H.S. softball: Wheeler ousts top seed to reach Class S quarterfinal

Manchester - It took the Wheeler High School softball team 21 years to win a state tournament game before its victory Tuesday in the first round.

Now the Lions have made it two straight.

No. 16 Wheeler took down top seed Cheney Tech of Manchester on Wednesday and didn't even need the regulation seven innings to do so. Wheeler earned an 18-0 victory in five innings before the mercy rule was applied.

The Lions advanced to the Class S quarterfinals and play at No. 8 Canton on Friday.

Summer Cipriani allowed one hit over five innings and was the winning pitcher. She also drove in three runs. Julie Wanstall had two hits for Wheeler (14-8).

In other games:

• Jackie Paride's RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning gave No. 8 Stonington a 1-0 win over No. 9 St. Joseph of Trumbull and a trip to the Class M state quarterfinals. The Bears (21-4) play at No. 1 Seymour on Friday.

"We beat a good team," Stonington coach Ann-Marie Houle said. "When you beat a good, competitive team, it's great for the program. They're hungry for Seymour. To be the best, you have to beat the best."

Julie Royer singled to begin the seventh and was lifted for courtesy runner Nikki Banker, who scored the winning run.

Winning pitcher Andrea Chiradio struck out seven and walked one.

• Kelli Connors went 4-for-4 and singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading No. 2 Waterford into the Class M quarterfinals with a 3-2 win over No. 18 North Branford. Connors also was the winning pitcher with four strikeouts. Jaime Dahl had an RBI single and Katelyn Haff homered for Waterford (23-1), which plays host to No. 7 Northwestern Regional of Winsted in the quarterfinals.

• St. Bernard rallied from an early deficit to beat No. 29 Trinity Catholic 4-2 in a Class S second-round game. A two-out RBI single by Amanda Carpentier in the fourth inning pulled No. 20 St. Bernard even at 2-2. Rivkah Berkman's two-out RBI single in the fifth gave St. Bernard the lead and Shoshona Berkman's RBI single in the sixth made it 4-2. Kiely Smith had two hits and scored twice and Rivkah Berkman pitched a five-hitter with nine strikeouts and no walks for St. Bernard (13-9).

• Alana Luzzio's two-run home run led No. 6 Fitch into the Class L quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over No. 11 Bacon Academy. Luzzio was also the winning pitcher, allowing four hits in seven innings for the Falcons (19-4) who play at No. 3 Rockville in the quarterfinals. Bacon finished 15-8.

• No. 11 Griswold scored the game-winning run in the top of the ninth and advanced to the Class M quarterfinals with a 5-4 win over No. 6 Oxford. The Wolverines (20-4) scored thanks to two Oxford errors. Kirsten Drobiak pitched a five-hitter, while Nicole Sylvestre doubled and tripled and Kasey Ayer had two hits for the Wolverines, who play at No. 3 Granby Memorial in the quarterfinals.

• Haley McCall went 3-for-4 with two RBI and four runs scored and Rachel Robtoy had four hits as No. 10 Lyman Memorial advanced to the Class S quarterfinals with a 13-0 win over No. 26 East Hampton. Emily Vigue struck out nine and pitched her second two-hit shutout in two days. She ended the second inning with the 400th strikeout of her career. Lyman (16-7) plays No. 2 Coginchaug of Durham in the quarterfinals.