Meggie pitched in 25 games and ended the season with a 3.94 ERA and a 6-10 record, while Madison was 6-17 after 29 appearances. The Purple Knights, if you're doing the math, went 12-27 on the season.

Meggie struck out 41 batters and walked 26, allowing 149 hits in 108 innings of work. Opponents batted .314 against her, and the Knights had some problems in the field - of the 83 runs given up, just 61 were earned.

The Knights finished their season losing seven of their last eight games and ended up ninth in the 10-team East Coast Conference (Dowling, Adelphi, C.W. Post, NYIT, Molloy, Queens, Concordia, Mercy, and St. Thomas Aquinas).

Bridgeport has a core of kids coming back next year and Meggie was strong in a lot of games. Things are looking up.

* * *

The University of New Haven was the little softball team that could. The Chargers got knocked out in the Northeast-10 championships by Southern Connecticut, but earned a trip to the Division II NCAA regional as the seventh seed.

They played great ball in the NCAAs, but couldn't get past Georgian Court, dropping a 5-3 game in the regional final and finishing with a 34-18 record.

Junior utility player and catcher Nicole Downs (Seymour) was one of the rocks for UNH - team-leading .364 batting average, 60 hits, 13 doubles, seven home runs, 96 RBIs, and slugging percentage (.582).

She also had a terrific fielding percentage (.981), was second in put-outs (202) and assists (61). She also made the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll (at least a 3.0 GPA). Whew! She is poised to rewrite many New Haven career records next year.

But let's give some love to outfielder Chelsea Harold (Oxford/Seymour), who completed her sophomore year with the second-best batting average behind Nicole's - .314.

Chelsea also started every one of the 52 games the Chargers played, had 44 hits and eight RBIs, stole a team-leading 20 bases, and was at the plate to swing - just four walks.

Chelsea, too, is poised to make a lot of noise on the Charger squad next year.

* * *

Amanda Schiffer (Masuk) did just about everything she could to help poor Wentworth Institute of Technology get through its 9-23 season: she played second base, she pinch-hit, she did some pinch-running, she did some pitching.

She played in 19 games for the Leopards, starting five of them. She hit .182, had one stolen base and a perfect fielding average. On the mound, she made two appearances, lost both games, and ended her season with an 8.91 ERA.

She struck out three, walked six, and yielded 17 runs (14 earned) on 22 hits.

If the Leopards can turn their program around, they should draw a lot of fan support - softball is the only women's sport played in the spring at WIT.

Lacrosse

The University of Connecticut women's lacrosse team had a rough season - a 3-13 record, outscored 214-140, and out-shot 505-378. The last game was a 20-5 shelling administered by ninth-ranked Notre Dame.

Junior defender Carly Curran (Newtown) played in 15 of UConn's 16 contests, starting in 14 of them. She was third on the team in draw controls (17) and fourth in fouls committed (16), so she wasn't watching the game go by.

She picked up seven ground balls and caused eight turnovers.

* * *

The 2009 season ended for Vassar College in the Liberty League playoffs, with a 19-13 loss to the University of Rochester.

For midfielder Libby Feltch (Newtown), her freshman year was substantially successful - 10 goals, eight assists, and she played in 14 games, starting 10 of them. She picked up 20 ground balls, and caused 10 turnovers.

Vassar finished with a 9-7 record but was obviously a team that came together strongly at the end of the season, winning six of their last seven games.

Libby is also a midfielder on the field hockey team: those Brewers open their season next Wednesday against Hartwick College.

Track

Emily Bucciferro (Seymour/Sacred Heart) was right there in two field events for the Fightin' Blue Hens of the University of Delaware - she had the third-best height in the high jump (5-0.25) this spring, and was fifth-best in the long jump (15-3.75).

Baseball

Relief pitcher Dennis Accomomando (UConn/Monroe) walked off the fields at Storrs and dropped onto a minor league ballfield in Danville, Va., playing for the Class A Rookie Ball affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, in the Appalachian League.

In his last year with the Huskies, Dennis was 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA after 20 mound appearances. He allowed 10 hits and six runs in 13 innings of work, with 13 strikeouts.

He has appeared in seven games for Danville, pitched 8.2 innings, allowed 10 hits and nine runs, struck out three and walked six. He has an 8.31 ERA and the Braves have a huge, 9.5-game lead in the Appalachian League East. Dennis is one of 19 pitchers on the squad.

* * *

UMass relief pitcher Charlie Benson (Pomperaug) had quite a sophomore season for the Minutemen. He trotted out of the bullpen 16 times, pitching a total of 31 innings.

He ended the season with a 3-0 record, one save (against Rhode Island) and a squad second-best 3.19 ERA (a 2.51 ERA in the Atlantic-10 Conference). He held opponents to a .254 batting average, struck out 19 and walked 13.

This summer, he took the hill for the Danbury Westerners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, compiling a 0-3 record with a 3.21 ERA, with the opposition batters hitting him at a .304 pace.

Danbury finished well off the pace this summer, 8.5 games behind Keene in the Western Division.

Can't say you don't see quality collegiate play in the NECBL - former Torrington Twister Stephen Strasburg just signed a $15.1 million deal with the Washington Nationals.

* * *

The University of New Haven's baseball season produced a 22-21 record in a very competitive Northeast-10 Conference.

Although the Chargers surprised top-seeded Franklin Pierce College with an upset win on the first day of the playoffs, it was the Ravens that eventually ended the UNH season, the next afternoon.

Senior outfielder Adam Rozum (Seymour) was a role player, starting eight games but playing in a total of 20. He finished with a .128 batting average, five hits and a stolen base.

Charger freshman Jordan Kershaw (Seymour) could be found just about anywhere in the outfield this spring. He played in 30 games, starting in 18 of them.

Getting accustomed to college pitching, he hit .200, with 11 singles and a double, four RBIs, two stolen bases, and a sparkling 1.000 fielding average.

* * *

Junior catcher Pete Oggeri (Newtown) was one of the stalwarts of the Wentworth Institute of Technology team this spring - the Leopards had nine guys who started just about every one of their 41 games.

WIT ended its season with a 22-18-1 record and a once-and-done appearance in the ECAC Division III baseball playoffs.

Pete's year was solid: a .266 batting average, two homers and 18 RBIs, a team-leading 278 put-outs and, are you ready for this?, he led the team in stolen bases with 21.

Not many catchers are fleet of foot. With so much experience, the Leopards hope for better things next year.

Volleyball

The Northeast-10 Conference pre-season volleyball poll suggests Bentley, Merrimack and New Haven will finish 1-2-3.

The Chargers received seven first-place votes, so you have to believe they'll be a powerhouse. Joining the Chargers this fall is incoming freshman Tiffany Kubik (Seymour), a defensive specialist.

She's the only Nutmegger on the geographically diverse squad (Sweden, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, California, Florida). Tiffany's season opens next Friday in a DII tournament at Shippensburg University.

Triathlon

You might need a rope and some long tent pegs to hold Dan Theleen (Pomperaug) down.

He's trying to be a three-sport athlete this year, starting with cross-country - he reported for first practices on Sunday. In the winter he'll be in the pool, and in the spring, on the track.

With his free time, he has also managed to start a Triathlon Club at Keene State College, where he's entering his junior year. The sports website announced everything on August 13, right after Dan got the blessing from Athletic Director John Ratliff.

Keene State (through Dan) is now a fledgling member of the 23-member Northeast Collegiate Triathlon Conference, which includes a good number of Division I participants (Harvard, Army, Boston University, Columbia, Cornell, Syracuse, Bucknell, Drexel, and Penn State).

The fall championships occur on October 3 in Montauk, N.Y. - a date that conflicts with the Keene State Cross-Country Invitational. The national collegiate championship is in the spring.

Dan finished his first summer of triathlon competition by finishing ninth overall (of 337 competitors) and first in his age class at the Park City Mossman Triathlon in Bridgeport on August 16.

He had his best overall time and was 27 minutes faster than his finish at the Pat Griskus Olympic-length event at Quassy in June. He was third in the Mossman run and second in the swim.

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Have news about a local athlete who will play a college sport this fall? Drop me a note at john.addyman@yahoo.com.