THE NEW KIDS IN TOWN: Enfield Wins CCC Championship

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 Bouffard and Paige Cekala to talk about the 2026 season, the run to the league championship and the state tournament, where Enfield is the No. 3 seed.

Transcript

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We welcome you to the Inside Corner Connecticut Softball Podcast with John Nash. I'm Rob Adams, and interesting team we're gonna talk to this week. We're gonna uh chat with the team from Enfield. You know, I was joking with those kids today that they're they're they're so far away from the rest of Connecticut that their best hitter could probably hit a home run that lands in Springfield, Massachusetts. You're not wrong. They're right on the border up there on 91. Uh, but wow, what a season they had. Um and they're doing it on the outskirts of the state. 18 wins, two losses, but it's what they did last week that really, really kind of blew me away. Uh they beat Southernton in the uh Southern Connecticut conference championship game. Now, if you know softball, which you know obviously we're we're learning a lot about it over these last few years, but Southington is is one of the blue bloods for Connecticut softball. Yep. Um they have won more state titles. At one point, their total state titles was a national record, and I think it's over 20 or something like that. I don't remember exactly. That's crazy. Um, but but they're they're they're one of the state's best softball programs. And Enfield beat them. Uh 5-3 in the final, I believe it was. Might have been 5-2. It was a great game. Um, but yeah, I tracked down uh head coach uh Andrea Silver, who had never beaten Southington in her nine-year career, and her two captains, Claire Buffard, who was the winning pitcher, and uh Paige Sakala, their center fielder, and we just had a great talk about their season, about that game, um, about what it was like to beat a program. Because I thought Coach Silver summed it up best in the uh the Game Time CT game story that I read was that when you go up against Southington, you're playing against the name on the front of the uniform. Yeah. Because you know, because they are one of the powerhouses in the state, and that freaks out a lot of teams. Their team this time, this one time, they've been working a lot on their mental game. And on this one day, this one night, Friday night, the last conference tournament uh of the 2026 season, the infield Eagles beat them. So that's what we love about sports, right? Always root for the underdog, even though it was one versus two. It's you know, I guess it's kind of like the Yankees Red Sox. I suppose I I don't like that comparison, but okay. Well, well, no, again, you know, big picture Yankees just Red Sox are the uh hot team of the uh the hot team of the 21st century, if you will. You know, top one four. So uh but uh long way to go for those two. But but but again, just a great season for Enfield, was so happy for them, and I just wanted to wanted to learn a little more about them. And they will go into the class double L and stole Southington, so you're talking about two of the top three in the class double L state tournament. Exactly. And the good thing, the thing about Enfield is their bracket breaks down. They're gonna have a tough first game because they're gonna get the winner of Fairfield Ward Wilton. And the FCAC is always tough. Yeah. When the FC Act plays other conferences, the other conferences know they're in for a game. Um but the good news for Enfield is they avoid Cheshire, the number one seed. They avoid Vivian Notting Darianne, which is the number four seed. They could get a semifinal matchup against number two Southington again. So that would be the rubber match. Right. Uh um, but uh but but their bracket is is is pretty uh pretty good. Um again, Coach Silva said, you know, we gotta play well to to win. We're focusing it one game at a time. All the coach cliches that that you know we all say. Um so but uh uh but they're in a pretty good position where if they play well, keep playing well, uh that that they could make a nice deep run this June. Well, we'll talk about that and all everything to discuss as we get to the postseason. But first, why don't we take a break and then go right into John's interview with Enfield in a moment here on the inside corner? This episode is brought to you by Union 12 Design. From the dugout supportroom, they're redefining custom apparel. Whether you're outfitting a softball team or designing corporate apparel, they offer premium brands and make the process easy and with a designer-led approach. Your gear feels elevated, not expected. They'll even manage your online store from start to finish, keeping everything smooth from concept to completion. Visit Union12design.com. Union12design, where premium meets purpose. Welcome back to the inside corner. John doesn't need to say a word. I'm gonna send it to John right now with Enfield. Thanks, Rob, and as we said, uh, we are joined today by three members of the Enfield High School softball team Eagles, two players, one head coach, and they are the 2026 SCC Champs. Head coach Andrea Silver, Claire Buffard, and Paige Sakala, the two captains. Eagles, congratulations and thanks for joining us. Thank you. Coach, I'm gonna start with you because uh I was reading the uh story, I believe it was in either the Game Time CT or the Hartford Current, I can't remember which one, but you had talked about how it it had been you had never beaten Southington, and there was always a little bit of that psycho factor, uh, because when you went into that game against them, Southington was written across the jersey, and it it it it takes it took me back to what Gino Oriamer up at UConn said once upon a time when he would walk into any gym in the country as Yukon was becoming good, and there was that intimidation factor of Yukon being in front you know on the front of the jersey, and it was like most teams are already beaten because of that. How did you guys turn it around where you were able to go into Friday's championship game, and all of a sudden the fact that it was Southington and the other dugout didn't matter enough, and you guys were able to pull out that win? Yeah, I mean, for sure. The name Southington is just intimidating, just to like you said, by itself, because they've you know they've developed as a great uh softball community out there. So we knew going into the games that we had to really get our growth mindset and our mental aspect of the game prepared. Um, it wasn't more about the skill, it was more about the mental. So we have all season been really preparing for it and doing a lot of mental work, talking about goals, talking about um how we can compete with anybody else as well. So doing all of that work led us to be able to go in there with the confidence on Friday night to not worry about it being Southington and the other dugout, but to just play our game and stick to it. You know, one of the things that we started doing this year is we started our own top 10 poll only instead of asking the media or instead of asking coaches to do it, we've been asking 15 players from around the state. And every week I would send them, you know, kind of a recap of how our top 10 did. I would go through all the the rest of the state results and let them know how the other top teams record-wise, you know, were doing. Enfield was always in that group because you guys are what 18 and 2 regular season, three tournament wins, so you're you're entering the state tournament with kind of a 21-2 record. Um, yet you guys never got voted in that top 10. And you to be honest with you, you rarely got votes, if any. Now I know you're up there by, you know, uh Neil, the Massachusetts border, uh uh just a uh uh Paige uh Sakala home run away from Springfield. But what uh do you feel that you guys are overlooked and and don't get the respect um that maybe you deserved, you know, up until Friday night when you did beat Southington? Well, I think that it's always been a barrier for us was to beat those big name teams. Like we've always made it to play against them in different aspects, but we never really opened up against a team like that. So I feel like that's where we haven't been into the top 10 polls because of that reason. I don't think that we have we haven't played the big name schools that um and won. So I think that with us doing it on Friday night, I think now we we have a good chance of being considered for sure. So Claire, let me ask you that question as a player to to to beat something and and to you know garner all the respect that's gonna come with with a win like that. What does that mean to you? What does it mean to Paige? What does it mean to your teammates? Um I definitely think it's like a really big, like it was a big moment, but I think it definitely like gave our team some respect. Like we really went out and showed who we are and proved it to a bunch of people. So and Claire, uh Paige, how were you able to beat Southington in that game on Friday? Um I think it really came down to how our team prepared mentally for it. Um the practice before we all were talking and we went over like different situations, kind of made sure we were all in it together. Um, I know a lot of us said like just go into it, think it's like any other team. And when we got there, that's what we did. We all stuck together and it was just a positive moment. And going into the tournament, you guys truly believe that you could win it all? I mean, there was no doubt on on any of the players' minds that that you could walk out of that tournament being the best team in the SEC this year? I really don't think there was any doubt. If anything, it was just nervousness. Um that happens before every game, though. Our coach says if you're nervous, you're it's good because it means you care. I really don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind though. No, for sure. And Claire, in that championship game, I'm I'm gonna toot your horn for you here a little bit. Seven innings, one earned run. You know, you only struck out four, so obviously you're a contact pitcher. Uh, you know, you walk three. Uh, I'm trying to think, uh, you know, team made a couple errors behind you, but you you you survived those. Just what is it about this team that has made this type of season possible? Um, well, the first off, there's just been like everyone has brought something to the team. Like, there's a bunch of talent on this team, but we also got along so well. Like, eat from even early on in the season, like you could just tell like everyone got along, everyone was trusting of each other. Um and in going into that game, we all trusted each other. We knew we had each other's backs. So coach, uh tell us about the program. How long have you been the head coach there? Uh, and how have you built Enfield and into the type of team that that can compete, you know, at the at the upper level of the of the SEC and the state? Yeah, so um I started in 2016 as the head coach, both COVID, so it's only really been nine years um as the head coach. Um I honestly the assistant coaches help out a ton as well. Excuse me. Um, they help out and are really a vital part of it. We work so well together that we plan practices, we do all of that together, and we really just wanted to continue to build the program year after year. So at the end of every season, we sit down, we talk, what can we do next? Um, and we realize that, you know, we're we're the lucky ones. We we do have a lot of talent in Enfield, and we just have to figure out how to get them to be confident in it. So, really, to be honest with you, this season with doing the mental aspect, and we spend a lot of time at practice um doing the mental component. And I really think that that's kind of what pushed us over the hump this year to go in with that confidence um to win. So I think it's just building that piece of it. But you know, both girls talked about how how tight-knit this team is. Um, would you say during your tenure up there, it is one of the closest teams you've had? And and how does that tie in with the success the team has had this year? Yeah, definitely for sure. They are definitely a close uh bunch. And to be honest with you, it's just brings it to the trust factor. Like they have each other's backs no matter what, and we talk about that all the time, and we say leave it all on the field for each other and just go out there and you know, if somebody makes a mistake, it's my bad. Next play mentality, move on. And everybody believes in that, and everybody knows that they can they can hold their own with the team. So trust in each other and just having each other's backs the whole season. At what point of the season did you think this was, you know, doable or possible? Um, and that you could have this time of year. Did you know it, you know, the the day they uh, you know, the the season started, or uh did you see it coming? Was there a certain win when you realized, hey, we could be pretty special here? Well, I think that to be honest with you, I think it was not a win. I think it was the loss against Southernton at the beginning of the season that really kind of brought us back into it. I think that that really kind of set us set a tone for the rest of the season and what we wanted to do. And we knew that going towards the end of the season that we'd probably see them again, and we still might see them again in states too. So we know that we had to really kind of pull it together and figure it out. And I think that once we did that and was were able to build that mental peace, it all tied together. So I honestly think it was more of the loss that brought us there. And you're talking about the 14 to 3 spanking, yeah, yeah. For lack of a better word. I mean, you know, uh again, you know, Southington, Southington. So yeah, yeah, we went into that game not mentally prepared, and that's what happened. And girls, yeah, follow up on that for me from a player's perspective, and we'll go with you first, Claire. Coming out of that game, you know, I would I would have thought, oh yeah, you know, Southington's great again, you know, they they did it to us again. Yet it didn't have that type of result. I mean, just how how how do you feel as a player you guys came out of that game? Um, we came out of that game knowing that that was not our game. We did not play to any of our abilities. Um we knew as soon as we walked off the field that it should have been a much closer game and we should, we were just not playing right. We were playing um we just weren't at our level that game. Uh Paige, I'm not I'm not fishing for you to put down Southington here. I don't want to create any, you know, uh it's big rivalry, but do you think because of that game that maybe in the title tilt, Southington kind of looked at you guys and said, okay, we beat him easily. We should be able to win this game again. You know, do you felt they looked past you at all? Or um this is a tough question. Um, I don't really know what they might have been thinking exactly, but I know as a player, there is some games where we go into it, you look at the record, you look at who they've played, and you're like, well, we beat this team, they lost to them. I think we can do this. Um but I'm sure you guys wanted that other shot at them, right? After the uh the initial game. 100%. I think we knew after that first game against them that because we didn't play the way we could, if we took away all those mistakes mentally and physically that we made, that we would be able to beat them. And coach, let's let's go a little bit more in depth about the team. You know, obviously you have two great captains here who who I'm sure are great leaders, and we'll talk about them a little more in a minute. But uh it starts with Claire in the circle, I'm assuming. And and just take me first around the infield, then the outfield. You know, who are the players that have really stepped up for you in each position this year? Yeah, so I actually think it's that's a great question because a lot of the players on the team are not playing in their normal positions, to be quite honest with you. Um, and that right there has had to build the trust as well. So um we have um Abby Page at third base this year for us. She actually has never played third base before. Um but we knew that we needed her bat in the lineup and we needed her just her, just her fun energy. She just brings it, makes it lighter on our team for sure. Um, so she has been holding down the hot corner for us and in the Southington game, definitely she got peppered over there quite a bit, but she she held her own. Um, right next to her at shortstop is her sister Maddie Page. Uh Maddie is actually the third baseman, but we moved her over to shortstop. So um she has taken on that role um for us as well. Um and then uh Paige Valitaconis plays second base for us. She started at short, but we moved her over to second um just for some different reasons. Uh she holds down the second that right side of the field really well with uh Haley Anderson, who plays first base for us. Um Haley's made some really big plays for us coming off the base, tagging the runners. Again, she is like a calming factor, I think, for Claire in the circle, too. When Claire gets to look over at her and see her there, so she definitely is that calming piece for her. Um, then we have Emily Livers behind the plate. Um, she is our catcher. She does a great job back there, kind of holding down the whole fort for us. And just I know she is talking to Claire every single pitch and making that happen for us. Uh out in the outfield, we have Aliyah Ooh. She is in the um left field for us. She actually was an infielder, but we made her an outfielder. We threw her out in the outfield this year. She played outfield for us last year too. Um, and we started the season with her in the infield, but she really just holds down the fort in left field for us. So we had to move her out there. Um, Paige Sakala is our center fielder. She is definitely the calming factor because she is the uh leader out in the outfield for us. Aliyah's a sophomore. And then over on in right field, we have Fiona, and she is a freshman. So Paige does a really great job communicating with them, letting them know where to be and everything else. So for sure. Um, and we definitely have a ton of uh we have bunch some bench players too that really are stepping up and helping us out. They are in charge of a lot of different things on the bench to make sure that we know if runners are going and things like that. Um Vanessa Eckingroth ended up coming up and she uh is Claire's courtesy runner. So uh when Claire gets on, she's running for us and making those smart choices and everything else for us too. So we definitely have a full team, it's definitely a full team effort for sure. And what is it that makes Claire so successful in the circle for you? She just wants it. I mean, she goes out there every single day and she just wants it. Like, I if I say to her, How are you? Like, how are things going? And I think one week we had four games in a row and she's like, No, I'm good, coach, let's keep going. Um she just puts in the work and she has she definitely has that tough mindset where she can get through those tricky situations and not get down on herself. And the passion is just real. And you talked about you know, Enfield and and the community, the the the entire softball community up there. Was this built out of the youth program? Like uh, did do you guys have a good uh feeder system up there that that's feeding you guys some players who are who are ready by the time they get to the varsity level? Yes, for sure. We have um Enfield Girls Softball Association. We are really um involved with them. We try to do as much as we can um to help them out and they stay involved with us. So I know like throughout the winters and stuff, we do they do, well, they do, I should say, a bunch of different clinics. They do skills camps and pitching and catching. And Claire and myself actually did the pitching clinic this year. So we always kind of know who's coming up and developing pitchers to come up um into the program and everything else. So yeah, EGSA does a really great job with the feeder program into the middle school and then up into the high school as well. You know, I'm curious. We talked about the, you know, uh uh kind of a turnaround game, you know, the first Southington game for you guys. That was only two games into the season. You came out of that 115 straight, and as I look at your schedule, you lost two to one to Newington uh on May 19th. What happened there? And was that just kind of a uh a reminder, like the the knock on the head that hey, we still gotta play our best to uh you know to pull out wins in in our league and in Connecticut softball? Yeah, I think for sure. I mean, uh I think after the game, and the girls can attest to this, I think I said to them, like, maybe it's good that we lost now. Maybe it was the the momentum we needed to kind of push us forward and go forward with that. Um, Newington, not to take anything away from them, they just they I mean they locked us down. We popped a lot of balls up. We couldn't couldn't put those timely hits together. And I mean, Claire threw a two-hitter that game, and those we had two runs, and it just kind of was a nice, like again, a little humbling experience, and just brought us back down and really got us ready to lock in again for the for the CCC tournament. And and really, it's not like you had an easy road in the CCC tournament either. You had Lewis Mills, Bristol Central, and Southington. So you you beat three pretty good teams there. It it wasn't like it was a cakewalk to the title, right? No, not at all. They definitely all all three teams um were very good teams. Um so it was, yeah, it was a great, it was a great overall win. Um tell me about Claire and Paige's captains. Um, you know, any team that is successful, usually if you look at the top, they have good captains. Uh tell me about these two and their leadership. Yeah, they both were ready to go with their leadership role this year for sure. Um Claire was a little quieter to begin with, starting off freshman year and everything, and she really has developed and grown into a very vocal person for our team. And like Said before, she just has that heart and passion and wants it. And everybody can see that. And I think with her as a leader on there, too, like nobody wants to let her down whatsoever. So everybody is making sure that they're they're playing their hardest for her. As far as Paige goes, Paige, Paige keeps me on track for sure. She is my organizer. She makes sure that everything is going how it needs to be done. If there's anything I never ever need to get out to the team or anything like that, she is always the first line of communication and really steps up into that role for me as well. And again, she just, you know, she wants the game and she wants it. So the two of them together have been like really a dynamic duo in that leadership role for us. And and Claire, I'm gonna throw this one out at you because you know you're you're the person in the circle and you've got to trust the the one kid in front of you and the the other seven that are behind you. And as I as I look at your schedule this year, you know, and I I jokingly said that you know you got uh spanked by Southernton, you gave up 14 runs in that game. Since then, and so we're talking 20, let's see, you played 21, 20, uh, 23 games so far. You've only given up more than two runs twice. Four to East Catholic and five to Gramby. You're not, you know, you're not Vivian Not at Darien. You're not striking out 18 a game. Balls are being put in play, you have to have a good defense behind you. Just how good are they, and how much faith do you have in them that when the ball is put in play, they're gonna make the plays? I have full faith that they will make every play that goes to them. Um they all they dive, they get they knock everything down, they want it almost or just as much as me. And um they do everything they can to get the ball when it's put in play. And and Paige, is that something I mean d the does the coaching staff make a point of emphasis that that Enfield is gonna be a good uh defensive team? We practice it a lot. Um, so I think it's definitely one of their goals, but it's pretty even with offense and defense. But in practice, we definitely make sure that again, it's that mental factor that if you do make a mistake, you just move on. So I think when that weight is kind of lifted off the shoulder, it's more confidence to make every play. And every player really wants it. So when the ball is hit anywhere, it's always a hundred percent effort to all those balls. And coach, those are some impressive numbers, you know, 18 games, whatever it is, giving up two runs or or less. Uh, did you know that they they were gonna be that good defensively? Yeah, I mean, we have to have the confidence in them as well for sure. Like I said, we we made some changes after that Southington loss and we were able to kind of really settle in and see it. But I think uh Paige said it really well when she said like that mental part and that next play mentality, like we we practice that all the time um and just making sure that we're picking each other up and moving forward. So, like she said, taking that weight off, I think has been super helpful for them this year to go out there and give it their all. How do you come out of an SEC championship? Feeling great about yourselves, obviously, you know, hope you should be as confident as you've been all season. Now you go into the the state tournament, uh, which means you you know you you there can't be a drop-off. I mean, you know, the next loss, your season's done at this point. Um what's the mindset of the team right now? And and how do you keep them hungry for kind of what's next? Yeah, I think they got like a little taste of it with the CCC tournament. So I think that now that that really propels them to want it even more, to be quite honest with you. And I think now that with that win over Southington, like I said, now they believe and they know that they can compete with every team. So it's just going out there again and working on that mental piece. Um, they have homework to do mental for their mental side of it all, and then we get back on the field and practice and we open up on Wednesday. We so we're just waiting to see who we're gonna play and then go from there. And I just noticed that that you as the number three seed in Class L, you guys do have the first round bye, so I don't have to worry about Monday and a major upset. The podcast will appear before you guys play. Uh how do you like your draw? Uh, you know, looking at some of the teams around there, I know uh, you know, right away you get an FCAC team uh is Wilton and Fairfield Ward, you'll play the winner of that game. I'm down in Fairfield County, so I know how good this league is. That could be a tough opener for you because the league is so deep. But just what are your thoughts as you, you know, kind of look at the the look at that game and and uh be I'm sure you're a coach and you don't look beyond the game, right, girls? But uh just what are your thoughts on on the path and and the uh bracket as you see it? Yeah, I think that you know it's definitely not going to be an easy task whatsoever. I think that we are going to have to continue with doing what we've been doing all season, taking it one game at a time and believing in ourselves and having that confidence to go in and play against anybody. Um, we know that, you know, usually we draw somebody from the southern end and it it is a tougher game. So we know that we just have to go out there and play just how we did Friday night and and go out there and just stay on our game and not worry about like others. We have to play our game for sure. And again, the good news if there is, you know, and being the number three seed is you avoid Cheshire, you avoid Darianne, uh, you know, you won't see them until the final if you guys are blessed enough to go that far. You could have a semifinal game against Southington, which, you know, obviously, uh uh heck, it's one game each. You know, you might you might as well make it that far and and uh play the rubber match. But uh a state championship, have those words been talked about at all by you or your staff or any of the girls, or are you just keeping the focus on what you have to do to be ready for Wednesday? Yeah, so we're I mean, of course, you know, that's the ultimate goal always for sure. But uh we're taking it game by game. So we're just you know, we just got through the CCC tournament, so now it's definitely focusing towards the state tournament. Um in the past, we have been uh, you know, a little humbled in round one very often. So we know that this is our first hump and or in after the bye, our our first round, sorry. So I know that this is the hump for us. So we got to get over this hump and then um go from there. So Paige and Claire, let's let's talk about you guys a little bit more here. Uh we still got about another 10 minutes or so before we have to wrap up. How do you guys end up playing softball? Uh, you know, rather than than another sport, you know, up there in Enfield. And Claire, let's start with you since you're a pitcher, because not only are you playing the game, but something drew you to pick up that ball, step in that circle, and and and you know, to throw it at other people. Well, kind of what's your story? How did you uh become a softball player? So I kind of just started playing softball like as something fun when I was nine. And then like as soon as I stepped foot on the field, I like immediately wanted to be a pitcher. Um I found it like to be the most fun position, and I liked kind of being the center and always having like action. Um and then I just never stopped, like I kept going and kept working. So how about you, Paige? What was your journey like? Um, I started a bit younger because my brother was a baseball player, my mom played softball. So right off the gate, they knew I wanted to be a softball player. Um position-wise, I really tried everything. I mean, I started off with our coach now or Coach Silva actually as a pitcher. Um then I was close catcher at one point, then I was an infielder, then I was an outfielder. So I really tried everywhere, but I had the love for the game and I still do, and that's why I continue to play. I tell you what, though, that probably makes you a very valuable uh uh person on that team, knowing that that she could play anywhere, right, coach? Absolutely. She's definitely, definitely played many positions for me for sure. Um, and I always tease her. I'm like, listen, I know you, I I've seen you since you've been little, so I know you can play it all if I ever needed you to go somewhere. So she knows she's a she's a backup for a lot of a lot of positions that we might not have a backup for. And and are either of you playing in college? Um I am. I'm going to Malloy University next year, and I'm playing Division II softball there. Okay, and and why that school? What and this is Claire in case anybody uh you know doesn't recognize the voice this far in, but um yeah, what was it about that school that that made you want to make it home for the next four years? Um when I had for I first did an overnight there, like the beginning of my junior year, and I really loved the size of the school. It was smaller. Um and I really liked the coaching staff, and they had my major, and when I did my overnight, I just felt like that's where I wanted to go. So and how about you, Paige? What's your future look like if there's no softball involved off to college and then the rest of your life, or will you play club maybe, or have you even thought about it? Um, it is unfortunate that I'm not playing softball in college because it's definitely something that's gonna be sad to let go. But I'm focusing more heavily on what I want to do for the future. Um, I'm attending Villanova University and I'm going more for like the pre-law track and I'm doing ROTC in college, so I don't really think I'd have a lot of time to do softball, which is the reason I um am not committed for softball. And uh but still great school, obviously. Uh you know, they love their sports down there, so I'm sure you'll be a part of that community, and I'm sure both of you guys will will be successful in whatever you uh end up doing in life. So um, and obviously the leadership skills that you've just uh you know garnered through softball, uh, you know, just hearing Coach talk about talk about you guys as captains. I expect great things out of both of you, that's for sure. So uh coach, any any last words, last thoughts about this team, about this group, uh, what they mean to you personally, you know, like you said, you've been there nine years now. Uh you know, what they gave you with that championship uh win is something I'm sure, you know, they'll never forget it. You'll never forget it. But uh just what are you gonna think about this team 20 years from now? Yeah, they're definitely gonna hold that special place in my heart for for quite some time, for sure. Um, I've known many of these girls since they've started playing softball when they were little. So to see them develop into who they are now and just how they can compose themselves and play in those big moments has been really special. Um, and we have been sharing in that for sure this season. Um, so yeah, it's just we're not done yet. We know we still have a big road ahead and we want to continue to make more of those memories this season and just leave it out all on the fields and keep going. The N5 the Enfield Eagles, the Southern Connecticut Conference Champions for 2026, head coach Andrea Silver, co-captains, both seniors, right? Yes, uh Claire Buffard and uh uh Paige Sakala. Thank you so much for joining us. Good luck in the state tournament. And you know, hopefully I'll get to meet you guys in person up at stores in uh two weeks. Who knows, right? Crazier things have happened, but uh congratulations on a great year, and and hopefully when the next votes come out, people realize that Enfield softball is for real. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. All right, John, what what's your takeaway from this discussion? You know, the the the the the little team that could almost, you know, the the they've been you know, since Coach Silva's been there, and and she was originally Coach Tarbucks when she started, she's gotten married over the last nine years, so um, but uh the main things, and we and we've talked about it a lot since we've started the podcast, they have a great feeder program up in Enfield. Uh, we touched upon that. They have kids that play defense. One of the things that that shocked me as I was going through their schedule was out of their 23 games, they lost the one game to Southington where they gave up 13, 14 runs, whatever it was, they got blown out. Uh other than that game, I think there was one game where they gave up four runs, it was one game where they gave up five runs. Every other game, so that's 18 of them, I believe, if I did my math correctly, was two runs or less defensively. Yeah, that's about right. Um they lost to Southern 14-3 on April 8th. They gave up five to Granby. Uh that was April 17th. And beyond that, uh the schedule has been impressive. Uh they gave up four to East Catholic on May 12th, but uh they have played very, very good softball. So at the very least, I would feel, especially coming off a Southington victory, they have to at least feel confident going into the States. You know, and and that was, you know, as you heard during the interview, that was one of the things that that Coach Silva was talking about was she wanted to instill confidence in these girls all season long that hey, we can beat these teams. And how many times when you're talking to a coach that's had a great year, and I know you've asked the question, I've asked the question where we kind of pinpoint, hey, what game was it that changed your season? Yeah. And they told me it was that Southington game when they got their butts spanked, 14-3. It was early in the year, I believe it was game two, if I remember right. They won their open at 12-0 and then lost to Southington. But then they ran off 15 straight before they lost that close game to Newington. But they built up a lot of confidence, you know. Uh they knew they didn't play well, they made some changes, but from that from then on, throughout the rest of the season, it was all about the coaching staff at Enfield, just you know, trying to get the girls confident in what they were doing, what they were trying to achieve. And second time they played Southington, they played like a confident team, and you know, the proof's in the pudding. They hosted the SEC Championship trophy for the first time. Might have been the first time ever, if I remember right. I can't remember for sure, but that's a pretty big comment to make and not know. But um uh, but just you know, what a great moment for them. You know, that that little team up on the border, uh, like we talked about near Massachusetts, and uh uh yeah, and they they were the uh the Giant Slayers on this this day. Absolutely true. And as I look at their bracket in class double, we we hit on it at the beginning of the show. They will play, as you mentioned, a team from the FC act to start. They have a bias to three seed uh into the second round. So they'll either get the Wilton Warriors or the Fairfield Ward Mustangs. They get through that, they will either have Maloney, West Hill, New Canaan, or the uh what's that, Stratford Notre Dame uh co-op team? So uh Notre Dame West Haven, yes. Yes. Yep. Uh so they'll have one of those and get through that. I there's no reason to think Southington won't be there. Uh but I mean it's the playoffs, any single game. They don't play three-game series, it's a single game. Exactly. And one of the things that makes the sport so both great and and so gosh down frustrating is round ball, round bat. You're a half-inch off either way, things don't go your way, you know. So um they know they have to keep playing well, uh, but again, it's that confidence angle. They're coming off a win that might be one of the biggest wins in program history. Uh, you know, talking with Paige, talking with Claire, they're two great captains um who who their leadership has been so vital to all of this. And you know, it it happens all the time with us. We get we talk to these coaches and these kids, we get to know them a little bit, we like them, and then all of a sudden we're kind of rooting for them. And I'd love to see Enfield make a make a beat one in the in the state tournament. It would be Class Double L is loaded though. What we even haven't even discussed is Cheshire sitting there as the top seed. And then, you know, let's not rule out Trumbull is the five seed, Darien the four seed. There is so much good softball to be played in class double. I tell you what, if all the seed seeded teams win out, look at what the quarterfinals could be. Oh, sure. You would you would you would have a Darien versus you know Trumbull quarterfinal. The final eight is a rematch of the FCA championship game. Right. You know, you you've got I can't remember who the number eight seed is off the top of my head. I don't have it in front of me. Bristol Central. Bristol Central. Well, we had the we you know, we had the Rams on the podcast. Yeah, sure. I know a little bit about them. Um now, granted, Bristol Central versus Cheshire, that would be a major upset, but you know, we do know that Bristol Central has talent. Their record proves it. So it's gonna be a fun state tournament. Um I'm excited for it. Uh, you know, the Connecticut softball blog is gonna be there throughout the the whole Kabit and Caboodle this year. We're covering all four of the state championship games in two weeks. I've already got stringers hired to do that, and uh uh it's just gonna be a fun two weeks to see what happens, and we'll see what stories happen. And uh, you know, follow the ctsoftballblog.com to to stay updated. I've already got a uh page fully committed to all the all the brackets. So if you want to know how your team is doing on any given day and you don't want to go to the CIAC website because it's probably gonna be working a little slow this time of year with so many people there, come to the ctsoftballblog.com, hit CIAC State uh Championships, I believe it says, and uh you know, follow your team from there. I can't cover all the games, unfortunately, but I'm gonna try to pick and choose and find the stories, and uh, you know, maybe I'll be making the trip to Enfield, who knows? If I had any one gripe with our friends at the CIAC, love you all, but all these games happening tomorrow, June 1st, they're all 345, 4, 415, 430. If you're a working stiff or you happen to work for a school, raise his hand. Uh that's tough to get to. It is. Private school, we graduated Friday. Exactly. Congratulations to all the private school graduates. Absolutely. That's right, yeah. Um uh but yeah, yeah, I I was a little surprised that some of those schools that have lights, you know, they they haven't used them yet. Yeah, I was also surprised that all four classes are playing Monday. Yeah, going Monday, Wednesday, Friday. You know, usually they break them up, but I had a brief conversation with John Holt of the CIAC. Who's awesome, by the way? Oh, he's outstanding. And uh, but there's plenty of uh softball officials. You know, we talked to uh the softball umpires in our, I believe it was our second podcast, not including our introductory episode. And we know that's not an issue, which is great. So uh so yeah, so Monday, Wednesday, Friday of this week, we're gonna have the first round, the second round, and the quarterfinals, and then next week we'll be in the the semifinals either Tuesday or Wednesday, and then uh the following Saturday up at the uh Burrell family field at uh Yukon up in stores. We'll have four state championship games. Great stuff. Um excited, just like I said, when it comes to the time thing, it makes it tough to go cover them, but we'll get the coverage. I know you're gonna be there. I'd love to get out and actually see the games myself, and it's a little tough. Even baseball, I'm having the same problem with it, but that's a good problem to have, John. So we'll we'll take it as it comes. But uh, yeah, we we move into the state tournament, and it's gonna be over before we know it. It goes by fast. It does. Thirteen days from today is the uh the four championship games, you know, unless it doesn't rain. Yeah. Um and that could always screw things up. But the the weather forecast looks fabulous. I was I was looking at that today, and the next 10 days are are are just gonna be uh some beautiful weather for these games. And uh yeah, I'm I'm excited. You know, this we're we're wrapping up our third high school season. We've told a ton of stories, we've got a ton more ton more to tell uh over the course of the travel season, and of course we've got little leagues coming up, so it's it's a fun time. This is why I started the the blog for times this time of year when there's just so many great stories happening all over. And just for you know, being complete, uh in class L, Brookfield's the top seed, Nanawog the top seed in class M, and in Class S, it's St. Paul Catholic. I I felt duty bound to give all that information. Yeah, absolutely. And uh yeah, we'll see. You know, could it be a number one sweep across the board? Lord knows those teams are all talented enough, but you gotta play the game. Absolutely. We'll find out. Yep, we will look forward to it. We thank everyone from Enfield for joining us, and we'll do it again next week, at least once. If not more, you never know with us. We're always telling the great stories. So, John, looking forward to that. We'll talk to you soon. We will see you soon, Rob. Thank you. All right, you got it for John Nash. I'm Rob Adams. That'll do it for this edition of the Inside Corner.