By Tim Parry

Team USA softball had just completed its 9-0 win over the Stratford Brakettes on Sunday, and pitcher Rachele Fico was all smiles when she went to hug her high school teammates.

And on top of that, the 17-year-old Masuk prodigy graciously signed a few autographs for some young admirers.

Hard to believe that just a few minutes earlier, Fico had give up five earned runs on four hits and a walk in just one inning of work.

For those who have followed Fico’s near flawless high school career, the performance may have come as a shock. But there’s a big difference between your average CIAC player - or a regular opponent of the Brakettes - than Olympians like Caitlin Mendoza.

And for that matter, the batters Fico faced in the Canada Cup earlier this month as a member of the Florida-based Gold Coast Hurricanes - like Japan, Venezuela, and Chinese Taipei - were not too shabby.

“It’s been so much fun, I’ve had some awesome learning experience facing some of the best teams in the world,” Fico said about her Canada Cup experience. “I’m taking what I do in the game and learning from it and hopefully I’ll grow from it.”

And Fico fortunately has not let her softball growth and advancement go to her head. According to her friends and members of the Brakettes, she’s still the same Rachele Fico who would rather see her team win a game than get personal accolades.

In fact, her father, Ralph Fico, told reporters Sunday that his daughter’s reaction to being named a high school All-American this season was, “Oh, cool.”

So it’s no wonder Fico, who has already given a verbal agreement to Louisiana State University, wasn’t intimidated during her one inning against the USA Olympic team.

“I was just so excited to play against the number one team in the country, and I just went out there and had fun,” Fico said.

By Tim Parry
Boy, did I miss out on a good thing Sunday. The chance to see Rachele Fico make her debut as a member of the 27-time ASA champion Stratford Brakettes. The recently-crowned Connecticut Post Athlete of the Year was brilliant against the Xtreme Chaos, striking out 16 batters in the back end of a double header.

So in case there were any doubters out there, hoping her Brakettes performance would expose some sort of weakness, something that would make her look like a 17-year-old-girl and not a stellar athlete who gave a verbal commitment to LSU as a Masuk High School junior…

Guess what? Rachele Fico is the real deal.

Fico compiled a perfect 27-0 record for Masuk, which won its second straight CIAC Class LL championship with a 1-0 victory over Naugatuck at DeLuca Field on June 8. She threw 12 no-hitters, seven perfect games, and struck out 486 batters in 195 innings. She allowed only 21 hits and walked just seven batters and she had a 0.07 ERA.

And you can’t blame that on poor hitting in the CIAC. Not when you’re a one-person wrecking crew, and then proved it again on a higher stage.

Now the Brakettes could use some fans in the seats, and hopefully the presence of Fico will get some out there. Why not? Local girl makes good. Everyone loves a success story.

Here’s to hoping she gets to put in some work - even if just for one inning - against Team USA this July 20.

It’s been a busy weekend for the CIAC, with state champions to crown in a ton of sports.

And after a cool spring weather-wise, mother nature went crazy yesterday, blistering athletes with temperatures in the 90s. Which meant in-season conditioning became a major factor for all the athletes involved.

Here’s a quick roundup of winners, losers (though to be politically correct, they are runners-up), and more, including clips from the local sports media…

FRIDAY:
Westhill wins Class LL Baseball Title
I slammed Westhill pitched T.J. Hickey’s mound antics in a post a few weeks ago. He’s recovered nicely and, on the mound, became the go-to guy a lot of us saw during the football season. As he kept Masuk batters in check, Bobby Migliazza and Greg Smith led the offense in a 12-1 win up at Palmer Field in Middletown.

The clips: Stamford Advocate game story; Stamford Advocate sidebar; Connecticut Post.

Also Friday: Darien takes volleyball title; Staples wins again in Class L.

SATURDAY
The links:

• Masuk phenom Rachele Fico shuts down Naugatuck: Connecticut Post; New Haven Register.
• Law upsets Ludlowe for Class L baseball title: New Haven Register; Connecticut Post.
• Danbury takes Division II girls lacrosse championship: News-Times; News-Times sidebar.
• Prefect ending for New Fairfield lacrosse team: News-Times.
• Prep tops Ridgefield in 3OT to take Class L lacrosse title: Connecticut Post.
• Darien girls defeat Wilton again for girls lacrosse championship: Stamford Advocate.
• Blue Wave Boys make it a lacrosse sweep: Stamford Advocate.

Thirty of Fairfield County’s finest football-playing scholar-athletes were honored April 10 by the Ralph DeSantis chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. Also honored at the dinner at Continental Manor in Norwalk were the head and assistant coaches of the year in the SWC and FCIAC, as well as two officials of the year.

Three players received $500 scholarships to be used towards their college education as well: William Bass (Bassick), Richard Holmes (Danbury), and Chris Payne (Wilton).

Wilton’s Tim Eagen was introduced as the FCIAC’s coach of the year by his mentor, Tom Fujitani, who he served under as an assistant coach for several years, and thanked his assistant coaches and the Warriors’ booster club for its efforts in helping to build a top-notch program. Ridgefield’s Kevin Callahan introduced one of his former players, New Fairfield’s Andy Buchsbaum, as the SWC’s coach of the year.

Carl Cairo (Greenwich) and John Pereira (Pomperaug) received their league’s respective assistant coach of the year awards.

The scholar-athletes honered were:

• William Bass, Bassick
• Nick Verderosa, Bethel
• Chris Green, Brien McMahon
• Kenneth Cobb, Bridgeport Central
• Steven Moss, Brookfield
• Jeffrey Farrell, Bunnell
• Greg Passineau, Canterbury
• Richard Holmes, Danbury
• George Rhein, Darien
• Matthew O’Laughlin, Fairfield Ludlowe
• Thomas Marx Jr., Fairfield Warde
• Jonathan Meyers, Greenwich
• Scott Hickling, Joel Barlow
• Victor Ciancetta, Masuk
• Chris Lemoine, New Canaan
• Patrick Cassidy, New Fairfield
• Jonathan Henion, New Milford
• Eric Puffer, Newtown
• Cyprian Oyomba, Norwalk
• Patrick Purrell, Notre Dame-Fairfield
• Stephen Barton, Pomperaug
• Tyler Strittmatter, Ridgefield
• Michael Dinihanien, St. Joseph
• Jason Zins, Staples
• Justin Shumyhora, Stratford
• John O’Leary, Trinity Catholic
• Jameson Cherilus, Trumbull
• John Midy, Westhill
• Dylan Hannum, Weston
• Chris Payne, Wilton

Also honored were a few unsung heroes of the game, the referees. Without them, of course, the games wouldn’t count in the standings. Bob Seirup, who has been working with the Fairfield County Football Association for 54 seasons, was honored as its official of the year. Bill Vasutro was the Colonial Football Association’s honoree.