senior has an almost unbelievable record of 103-2 for
her career and 24-0 this year. Masuk has won 75 straight games

Amarante Practices For Matchup With Fico
CHS Lefty Throws Perfect Game vs Bristol Central

Cheshire Comes Oh, so close at Masuk
Lose Heartbreaker 1-0 in 10 Innings
Rachelle Fico was outstanding on Saturday. She had to be! Linda
Amarante matched zeros with the All American for 9 innings with the
help of great defense from Lindsay Pandajas and Allison Fountain.
Masuk and Fico are now 25-0 and advance to the Semifinals to play
Southington, who upset Simsbury 1-0 Saturday. Fico, who will be
attending LSU on a full softball scholarship, allowed two hits, while
striking out 27. Amarante (15-7) gave up 3 hits, striking out 3,
walking 1 and hitting 4 batters. Cheshire finishes 18-7 on the year.