THE INSIDE CORNER: The CT Softball Blog Podcast

Send us Fan Mail The Bristol Little League Softball 12-year-old All-Stars have been successful at each and every level they've played since coming together a few years ago. Last year, as 11-year-olds, the team not only won the Connecticut State Championship, but they also went onto the win the Northeast Regional tournament, as well. This season, playing their final season together as Little L...

Send us Fan Mail Former Masuk pitching sensation Julia Bacoulis, who helped the Panthers win four of their seven straight state titles before the 2026 season, has announced she is transferring to the University of Kentucky this fall. After leaving Masuk, Bacoulis attended Florida Gulf Coast University, but a coaching change after her commitment just didn't feel right to her during her freshma...

Send us Fan Mail Today we drop a very special edition of The Inside Corner Podcast. With the high school season winding down, we are joined once again by Fairfield Ludlowe coach Adam Laliberte and Stratford/West Haven-Notre Dame coach Gary Sherrick as we preview all four of Saturday's state championship games. The action begins on Saturday at 10 a.m., at UConn's Burrill Family Field in S...

Send us Fan Mail Following the 2026 college softball season, longtime Eastern Connecticut State University softball coach Diana Pepin announced her retirement. Serving as the program's sixth permanent head coach from 2002 through 2026, Pepin coached 969 games, winning 611, losing 355 and tying three for a winning percentage of .632. The Willimantic native and 1992 Eastern graduate served as h...

Send us Fan Mail Last week, the Enfield Eagles stunned much of the state when it advanced to the CCC championship game and knocked off state power Southington, a Top-10 team in both the CT Softball Blog and GametimeCT Media Poll. It was the first time in Enfield Coach Andrea Silva's coaching career that the Eagles had beaten Southington. Coach Silva joins us along with captains Claire Bouffar...

Send us Fan Mail The Nonnewaug Chiefs are once again flying under the radar, through an 18-2 season that left them as the No. 1 seeded team in the CIAC Class M ranks; a spot they should remain for the upcoming state tournament. Yes, the Chiefs play in a league that doesn't garner the respect of some around CT's softball circles, but with a tough non-conference schedule, Nonnewaug has don...

Send us Fan Mail Woodland Regional head coach Loren Luddy and four of her captains join us to talk about the program reaching the 400-win milestone while also talking about the upcoming NVL and state tournaments, as well.

Send us Fan Mail Sunday is Mother's Day, but we at the CT Softball Blog want to get a jump on the celebration so we are posting a very special Mother's Day Podcast today. First we chat with Wesleyan University head softball coach Jen Lane. She doesn't just coach the Cardinals, you know? She also runs her own travel program—the Middletown-based CT Monarchs—and she is a mom of three,...

Send us Fan Mail The Bristol Central Rams dropped their first game of the season and then went on a tear, winning 11 games in a row to improve to 11-1 on the season. First year head coach Jeff Linsky and two of his captains—Lily VanNorstrand and Haley Powers—join us to talk about the season and changes that have happened over the past season.

Send us Fan Mail Two years after its legendary head coach retired, the Seymour Softball team remains one of the top programs in both the Naugatuck Valley League as well as the Class M ranks. At the mid-way point of the 2026 season, Seymour is 10-0 heading into a big part of its schedule. In this edition of The Inside Corner Podcast, Seymour head coach Samantha Rossetti joins us along with seniors...

Send us Fan Mail Rachele Fico is one of the most accomplished athletes in Connecticut softball history, a Masuk High School legend whose dominance bordered on myth: 105 career wins, a 0.07 ERA, 1,884 strikeouts, and a national-record 26 perfect games. A two-time Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year, she went on to star at LSU, where she became a two-time NFCA First Team All-American, the 2010 S...

Send us Fan Mail Three years ago, when Avon High School center fielder Eve Beloin was a freshman, the Falcons didn't win a single game. Not one. They oh-for'd the entire season. Last year, during Beloin's junior campaign, Avon was 15-5 during the regular season, losing in both the first round of the CCC tournament and the state tournament. Only three seniors graduated from that squa...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we caught up with the Lewis Mills Spartans. The squad was spending its spring break vacation week down in Florida, where on Tuesday they defeated Newington to improve to 5-0 on the season. Following a trip to the Universal Theme Park, we had a late-night chat with head coach Chris Sawyer and senior captains Anna Henry, Jillian Tiso, Michaela LaRose, and Brooke Martineau...

Send us Fan Mail Chris Carrara never imagined himself coaching softball, but at this early stage in his career he is sure glad he found his way to the field.  An assistant coach at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, and head coach of a CT Impact 14U team, Carrara is growing in leaps and bounds, and has some lofty goals laid out before him. As he finishes up his degree at Sacred Heart University, he&ap...

Send us Fan Mail One of the best kept secrets in Connecticut high school softball might be the North Branford Thunderbirds. Over the past five seasons, the Thunderbirds have posted a 112-18 record with multiple Shoreline League championships and three appearances in the Class S state championship. Last spring, North Branford won its first state title in school history, edging St. Paul's Catho...

Send us Fan Mail If you're going to make an argument for the deepest and most talented league in the state it could very well be the Southern Connecticut Conference—AKA the SCC! Last season, SCC schools won two state championships as Cheshire took top honors in Class LL while the Foran Lions won 28 straight games to take the league title as well as the Class M state championship, as well. In...

Send us Fan Mail Last spring, the 2025 FCIAC season ended in spectacular fashion with the St. Joseph Cadets edging Darien in 14 innings to claim the league tournament championship. Both starting pitchers—Katie Dzialo of St. Joseph and Vivian Knott of Darien—return from that game, but don't think both are guaranteed a repeat appearance this spring. In fact, the two other semifinalists that St....

Send us Fan Mail For the past seven years, the Masuk Panthers have dominated the SWC and Class L ranks. Seven straight state titles and five of the last six league titles show the depth of the program. This spring, however, the Panthers will be facing a lot of changes with a new starting pitcher in the circle and a new head coach in the dugout. Is Masuk rebuilding or re-loading?  That's one o...

Send us Fan Mail University of New Haven softball coach Kelly Paterson talks about her program making the jump to the Division 1 level.

Send us Fan Mail Kingswood Oxford softball coach Jay Bradley and captains Olivia Doran and Alexis Nisyrios talk about the Wyverns program and more.

Send us Fan Mail Albertus Magnus College head coach Lou Bunosso burst onto the state's softball scene when he turned the Fairfield Ludlowe Falcons into an FCIAC power, one that would win multiple league and state championships. Now, the coach is doing it with a new set of Falcons at the college level. 

Send us Fan Mail The CT Softball Blog chats with Ben Purcell and Dom Dauria of the Federation Softball Umpires of Greater New Haven about rules changes and points of emphasis for the upcoming high school season.

Send us Fan Mail After leading their senior-less team to the FCIAC semifinals a year ago, four Trumbull High School seniors—Kylie Lucia, Maren Jones, Madison Pippa and Brianna Potok—will be taking their talents to college after chasing this spring's dream of winning a league championship.

Send us Fan Mail Producer and host Rob Adams and CT Softball Blog Publisher John Nash introduce "THE INSIDE CORNER: The CT Softball Blog Podcast" to listeners.