Upsets galore in the state tournament meant this was probably the most difficult New Haven Register poll — for any sport — I’ve had to vote in over the years since there didn’t seem to be a clear-cut No. 1 team.
A week ago the big debate seemed to be who would be No. 1 if both Seymour and Foran won out in the Class M and Class L tournaments, respectively. Instead it turned out to be — who to vote for among the surprise state champions.
In the end, with only one loss and a win over Seymour — the Wildcats only setback this year — I, like 13 of the 15 voters, opted for the Class M champions Rocky Hill as my No. 1 team.
For my money, Foran was the top team I saw play this season, but the Lions lost to the eventual No. 2 team, Rockville, in the Class L final, rendering that argument moot.
Amity, which won Class LL and lost to Foran three times in the season, finished No. 3. Foran finished fourth, Seymour was fifth, including one first-place vote.
Also of note, none of the 19 teams in the FCIAC finished in the Top 10. The SWC was without a representative in the final Top 10, either.
Register Top 10
Softball Poll
Team Points Last Class
1. Rocky Hill (13) (22-1) 472 6 M
2. Rockville (1) (22-2) 444 9 L
3. Amity (1) (23-5) 382 NR LL
4. Foran (25-2) 380 2 L
5. Seymour (1) (25-1) 372 1 M
6. Southington (22-3) 308 5 LL
7. Maloney (21-2) 256 4 L
8. Coginchaug (22-4) 246 NR S
9. Waterford (24-2) 220 3 M
10. Granby (23-2) 196 NR M
Dropped out: Brookfield (7), Oxford (8) and Westhill (10).
First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis.
Others receiving votes: Brookfield (21-4), 185; Westhill (23-4), 162; Masuk (21-5), 158; Oxford (21-3), 92; Darien (22-4), 81; Law (19-4), 73; Griswold (20-5), 16; Fitch (19-5), 9; Lauralton Hall (14-6), St. Bernard (15-10), Tolland (13-9) and Torrington (21-4), 7.
The following voted: Marc Allard, Norwich Bulletin; Scott Aresco, Maloney; Mike Cardillo, Connecticut Post; George DeMaio, WELI; Maureen DiSorbo, Cheshire; Vickie Fulkerson, The Day of New London; Mike Madera, Elm City Newspapers; Suzy Miner, Hale-Ray; Theresa Napolitano, Lauralton Hall; Ken Pereiras, Seymour; Mike Pucci, New Haven Register; Lori Riley, Hartford Courant; Mike Suppe, Hersam-Acorn; Liz Sutman, Waterford; Peter Vander Veer, Hersam-Acorn; Jimmy Zanor, Shoreline Newspapers.
Poll compiled by Mike Pucci.
