Looking at the tournament through two rounds of play, we have:
seven teams still alive from the SCC
five teams left from the ECC
five teams from the SWC
three teams from the FCIAC
three teams from the CCC
There seems to be plenty of balance so far, As far as suprises go:
Norwalk falling to Newtown was a little surprising. I expected more out of them, but the SWC is proving to be a tough out in this tournament (Newtown beat Norwalk in 8 innings Wednesday).
Southington losing did not surprise me. Stamford came from behind to win that game. Bristol Central losing surprised me only a little, only because the Rams were good enough to get through the bottom half of the LL bracket last year to reach the finals against Amity. Bunnell beating them is not a surprise and, to be quite honest, not much of an upset, Bunnell lost four straight games at one points and fell out of the top 10. But the Bulldogs rallied to win the SWC title and playing Prep, another team up and down this season, should be an interesting matchup on Saturday.
As far as the quarterfinal-round matchups go, Guilford vs. North Haven in Class L is pretty intriguing with upstart Guilford, having one of its best seasons ever, going against the state's all-time winningest coach, Bob DeMayo. Both teams will be trying to steal runs off the other. That game is at West Haven High at 7.
I'm interested to see how Career fares against St. Bernard. Both teams play in rugged conferences. This is Career's biggest game in school history.
One last interesting matchup: Amity vs. Masuk. Amity eliminated Masuk in last year's semis. Masuk is looking for some payback. 7 p.m., Nolan Field, Ansonia.
Just pray for the same kind of weather we've been having. Thunderstorms are in the forecast right now.