Printer Friendly Version - Branford Hornets Softball Wins Fall Ball Championship

Pictured from the Branford Hornets fall ball softball squad are (front row) Caroline Johnson, Jillian Cofrancesco, Haley Seay, Marzia Johnson, and Paige Kelly; along with (back row) Coach Rocco Esposito, Paige Richardson, Gabriella Lucertini, Kaitlyn Dugan, Sophia Esposito, Coach Mark Johnson, Eva Mathis, Leila Czekaj, and Coach Tom Cofrancesco. Missing from the photo are coaches Rick Kelly and Renee Holzhauser and bookkeeper Shane Dugan.Photo and information courtesy of Tom Cofrancesco

The Branford Hornets fall softball team recently won the 2016 Shoreline Sting regular season division title and then went on to win the playoff championship. The Hornets finished with an 11-1 overall record after twice defeating the Connecticut Impact, a travel team, on the final weekend of play. Both games against the Impact were intense, but the Hornets held on to win them by final scores of 4-2 and 6-4.

Marzia Johnson was the anchor in the first game by pitching a no-hitter and setting the tone for the second contest in which Jillian Cofrancesco only gave up three hits through five innings of work. Gabriella Lucertini was responsible for three runs, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Paige Richardson drove in two runs for the Hornets with some timely hitting. Kaitlyn Dugan did her part by hitting a triple late in the game that pushed a run across for the Hornets. Eva Mathis made an incredible, on-the-run catch in center field that saved at least one run from scoring. Team captain Sophia Esposito was a rock behind the plate for Branford, leading the club in batting average on the season, while finishing third in on-base percentage.

“It was a total team win. Everyone did a little something to contribute to this successful season and championship,” Coach Tom Cofrancesco said. “I think the awesome thing about this team is that everyone knew their role. They worked hard all summer long, they showed up for practices, they put the team first above their own needs. No one complained about playing this position or that position or sitting on bench when it was their time. They did whatever the coaches asked them to do and they all bought into the system and what the game-plan was each week. The coaches and I are over the top proud of this group.”

Marzia Johnson was named Branford’s Most Valuable Player for the championship series against the Impact, while Esposito was the team’s MVP for the season. Additionally, Cofrancesco, Lucertini, Richardson, and Mathis all received game balls for their performances against the Impact. Leila Czekaj, Dugan, Caroline Johnson, Paige Kelley, and Hailey Seay were the other athletes on Branford’s championship roster. The team was coached by Tom Cofrancesco, Rocco Esposito, and Mark Johnson, along with batting coach Rick Kelly and pitching coach Renee Holzhauser. Shane Dugan was the bookkeeper for Branford.