Sports

Former New Canaan Pitcher Ali Reilly Stars for Babson Softball

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Ali Reilly had a busy opening weekend for the Babson College softball team, appearing in five of the Beavers’ first six games of the season. The 2014 New Canaan High School grad and current Babson sophomore struck out 11 batters in an opening day loss against Amherst in Winter Garden, Fla. on Saturday but bounced back on Sunday, earning wins against Plymouth State and Rutgers-Newark at the National Training Center in Clermount, Fla. Reilly pitched a total of nine innings in those games while giving up just four hits and zero earned runs as Babson topped the Panthers 8-0 and took a 6-2 decision against the Scarlet Raiders. After taking the loss against the University of New England in the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader, Reilly pitched 2 innings of relief against Western New England and earned the save in Babson’s 8-4 win.

Sports

Reilly Leads New Canaan Softball’s FCIAC Postseason Honors

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In a fitting coda to a brilliant four-year varsity softball career with the Rams, New Canaan’s Ali Reilly was selected to the All-FCIAC First Team. Reilly – who also made the First Team last year – had another outstanding season in the circle for New Canaan, striking out 114 batters in 95 1/3 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.23. The Babson-bound Reilly also helped herself at the plate, leading the team with a .361 batting average with 3 doubles, 3 triples and 16 RBI. Her performance in New Canaan’s 2-1 win over rival Darien was the highlight of New Canaan’s 11-11 season. “Ali worked hard and it’s another great accomplishment to add to her high school career,” New Canaan head coach Danielle Simoneau told NewCanaanite.com.

Sports

Wild Wednesday: New Canaan Baseball, Softball Notch Dramatic Wins

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Video by SportsFairfield, New Canaan High School junior Alex LaPolice walk off home run May 21, 2014
[Editor’s Note: The video above is courtesy of SportsFairfield—follow them here on Twitter, covering Fairfield, Trumbull Westport and Wilton.]

In one of the most dramatic days on the diamond in recent memory, the New Canaan Rams baseball and softball teams each pulled off improbable–and important–victories over Trumbull High School Wednesday night. Alex LaPolice’s walkoff grand slam capped off an amazing comeback for New Canaan, who entered the 7th and final inning down 4-0. The Rams seemingly had no answers for Trumbull starter Avery Santos, who went into the seventh inning looking to close out the game having given up just five runs through the first six innings. Santos, however, seemed to suddenly tire in the seventh and lose command of his pitches. Two New Canaan hits, a fielder’s choice, and a hit batter closed the gap to 4-1, loaded the bases and brought the potential winning run to the plate.

Sports

New Canaan Softball Shocks Darien, Solidifies Position in FCIAC

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What a difference a day makes. 24 hours after Tuesday’s potentially devastating 7-5 loss to a sub-.500 Trinity Catholic squad, the New Canaan Rams softball team came back and stunned the FCIAC world Wednesday afternoon at Waveny’s Orchard Field with a dramatic 2-1 upset win over #2 ranked Darien. “That’s softball,” New Canaan head coach Danielle Simoneau told NewCanaanite.com. “That’s why it’s so frustrating when you make careless mistakes because you know you’re better at the game than what we showed. But they came back today and proved we are better than what we showed.”

The game featured two of the best pitchers in the FCIAC and more than lived up to its billing.

Sports

2 Days, 3 Wins for New Canaan Softball

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Playing three games and 25 innings over two days had New Canaan’s head coach Danielle Simoneau feeling like she was in the summer tournament circuit as opposed to FCIAC play. Scheduling conflicts and rainouts made the logjam a somewhat unwelcome necessity. That said, when all was said and done, all that mattered to Simoneau were the three games the Rams added to the win column. After an 11-inning 4-3 marathon win over Danbury on Friday, the Rams swept a doubleheader on Saturday–beating Norwalk 15-9, and McMahon 4-3. “It feels great anytime you win,” Simoneau told NewCanaanite.com.