The Coginchaug girls softball team was off to a great start in the Shoreline Tournament this postseason. Their first matchup on Wednesday, May 24 was against the No. 4 team, East Hampton. Earlier in the season, the Devils beat East Hampton in a close matchup on a walk-off, 4-3.

Since then, East Hampton went on to beat the top team in Shorelines, Hale Ray, which ended up being the Noises’ only Shoreline loss this season. This game turned out to be much different for the Devils. Coginchaug jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning and didn’t face much of a threat in the following innings. The Devils’ successful hitting day was too much for East Hampton to keep up with, and the Devils won 15-1.

Shortly after, Coginchaug went on to face the top-seeded team, Hale Ray, on Saturday, May 27. The scoring was very back-and-forth, but it was the Noises who went up 5-2 after six innings, after some very impressive hits. The Devils were able to add one to their score and managed to get the tying run on second base with two outs, but an impressive stop by centerfield allowed the Noises to come out victorious 5-3 over the Devils.

Following this close matchup, Coginchaug was handed the No. 21 seed in the CIAC Class M tournament, meaning they would first face the No. 12 seed, the Waterford Lancers, who last faced and defeated Coginchaug 4-3 back in 2014.

Maddie Montz was walked in the first inning, and Destiny Helmedach got a base hit, only to be sent home off a 2RBI hit by Melissa Grenier,  putting the Devils on the board 2-0 over the 12 seed in Class M. Things were shortly evened out after two innings after the Lancers tallied up one run in each of the first two innings, leaving the game at 2-2. The game was left at a stalemate for the next two innings, as neither team was able to score. Reaching the top of the fifth inning, the Devils managed to get their first three hitters (Montz, Labasi and Helmedach) on base with only one out. The Grenier sisters were next up to bat for Coginchaug, and they did not disappoint, with their impressive hits that allowed the Devils to go out 5-2 after the top of the fifth. The Lancers got one additional run that inning, leaving the game at 5-3. No score came in the sixth inning from either team and the Devils were not able to add to their score in the seventh, leaving the lead at two. The Lancers quickly added a run to cut the lead to one and managed to get runners on second and third with two outs; one strike remaining was the only thing keeping Waterford’s season alive. The Lancers had a huge hit to left field that could have easily been a game-winner, but Izzy Milardo used her quickness to her advantage and chased down the ball. This catch saved the game for the Devils and allowed Coginchaug to win 5-4.

Coginchaug is now set to face off against the No. 5 seed Granby Memorial on Wednesday, May 26 at Granby. After their big win over the Lancers, this game looks to be very competitive and will require a hard effort for either team to win.