CT Barracudas make ginormous splash in 'Howl at the Moon' girls softball classic

By Rick Menning

With torpedo-like precision and a fighting spirit and resolve to excel, the undefeated CT Barracudas 12-under Grey girls' travel softball team dominated play in the recent CT Timberwolves Howl at the Moon Tournament in Trumbull.

Churning up the waves with a potent offensive attack and outstanding glovework, the CT Barracudas won all six games enroute to a championship showing and the exclamation point to their fantastic Fall season on the diamond.

The CT Barracudas 12-under Grey road warriors were laser focused in the Howl at the Moon Tournament in Trumbull. From left, front row: Holly Coon, Sammy Marini, Marina Cosmas, Sophia Montini, Audrey O'Connell; and back row: Riley Fagan-Davies, Addison McKenna-Hansen, Danielle Kotansky, Cayleigh Glynn, Lia Veteri, Emma Bonanno. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Cosmas.)

The visiting Barracudas squad was definitely firing on all cylinders both at the plate and in the field as they outscored their opponents 48-12 and wrapped up the weekend with a team batting average of .350.

Sammy Marini and Marina Cosmas propelled the road warriors from the top of the lineup and on the stat sheet. Sammy Marini batted .438 with five RBI and five runs in the leadoff spot, while Marina Cosmas logged an also highly impressive .500 mark with seven RBI and eight runs batting second. Emma Bonanno was another sparkplug for the team out of the seventh slot in the batting order as she went 6-for-14 (.428) with five RBI.

Barracudas' slugger Lia Veteri rips a clutch hit during quarterfinal action against the Darien Diamonds. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Cosmas.)

One of the most clutch at-bats of the weekend was provided by Lia Veteri during the third game of the pool-play phase of the tournament.

Facing the CT Fury out of Fairfield, the Barracudas trailed 4-2 with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning when the tide turned for the fearless Fish. Manager Bryan Glynn's squad entered that inning with a 2-0 advantage before the Fury erupted for four runs and appeared to shift the momentum.

However, instead of getting down emotionally the Barracudas rose to the occasion and fought back.

After Addison McKenna-Hansen singled with a bullet to left, both Audrey O’Connell and Sophia Montini earned walks to load the bases for Lia Veteri.

Lia Veteri worked the count to 2-2 before blasting a line-drive rocket up the middle that cleared the bases and turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead to seal the win for the Barracudas and also secure the No. 1 seed going into Sunday.

Barracudas pitcher Marina Cosmas prepares to make a special delivery to home plate during the Howl at the Moon tournament in Trumbull. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Cosmas.)

The pitching staff was stellar and showed its endurance throughout the six games. Danielle Kotansky excelled as she surrendered only six hits and did not allow a single earned run over 11 1/3 innings.

Marina Cosmas, Lia Veteri and Holly Coon combined for a no-hitter during the

quarterfinal matchup vs the Darien Diamonds on Sunday. The defense was also a fortress as only three errors were committed by the Barracudas over the entire 28 innings.

Barracudas players meet inside the pitching circle to share some smiles during a break in the action on the Trumbull softball diamond. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Cosmas.)

The infield ensemble of Emma Bonanno, Audrey O’Connell, Sophia Montini, Holly Coon and Cayleigh Glynn made the difficult plays look easy the entire weekend in support of their mound corps.

Outfielders Sammy Marini, Riley Fagan-Davies and Addison McKenna-Hansen played flawlessly. Riley Fagan-Davies came through with an outstanding outfield assist from centerfield to catcher Marina Cosmas at home during the first inning of the Timberwolves game on Saturday. Her on-target throw beat the runner by five feet.

During that same game, in the bottom of the third inning, Marina Cosmas threw a missile to Holly Coon covering second base to catch the Timberwolves' baserunner stealing. The throw, catch and tag were all amazing.

Barracudas fielder Cayleigh Glynn, center, races over to make a great catch near the fence during the tournament competition. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Cosmas.)

The Barracudas put the bow on a Fall season that featured 25 wins and only five losses for an outstanding .833 percentage.

The champion CT Barracudas 12-under Grey girls travel softball team includes Sophia Montini, Emma Bonanno, Audrey O’Connell, Riley Fagan-Davies, Cayleigh Glynn, Lia Veteri, Marina Cosmas, Sammy Marini, Holly Coon, Addison McKenna- Hansen and Danielle Kotansky.

The manager is Bryan Glynn, and the assistant coaches are Mike Bonanno and John Marini.