Around Town

Keshin Twins Drive in Eight, Lead Rams to 16-1 Rout of McMahon

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Coming off Monday’s huge win over Stamford, the New Canaan Rams softball team wasn’t about to set itself up for a letdown Wednesday afternoon at Brien McMahon High School. Led by Molly Keshin’s 2-for-2, five-RBI performance, the Rams scored twice in the first inning and added seven runs in the second on their way to a five-inning 16-1 win over the Senators. “I’m very happy,” New Canaan head coach Danielle Simoneau told NewCanaanite.com. “They were selective at what they were swinging at–they weren’t over-anxious.” Any anxiety New Canaan might have felt coming into a potential trap game was quickly overcome in the first inning.

Sports

New Canaan Softball Tops Greenwich

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After three rainouts and nearly a week removed from the scheduled start of the season, the New Canaan Rams softball team could hardly contain its excitement to get out on the field Friday afternoon at Greenwich High School. It didn’t take long for New Canaan to release some of that pent-up exuberance, as the Rams scored five runs in the first inning and never looked back en route to a 15-3 six-inning win over the Cardinals. “It’s huge,” New Canaan head coach Danielle Simoneau said of New Canaan’s fast start. “Practicing is good, but being able to practice and executing is huge and they did it. And once they realized, ‘Oh, we can do this’ they just let their ability do the rest.”

Sports

Experienced New Canaan Softball Team Eyes Return to Postseason Prominence

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After an up-and-down 2015 campaign that saw the Rams finishing with a 7-13 record and missing the State playoffs by one game, the goal for New Canaan softball is very clear heading into the 2016 season. Make the postseason. With only two players having graduated last spring, a return to the FCIAC and State playoffs is not expected to be too far of a reach for this year’s squad. Even with the additional loss of would-be senior captain Claire Conley—the last member of the 2013 FCIAC Championship team—who switched over to track this spring, the number of returning starters should keep the Rams in contention in what should be a wide-open conference this year. If New Canaan is going to fulfill their promise in 2016, they’ll be doing it without any named captains this season.

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.

Government

Girls’ Softball Fields To Get Same Dugout Canopies Enjoyed By New Canaan Baseball Players

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Parks officials have voiced unanimous support for a plan that will see the main girls’ softball field get the same canopies over players’ benches that already grace boys’ youth and varsity baseball fields at Mead Park and Saxe Middle School. New Canaan Baseball Softball Inc. will pay the approximately $15,000 cost to purchase the canopies and have them installed by a contractor, New Canaan Softball President Rob Moore told members of the Park & Recreation Commission at their Feb. 10 meeting. “When you are talking about June, July and August, you’ve got 90 degree heat,” Moore said at the meeting, held in the Douglas Room at Lapham Community Center. “When it’s raining, why shouldn’t we be able to give the girls the same shade and comfort from the elements that the boys get?”

The “Orchard Field” at Waveny—the first one on the right as cars climb the crest of the hill coming from the South Avenue side—is home to the New Canaan High School girls’ varsity softball team, as well as youth and travel teams in town.