The Haddam-Killingworth softball team is certainly in the midst of a rousing run through the first half of the regular season, though as the Cougars crave championship glory, they are equally eager to find the best version of their ball club as they now set their sights on the postseason party.

H-K finished its 2022 campaign with an overall record of 20-4, notching a mark of 18-2 for the regular season. The Cougars won their first seven games before dropping a contest against Coginchaug. After that, H-K went on another long winning streak that saw the team notch eight-consecutive victories.

Following the regular season, H-K entered the Shoreline Conference as the No. 1 seed. The Cougars started off Shorelines by claiming a 13-3 victory against No. 8 seed East Hampton in a quarterfinal home game. The Cougars then faced

No. 5 seed North Branford in the semifinals of the Shoreline tourney and took a 5-0 defeat.

H-K finished its season by competing in the Class M State Tournament. As the No. 3 seed, H-K received a bye through the first round of the draw. The Cougars hosted No. 14 seed Wilcox Tech for a second-round contest and won by a 20-4 score in five innings. H-K’s next game was a quarterfinal contest against No. 6 seed Oxford at home, suffering a 7-0 defeat to conclude the campaign.

The Cougars thus far in 2023 are out to a 10-4 start. Last week, H-K edged out Cromwell at home on May 1 in a one-run affair, 3-2, to secure its spot in the Class M State Tournament. Then at North Branford on May 3, H-K dropped a tight 7-6 decision. On May 5 at Morgan, H-K routed the Huskies with a 12-3 win. In the Morgan win,

H-K Head Coach Jeff Talbott earned his 350th career victory, and the Cougars qualified for the Shoreline Conference Tournament for the 44th season in 45 years.

Talbott noted that while the Cougars have certainly defended the field and limited the run production by the opposition, he is focused on the girls developing the same steady hands in the batter’s box.

“We have some really nice kids here on this team,” said Talbott. “It is easy to get them motivated. I tell the girls that when I played baseball, I loved to hit. The one thing we need to do to help us get to our goals is to consistently hit. We just have to get those first couple of hits in a game and go from there.”

Lone senior Kaleigh Bodak is one of the Cougars’ two captains as the team’s ace, and she shares her duties as captain alongside junior first baseman Ivy McNiel. As the girls are tremendous students off of the field and in the classroom, they are textbook communicators as a magnificent medium between players and coaches.

“Both are really good players and National Honor Society members,” said Talbott. “They are also really good communicators with the rest of the team. They are truly the main flow of communication between the coaches and the rest of the team. They run parts of practices, and they are an extension of the coaching staff. It is like having two more assistant coaches with these girls.”

The junior class is quite loaded as well, despite the loss of junior Anabelle LaTorre via a torn ACL during summer ball, with Keira Czarkowski at second base and Bella Richwine over at third, plus Annabella Zajac in left field and Cheyenne LaTouche in center.

“Keira is a good fielder and quick runner,” said Talbott. “Bella was All-State as a freshman and is also a good fielder. We had a game against Coginchaug that we won 1-0 in

11 innings, and we had about nine putouts from our outfield in that game. Annabella and Cheyenne made some spectacular catches to keep that game scoreless.”

Sophomore Caley Napoletano anchors the junior infield at shortstop, and additionally, Talbott is platooning sophomores in right field with Hannah Reilly and Grace LaConte. Grace Natanzon has been a freshman phenom as a backstop at catcher who creates trepidation in the eyes of many base runners, and her class and battery mate Emma Giaccone will look to emerge as H-K’s pitcher of the future.

“Hannah and Grace are good defensively and good hitters,” said Talbott. “They are both legit outfielders. Grace is just so terrific at catcher. She has thrown out about two-thirds of people that have run on her. Some teams just will not run on her. She hits the ball really hard. Emma has done a fine job, and there will be opportunities for her to pitch more to get her ready for next year down the stretch this season.”

Versus Cromwell, McNiel’s two-out flare into short right field with runners on second and third glanced off the second baseman’s glove and fell for a hit as both runners scored the tying and winning runs for the victory. Cromwell had taken a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. H-K got one run back in the sixth on a Czarkowski RBI single. Bodak was the winning pitcher, picking up her seventh win of the season while striking out nine Cromwell batters. She also had two hits.

Against North Branford, Richwine had a pair of base knocks, including a double, two RBI, and a run for H-K. Natanzon also had two hits including a double, run, and two RBI. Napoletano had a double as well.

Napoletano had two hits and three RBI versus Morgan. McNiel had three hits and scored two runs. Bodak picked up her eighth win of the season. Natanzon smacked two home runs and finished with four RBI. She had three hits on the afternoon and scored two runs.

When it comes to climbing the ladder of success to a championship, Talbott and the Cougars take big-picture objectives of that caliber rung by rung. He explained that as the girls have been stingy on the defensive front, they are looking to round into form at just the most opportune time.

“When you look at teams looking to win the title, I like using a step-up method,” said Talbott. “This junior class has about a 43-11 record as a group. So I tell the girls that you have done it before, so take the next step, and let’s win Shorelines and advance further in states than last year. Our defense has played really well, and we only need 2-4 runs in a game. We are ready to go for the whole thing; we look to have us playing our best softball at just the right time.”

The 2023 H-K softball team roster is comprised of senior Bodak; juniors of Czarkowski, Richwine, Zajac, Ava Harriman, LaTouche, LaTorre, McNiel, Nicolette Hines; sophomores in Napoletano, Reilly, LaConte, Claire Eighmy; and freshmen with Natanzon, Giaccone, Alana Gaines, and Olivia LaTorre.

Talbott, who is in his 24th campaign at H-K’s helm, is assisted this spring by fellow coaches Kate Mayer and Carlye Kohs.

2023 Haddam-Killingworth Softball Team Regular Season Results and Schedule

April 3: H-K 7, Cromwell 0

April 5: North Branford 7, H-K 4

April 7: H-K 15, Morgan 3

April 8: H-K 23, Valley Regional 4

April 14: H-K 15, Old Saybrook 0

April 18: H-K 29, Portland 0

April 20: H-K 1, Coginchaug 0 (11 innings)

April 22: Ellington 2, H-K 1

April 24: Old Lyme 1, H-K 0

April 26: H-K 8, Hale-Ray 1

May 1: H-K 3, Cromwell 2

May 3: North Branford 7, H-K 6

May 5: H-K 12, Morgan 3

May 8: H-K 9, Valley Regional 5

Wednesday, May 10: vs. East Hampton at 3:45 p.m. (doubleheader)

Friday, May 12: at Old Lyme at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, May 16: vs. East Lyme at 4 p.m.

Wednesday, May 17: at East Granby at 4 p.m.