The Cheshire High School Rams defeated the Ridgefield High School Tigers to win the CIAC Class LL softball championship Sunday.
Michael Lemanski, Patch Staff
|Updated Tue, Jun 17, 2025 at 2:10 pm ET
STORRS, CT — Ridgefield High's game effort fell just short against Cheshire High School Sunday, with the Rams winning a tight, 2-0, contest for the CIAC Class LL softball championship.
Cheshire was led by junior hurler Jenica Matos, who pitched in out of trouble early, then finished strong to win the Rams' second-ever title.
Matos' high-wire acts kept fans on edge, but when it was over, she had a shutout and a winner's medal around her neck. After the game, she admitted to feeling pressure early.
"At times, I do feel the pressure," Matos said. "But my team relaxed me. My coach relaxed me."
Calm, Matos put away the Tigers despite the narrow lead and walked out a champion.
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"It's just a good way to end the season for the seniors," Matos said. "It means absolutely everything."
"We really put our heads down and did what we needed to do," added senior Bailey Vitanza after the game.
Last year, of course, Cheshire lost a 10-inning heartbreaker against Fairfield-Ludlowe High School, 3-2, with then-sophomore Matos on the mound.
It was a battle involving the top-seed Cheshire, coached by Kristine Drust, which was carrying a 21-2 total record going into Sunday's game.
The 18th-seed Ridgefield High School Tigers, coached by Rita Jagodzinski, were 15-9 en route to an improbable title game run.
Cheshire was looking to win its second-ever title, the last one coming in 2016. Ridgefield was making its first state title game appearance.
The Class LL game was the third of four taking place on a cloudy Father's Day at the Burrill Family Field Softball Complex at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
Originally slated for Saturday, June 14, the slate of softball championships was moved to Sunday and a more promising weather forecast.
Matos retired Ridgefield in the top of the first, leading to a magical moment in the bottom of the first for the Rams.
That's when junior Cheshire Jordan McCue blasted a solo home run over the left field wall, past the 200-foot sign, off Ridgefield freshman pitcher Caitlin McGratty.
It was 1-0 Cheshire, with both pitchers next walking tightropes, but, ultimately, not giving in.
Ridgefield's first big threat happened when senior Charlotte Raissis led off the top of the third with a walk, with a courtesy runner brought in to run for her.
Senior Grace Couch then singled to left for the Tigers, putting runners on first and second with none out.
After the next hitter struck out, Ridgefield junior Sofia Capiello hit a soft grounder to the pitcher to advance the runners with the inning's second out.
With runners on second and third and two out, Ridgefield senior Riley Keane flied out to right, ending the inning with no damage done.
Then Cheshire threatened, but McGratty pitched Ridgefield in and out of trouble, retiring Ram junior Avery Radford on a fly ball to right with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the third.
Matos then settled down and kept Ridgefield scoreless through five innings.
In Cheshire's half of the fifth, junior Julia Miller singled on a liner to right to lead things off.
A McCue bunt sent Miller to second base with one out, but Ridgefield shortstop Grace Couch saved a run with a diving stab of a liner by junior Ava Pearson.
A walk to senior Tai Byrd put runners on first and second with two outs, bringing up senior Erin Hersh, who singled in Miller to put Cheshire up 2-0.
With two out and runners on first and second, Cheshire junior Avery Radford came up. A wild pitch then put runners on second and third, with Radford flying out to center to end the inning.
Up 2-0 with two innings to go, Matos looked to put away Ridgefield for the program's second title. An easy 1-2-3 sixth inning left her with one more inning before a championship.
In the bottom of the sixth, Cheshire looked to score some insurance for Matos, and with one out, Molly Fleming singled to center to put one on.
Cheshire junior Lyla Blair then bunted, with Fleming going to third and Blair taking first on a throwing error on the sacrifice attempt.
With runners on first and third with one out, Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases, bringing up the home-run hitting McCue coming up.
McCue fouled out to first with the bases loaded, and junior Ava Pearson grounded to first, ending the inning with no damage done.
With a 2-0 lead, Matos came in for the seventh inning and had a chance to redeem herself following last year's tough loss.
Ridgefield senior Madeline Muncy singled to lead off the top of the seventh, but Matos settled down to clinch the victory, which was sealed with a strikeout and a celebration.
Drust, Cheshire's coach, said Matos' gutsy display on the mound motivated the rest of the team to grind out the title, especially after last year.
"I think everybody wanted it for Jenica. She just embodies what this team is. The whole team really wanted it," Drust said after the game. "You can just see how she throws out there that everybody wanted it for her."
While Matos was the winning pitcher, the most valuable player was Miller, whose pesky hitting made it difficult for Ridgefield. She scored the run that provided insurance for Cheshire.