Wednesday, July 8
Burlington 7, Torrington 4
The Hunters downed the Torrington Rebels by a 7-4 score Wednesday behind a strong mound effort from John Mittica and a defense that refused to let the Rebels overtake the home team. Leftfielder Steven Dubois had a big night at the plate (2-for-3 with two runs and two early runs batted in) and made one of two great defensive plays in support of Mittica. The home team got busy right off the bat Wednesday night, scoring three times in the bottom of the first after Mittica worked around a leadoff hit in the top half. Centerfielder Jimmy Spirito lined the first pitch he saw from Torrington player/manager Curtis Anthony to center for a single to get things started. After a pop up to short, third baseman Steven Popp walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Dubois, who is hitting over .500 for Burlington, drove a 3-1 pitch deep to right center for a double, scoring both Spirito and Popp. Dubois later came around to score on a single by shortstop Scott McIntyre, giving the Hunters a fast 3-0 lead. In the third, second baseman Jay Lovato and left fielder Jeremy Lovato got aboard with back-to-back singles. When second baseman Matt Marola lined a single through the left side, Jay Lovato headed home but was gunned down at the plate by Dubois.
After a walk to Rebels centerfielder Matt Harrington loaded the bases, Darren Gould stepped to the plate. Gould had struck out swinging in the first, but jumped on a first-pitch fastball by Mittica which he lined over first base for a two-run single. Anthony had been cruising after the tough first, retiring six in a row before Dubois started the two-out rally with a single to left. Rightfielder Jay McCluskey jumped on the first pitch he saw and drilled a double to deep left center that put runners on second and third with two outs. Big two-out hits are sometimes hard to come by, but extra hitter Justin Campbell was up to the task and lined a single over first that put the lead back up to 5-2. It could have gotten worse for the visitors if not for a nice running catch in the gap by Jeremy Lovato with two on and two out. Anthony scored on a wild pitch in the top of the fourth, but the Hunters responded with single runs in the fourth and fifth. Pat Flynn led off his teams fourth with a hustle double, and moved to third on a bunt by Spirito. After second baseman Rob Paul walked, Popp beat out an infield hit that plated Flynn and made the score 6-3. Two stellar defensive plays in the top of the fifth stymied the Rebels. The first play involved Dubois (no surprise) who threw out Marola trying to stretch a single into a double. The next batter, Harrington, lifted a short fly ball behind short that McIntyre left his feet to make a terrific catch. Flynn capped off his strong night with an RBI single in the fifth that put his team up 7-3. Mittica went six innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out four and walking two. Ian Sullivan entered in the seventh for the Hunters, and while he did give up a run and bring the tying run to the plate, he got the final out on an easy fly to center.
Winsted 4, Tribury 2
Donnie Crossman threw a two-hitter to lead the Whalers to the win in Woodbury. Crossman struck out eight and walked three to outduel the Pavers’ John Sharky. Sharky allowed seven hits, striking out seven and walking one to take the complete-game loss. Chester Warner led the Winsted offense with a pair of hits and two RBI. Charlie Putnam also contributed with a 3-for-4 day at the plate.
Mazda Dodge 5, Waterbury 4
The Red Devils scored four times in the sixth inning en route to the win at Waterbury’s Fulton Park. Mazda Dodge, which put together four hits in the inning, also took advantage of two walks and a pair of errors in the frame. The Red Devils improved to 6-6 despite being outhit 10-8 by the Wild, who fell to 3-7. DJ Dyer picked up the win while Fraz Kader suffered the complete-game loss. Tim Collins paced the Mazda Dodge offense with a 3-for-3 game with two RBI. Jay Lafontaine also drove in two runs with a single. Bobby Wilcher led Waterbury with two hits, including a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
Bethlehem 4, Amenia 0
Jason Krajesky threw a complete game shutout for the 11-1 Plowboys to improve to 5-0 on the season. Matt Parlato and Jon Conlan homered for Bethlehem while Tony Geraci added a triple.