By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – When your scholastic softball program has two future NCAA Division I players shooting daggers from the mound, it’s a pretty special situation.

And that’s what the team over at Bristol Central is currently enjoying in the form of pitching studs, seniors Alex Sciarretto and Sophia Torreso.

In terms of Sciarretto, a pitcher that was more than worthy of a 2022 Class LL All-State nod, she is going to be one of Connecticut’s best scholastic pitchers next season.

And after what should be a tremendous spring campaign for the Rams in 2023, the chucker will be heading up to Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, to continue throwing her rise ball and every other pitch she carries in her arsenal.

And on November 9, Sciarretto officially signed her National Letter of Intent from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium on the campus of Bristol Central High School.

With that signing, Sciarretto will be given the tremendous opportunity to compete at the highest NCAA level.

And the principal from Bristol Central knew almost from the start that Sciarretto was going to be a serious student who wanted to play softball for the program at BCHS.

“I remember the first time I met Alex’s parents was probably during freshman year at conferences and they were looking for the softball coach,” said Central principal Pete Wininger. “So I knew right then there was a theme here for Alex and her family.”

“And that was her love for softball.”

Stonehill recently linked up to the Division I level and Sciarretto will be competing against several well established schools.

It’s a huge chance for Sciarretto and her teammates to forge a new path for the collegiate program at the NCAA level.

“Stonehill is getting a true power pitcher,” said Central coach Monica Hayes. “And she enjoys the strikeout.”

The Skyhawks compete in the Northeast Conference and Sciarretto should fit right into Division I softball with ease.

Over the course of the 2022 campaign at Central, she threw 82 innings from the mound, posting 114 strikeouts and carried a tremendous ERA of 0.85 which included six shoutouts and a perfect game along the way.

Sciarretto and Torreso were both named CCC South All-Conference in 2021 and 2022 and expect the skilled senior combination to perform that same feat this season one more time.

She’s extremely coachable, an excellent communicator, constantly works on her game, and is always attempting to eliminate any errors or mistakes in her form.

She doesn’t have many flaws when watching her body of work from the mound and Sciarretto is a quick study and strives to improve every day.

“She’s a self-proclaimed perfectionist of sorts,” said Hayes of Sciarretto. “She’s never satisfied.”

Hayes mentions that Sciarretto will win a game, picking up 15 strikeouts along the way, but be a bit mad about a double or an extra-base hit she gave up along the way.

There’s a steady desire to be better than she was the previous day and that drive is an amazing tribute to the pitcher she’s become today.

“She’s alway trying to improve,” said Hayes. “She’s not afraid to ask questions and knows how to accomplish goals, regardless of where she is.”

And playing year round helps Sciarretto as she throws the ball for the CT Charmers 18U Gold Card-Swanchak team.

That includes her accomplishments in the classroom that mirrors her abilities on the field.

There’s not a task or goal she cannot reach and that attitude will do her well on the Stonehill campus.

“Her inner desire to succeed is second to none no matter what the motivation is,” said Hayes of Sciarretto. “What ever motives you, to strike people out, to get hits, to get an ‘A’ in the classroom, whatever that is for you will be beneficially for you at the Division I level.”

Sciarretto can also get it done from the plate and was extremely helpful towards the middle of the batting order this past spring when the Rams made its playoff push.

“It’s interesting to watch pitchers in high school because they’re not just pitchers. They’ve got to be two-way players,” said Wininger. “They have to play the field and then they have to swing the bat. And I especially remember a home run [by her] last year…that just shows you her athleticism.”

“Not only does she have the ability to pitch at a high level, she swings the bat a little bit.”

Wininger also mentioned that Sciarretto posts a ton of her workouts on Twitter and that obviously showed programs that were interested in her services what she did just to prepare for her stints on the mound.

Those kind of efforts also showed opponents the misery they were in for when Sciarretto takes the circle for the program at BCHS.

Sciarretto was one of four student athletes from the Central softball program to sign their National Letter of Intent that afternoon – a tribute to the amazing program from the Class LL runner up’s from 2022.

“To have this many students sign at this time of year at this level is just a tribute of the work they have done over the last years,” said Wininger. 

And Wininger, who truly enjoys the winter scholastic campaign, is looking forward for the warm weather to come back – meaning that Sciarretto and the softball team from BCHS will be hitting the field for what could be another historic season.

“I can’t wait for the spring,” admitted Wininger.