Sunday, June 7
Litchfield 7, Torrington 3
Veteran Cowboy left-hander Carl Rivers (9 innings, 6 hits, 9 strikeouts, 3 walks) kept most of Torrington’s bats under control while his hitters roughed up four Torrington pitchers on the way to the win. Adam Claire (3-for-4, 2 RBI); Carl Quist (2-for-4, double, 2 RBI), Kyle Weaver (2-for-3) and Kyle Robinson (3-for-4) did most of the damage for Litchfield. Darren Gould (3-for-4, 3 RBI) and Matt Marola (double) were the only Rebels who dented Rivers’ performance.
Amenia 3, Winsted 1
The Monarchs got a two-run double in the second from Chris Matteo (two hits) and made it hold up for the win at Winsted’s Walker Field. Travis Hyatt scattered eight hits over eight innings to earn the win. Jorge Pimental took the complete-game loss. Ricky Langer and Chester Warner (double) had two hits each for the Whalers, who outhit Amenia 9-7.
Tribury 6, Terryville 3
The Pavers scored five times in the bottom of the eighth inning to down the Black Sox in Woodbury. Craig Prasauckas’ two-out RBI double broke a 1-1 tie and sparked Tribury’s rally. Tribury also got a two-run single from Andrew Waller and RBIs from Brian Lamay and Bobby Bengivengo in the eighth. Terryville put together its own rally in the top of the ninth, but Bengivengo, who got the win in relief, got Eric Baba to hit into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded and two outs to end the game. Andrew Jones, Brian Cyr, Gossy Stutsky combined to give up just one run in seven innings for Tribury before being replaced by Bengivengo. Prasauckas had two doubles to pace the Pavers, who also got two singles each from Bengivengo, Waller and Brett Wigder. Pat Morton, Eric Baba, and Steve Holm paced Terryville with two hits each.
Bethlehem 12, Tri-Town 6
Bethlehem pitcher Dave Fredlund gave up a run in the first inning, then blanked the Trojans for the next four innings while his teammates built an 11-1 lead. Jose Ortiz (3 hits, home run, 3 RBIs) and Nick Chiovitti (2 hits, 2 runs scored) were the offensive headliners as the Plowboys scored two runs in the first, one in the second, two in the third and six in the fourth. Tri-Town’s Troy Kobylarz (2 hits, 2 runs scored) had a strong effort for the Trojans, but the game was out of reach by the sixth inning, when Fredlund gave way to reliever Rob Geraci. The Trojans scored two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh. The Plowboys are just behind Brass City (6-1) in the league standings at 5-1.
Brass City 7, Waterbury 2
Pitchers Kenny Kerski (Waterbury) and Marc DiDominzio (Brass City) gave up just two runs apiece in the first five innings at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury. Kerski blinked first, as Justin McCulloch (2-for-4, RBI, 2 runs scored) broke the tie with an RBI in the Brew’s two-run sixth inning. Dominzio kept posting zeros through the seventh before Tim McCarthy and Mike Padovani finished it out with an inning apiece in relief. Brass City added two more runs in the seventh and a final score in the eighth. Billy Finley went 2-for-4 with a double for the Wild.
Naugatuck 3, Thomaston 0
Thomaston’s Jacob Barbour and Naugatuck’s Lance Stevens threw shut-out baseball for the first four innings of a Tri-State game at Naugatuck’s Rotary Field. But the Dogs broke through for two runs in the fifth inning behind RBI singles by George Halarmon and Trent Levi, while Stevens (8 innings, 1 hit, 10 strikeouts, 3 walks) gave up his only hit to Barbour in the eighth inning. Naugy went on for one more run in the seventh as the Spoilers went through three more pitchers. Tim Lebel closed out the ninth for Naugatuck.
Mazda Dodge 5, Wolcott 4
Wolcott took a 4-1 lead into the eighth inning behind the strong pitching outing of Omar Tavaras before the rally caps came on for Mazda Dodge who scored 4 runs to pull out a 5-4 victory. Pat Gritt led off the eighth for the Red Devils with a triple and was singled home by Trevor Bellemare. Jordan Gomes reached on an error, a sacrifice bunt placed runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out. Chris Ayer followed with a two run double to tie the score. Mazda loaded the bases and then a base on balls forced in the go-ahead run. Ayer, who came on to pitch in the top of the eighth relieving started Mike Cavallo, retired the Scrappers side in the ninth to pick up the victory.
Burlington 11, Farmingbury 0
The Burlington Hunters (6-2), perched near the top of Tri-State baseball, beat the Farmingbury Longshots, dead last in the 17-team league, by a scalding 11-0 margin Sunday afternoon, yet the game itself played out as a testament to the improvement of each team and the league. Start with the fact that the Longshots lost 28-0 at the field at Lewis Mills High School in their first season in the league last year, signifying great strides in a very respectable pitching staff for Farmingbury. “It takes a while to get adjusted to this league,” said Burlington player/coach Pat Flynn with a straight face.
Burlington starter Ian Sullivan (5 innings, 1 hit, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) traded the solid work behind him on defense for nothing-to-worry-about for his hitters, allowing just five Farmingbury base-runners in his five innings. The damage started in the first inning, when Jay McIntyre (2-for-5, double, home run, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored) and Steve Dubois (4-for-4, 2 doubles, home run, 3 RBI) measured the distance with doubles. In the second inning, Rob Paul (1-for-3, 2 runs scored) led off with a single; Jared Holtman followed with an RBI double. After two outs were recorded, Burlington’s three, four, five batters (in the order) went to work. With Justin Campbell aboard on a fielder’s choice, McIntyre parked the second pitch he saw over the fence in right center field. Adam Peters (2-for-3, double, 2 walks, 3 runs scored) followed him with almost an exact copy for a solo homer on the next pitch. Dubois seemed to do the same on the very next pitch, but an umpire and Longshot left fielder claimed it bounced over the fence for a ground rule double. Five runs were in, 7-0 in the second. Longshot reliever Dan Marco had better luck in the third inning because he threw off-speed stuff. By the fourth inning, Burlington bats zeroed in again. Peters started with a two-out double; Dubois got his center field home run this time. Steven Popp (2-for-4) doubled (his 2nd of the day) down the third base line. After that, down 9-0, Marco held the Hunters to just two more runs.
Peter Wallace quote from Monday’s Register Citizen; “Meanwhile, the league’s accomplishment, behind commissioner Ed Gadomski, is to encourage the addition of new talent to teams like the Hunters, and new teams like the Longshots to the league. The fact that playing dues are this high makes on-field focus all the more intense.”