Break out the bats and gloves as high school softball season is upon us across the country, especially in the Constitution State. One of the tops when it comes to high level softball, Connecticut features several teams that are among the New England region’s best around.
Starting off at the top spot is the Masuk Panthers, as they are in the conversation as one of the New England’s top squads. The Panthers didn’t play but we don’t drop them whatsoever because of that.
Besides them, who else is among the elites when it comes to high school softball in Connecticut? Take a look at our Power 10 rankings as we give you our list ahead of the first full week of regular season games.
The Panthers are coming off an undefeated season at 28-0 and being back senior Julia Bacoulis (Florida Gulf Coast commit), who batted .450 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs in 2024. On the mound, Bacoulis went 19-0 with a 0.80 earned run average and 259 strikeouts.
Advertisement
There’s a lot to like about the Knights this season and one of them is the return of star pitcher Camryn Fisher. The ace pitcher was one of the state’s best on the mound, going 20-1 with a incredible 0.20 earned run average and 324 strikeouts. The Knights opened the season with a 16-0 rout of Rockville.
Coming in at the third spot in our rankings are the Rams, after they fell just short of winning it all in Class LL. With their only losses last season coming up against Masuk and Ludlowe, Cheshire began the season with a narrow 4-2 victory over Ludlowe.
Starting off the season with a bang was the Hawks, as they cruised to a 17-4 win over Naugatuck. You have to really like the roster that Woodland Regional will be bringing back this spring, with senior ace pitcher Ella VanAlstyne returning to the mound. Last year as a junior, Van Alstyne (UMass Lowell commit) went 13-1 with 140 strikeouts for the Hawks.
The Coventry Patriots finished the 2024 regular season with an impressive record of 23-2, but lose Elizabeth Mitchell to graduation from a year ago. Coventry still returns a bevy of solid hitters to the lineup and remain one of the state’s top clubs.
Not far from the middle of the pack is the Cadets, who themselves a contender in Class L in a 2-0 victory over a very good North Haven squad. Katie Dzialo comes back for her junior campaign as she went 16-3 with 187 strikeouts in 2024.
Advertisement
Dropping the season opener 4-2 against Cheshire we feel like isn’t a reason to really drop the Falcons too far down. Ludlowe’s top player from a year ago returns is infielder Gina Solow (Albertus Magnus College commit), who batted .420 with 20 RBIs and 11 doubles in 2024.
One of the state’s top power hitters is back in the lineup for the Nighthawks in Alexandra Anquillare. Last season as a junior the first baseman/outfielder belted five homers and drove in 38 runs. North Haven fell 2-0 against St. Joseph and is another team we won’t penalized too heavy for its first game.
Guilford was the Cinderella story from a year ago in the Class L tournament as the No. 13 seed and nearly upended Masuk in the semifinals. The Grizzlies graduated a bit, but return an experienced team that could very well make another deep run.
The Tigers were a mixed bag at times during the middle of the 2024 season, but when it came down to it, Mercy was one of the state’s best teams. Mercy opened the spring campaign up with a 7-4 victory over Ridgefield.
Follow High School On SI throughout the 2025 high school softball season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!
Advertisement
Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school softball news.
To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App
— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi
National trust in the federal government is at some of its lowest levels in nearly seven decades, and many Connecticut residents fall in line with that belief, a survey found.
New data from the Pew Research Center found only 17% of Americans believe that what the government does is right either “just about always” or “most of the time,” hitting one of the lowest points Pew has seen since first asking this question in 1958. And according to a DataHaven survey, Connecticut residents trust the federal government less than state or local institutions.
While these are some of the lowest polling numbers seen in American history, national trust in the federal government has been on the decline for decades. Public trust initially dropped in the 1960s and ’70s during the Vietnam War from a near 80% but began rising again in the 1980s into the early ’90s. Trust peaked again after 9/11 before falling.
Advertisement
The DataHaven survey found that of all Connecticut residents surveyed, only 9% trust the federal government “a great deal” to look out for the best interests of them and their family. About 28% trust the federal government “a fair amount.”
Federal government trust among Connecticut residents was at its highest in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the federal stimulus programs and child tax credit were active.
The DataHaven survey also asked about trust in local and state government. Connecticut residents generally trust these institutions more than they trust the federal government, the survey found.
Trust in the local governments was higher than trust in both state and federal, with 67% of residents surveyed trusting their local government “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”
Advertisement
And when it came to state government, 61% of residents trust the state “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”
However, across the board, white residents are more likely to trust local and state government than are residents of color. Black residents had higher levels of trust in government than Latino and Puerto Rican residents, but less than white residents.
As of early 2025, the Connecticut State Police was facing a staffing shortage of roughly 300 troopers compared to the more than 1,200 troopers the department had in its ranks over a decade ago. This is due largely to retirements, resignations and a shrinking applicant pool.
Recent academy classes are helping slowly rebuild staffing, but Gov. Ned Lamont and police leadership say Connecticut still needs substantially more troopers to meet public safety demands. More recently, news outlets reported the department had 938 troopers.
This spring, troopers negotiated a 4.5% wage hike with state officials. Troopers’ base pay is on average about $116,000 per year, but that rises to $175,000 per year once overtime is included.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Advertisement
CT Mirror partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.
Sources
Advertisement
Reginald David is the Community Engagement Reporter for CT Mirror. He builds relationships across Connecticut to elevate community voices and deepen public dialogue around local issues. Previously, he was a producer at KCUR 89.3, Kansas City’s NPR station, where he created community-centered programming, led live event coverage for major events like the NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade, and Royals Opening Day, and launched KC Soundcheck, a music series spotlighting local and national artists. Reginald has also hosted special segments, including an in-depth interview with civil rights leader Alvin Brooks and live community coverage on issues like racial segregation and neighborhood development. He began his public media career as an ‘Integrity in News’ intern at WNPR in Hartford.
Meteorologists are predicting the next storm system in Connecticut could bring a couple inches of snow this weekend.
WTNH reports snow will start late Saturday night and continue into Sunday morning.
“There is pretty good agreement with light snow amounts statewide with up to around 2″ expected,” WTNH says.
Find out what’s happening in Across Connecticutfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
WFSB reports long-range models have been “all over the place with the development of a coastal storm.”
Advertisement
According to WFSB, some show the system moving to the south of Connecticut, which would make the impact on weekend plans “minimal.” Another model, however, shows a greater impact on Connecticut, which could mean a “coating to an inch” of snow, WFSB reports.
Find out what’s happening in Across Connecticutfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
WFSB as of Thursday also predicts the timing would be late Saturday night through Sunday morning.
The National Weather Service as of Thursday has increased the odds of snow in this weekend timeframe to 50 percent, up from 30 percent.
In the short term, it is going to be very windy today.
The National Weather Service has advisories for northern and southern parts of Connecticut due to high winds, with possible gusts of up to 50 miles per hour.
Advertisement
Today, Friday and daytime Saturday will be clear and dry, according to the National Weather Service, with high temperatures starting in the low to mid-30s and gradually warming.
“Saturday is the pick of the weekend, as it will be dry and relatively milder,” WFSB reports. “While we could start bright, cloud cover will be on the increase with temps that peak between 35 and 40. Sunday will be colder as temps only reach the upper 20s and lower 30s.”
The National Weather Service indicates the chance for snow begins around midnight Saturday.
Read More:
Here are the forecast details for northern Connecticut via the National Weather Service:
Advertisement
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 31. Breezy, with a west wind 18 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 43 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. West wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 43 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 32. West wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light southwest in the evening.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 36. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 8 mph in the morning.
Advertisement
Saturday Night: A chance of snow, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday: A chance of snow before 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Here are the forecast details for southern Connecticut via the National Weather Service:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. West wind 16 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 43 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. Wind chill values between 10 and 15. West wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph.
Advertisement
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 34. Wind chill values between 10 and 20. West wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 39. Light west wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night: Snow likely after 1 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 26. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of snow before 1 p.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 33.
Advertisement
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
