Tuesday June 21

Wednesday June 22 Burlington/Waterbury game rained out.
Torrington Rebels  6    Thomaston Threshers  3
The Torrington Rebels continued to swing hot bats Tuesday evening, but they needed to escape a late rally to win 6-3 over the Thomaston Threshers in a battle of middle-of-the-pack Tri-State League teams at Thomaston High School. Torrington, now 5-4, struck early with two runs in the top of the first. Thomaston (3-4) cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first, but the Rebels gave themselves some breathing room with a big four-run fifth. “I think our bats are finally coming around,” Torrington player/coach Curtis Anthony said after the win. “It’s halfway through the season. Even some of our outs were hit hard.” In the two-run first, the Rebels strung together three singles from Nick Ross, Miguel Gonzalez and Dave Alexander, along with two throwing errors by Thomaston. For the four-run fifth, Torrington picked up a two-run double from Conor Bierfeldt and a booming RBI triple from Dave Alexander. “We’re just trying to get ready for the playoffs,” Alexander said.
Trailing 6-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Threshers slowly rallied, scoring a run in the fifth off Torrington starter Anthony to cut the deficit to 6-2. Thomaston could have gotten closer, but Rob McHugh was called out at home trying to score on a single by Tim Collins. The home plate umpire, after some discussion, ruled that McHugh slid out of the baseline. The out was the last one of the fifth inning. The Threshers picked up another run in the sixth off Bierfeldt to make it 6-3, then loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, but Austin Poucher got Scott Bellemare to pop out to the mound to end the game. Torrington’s fast start began innocently enough when Ross reached on an infield single to lead off the game. Ross stole second, then reached third on a throwing error by catcher Jordan Gomes. Gonzalez singled to right to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.
Gonzalez reached second on a second throwing error by Gomes, then made it to third on a fly out to center by Bierfeldt. Alexander’s single through a drawn-in infield made the score 2-0. Jerry Colon followed Alexander with a single, but Thomaston starter Justin Chere got the final two outs to get out of further trouble. In the bottom of the first, Nick Urso singled with one out and later scored on a two-out single to right by Kevin MacCallum. Chere pitched his way out of a jam again in the third inning. Greg Bodnar hit into a fielder’s choice, then stole second. Ross singled sharply to left and Gonzalez walked, loading the bases with two outs. Chere, however, got Bierfeldt to ground into a force out to end the threat. Chere couldn’t escape the Rebel bats in the fifth. Chris Beck singled leading off the inning. Beck stole second, then made it to third on a rundown off a ball hit by Gonzalez. Bierfeldt stepped into a Chere pitch and laced it into the gap in left center field for a double, scoring Beck and Gonzalez to make it 4-1. Torrington made it 5-1 when Alexander blasted a Chere offering over the head of center fielder Will Sirotnak for a triple.
“Big momentum builder,” Alexander said of the two-extra base hits in the fifth. “Just timely hitting.” Colon upped the Rebel lead to 6-1 with a sacrifice fly to right. Torrington appeared to be in control, but Thomaston didn’t back down. Jay Lafontaine reached first on an error at shortstop to lead off the bottom of the fifth. The Rebels got two straight outs, but Anthony hit Rob McHugh with a pitch to extend the inning. Lafontaine scored and McHugh moved to second on an infield single by Nick Urso, which made the score 6-2. The Threshers could have cut into the Rebel lead even more, but a controversial play at the plate ended the inning. On the Collins single to right, McHugh tried to score from second base. Torrington right fielder Cody Santore threw the ball home, but his throw was up the third baseline. Rebel catcher Bodnar moved up the line, caught the ball, and tried to tag McHugh, who slid around Bodnar to the mound side of home plate to score a run. Or so McHugh thought.
McHugh was called out by the home plate umpire, who ruled that McHugh was out of the baseline. Thomaston protested, and the home plate umpire asked the base umpire, who said that McHugh was safe, much to the chagrin of the Rebel players who had started walking off the field. The home plate umpire then consulted with the base umpire further and ruled that McHugh was out, ending the inning, much to the dismay of the Thresher players and coaches. Mike McHugh’s RBI single in the sixth made it 6-3. In the seventh, Thomaston threatened to come all the way back.
The inning began with a leadoff single from Brian O’Leary. After a pop out to second, Rob McHugh walked. After another pop out, this time in foul territory in right field, Collins walked to load the bases. Bellemare came up with a chance to bring the Threshers closer. Instead, Poucher got Bellemare to pop up to the mound on a 1-1 pitch. Poucher squeezed the ball for the final out. Torrington looks to keep swinging the bats well when it hosts the Bristol Greeners on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Fuessenich Park. Thomaston continues a busy week with games Thursday against Wolcott (home) and Sunday against Litchfield (away).
Wolcott Scrappers  5   Naugatuck Dogs  3  (11 innings)
In a back-and-forth game where the teams combined to leave 27 runners on base, Wolcott remained undefeated (8-0) when Jason Miller singled in the top of the 11th to plate the go-ahead run. Eric Soucy drove in his third run on a sacrifice fly in the 11th to make the score 5-3. Erik Sehnal pitched the final four innings in relief to pick up the win (1 run, 4 hits, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks). Mike Vaccarelli (4-for-5, 2 runs scored, stolen base) doubled twice while Ismael Bolorin and Ryan Andrade each added a double for the Scrappers. Miller had two hits and two RBI. “It was just back and forth madness,” Wolcott manager Ryan Soucy said. Each team had three major chances in extra innings to go ahead, only to end with no runs crossing the plate. Both teams twice had two runners on with nobody out. Both teams also had the bases loaded once in the extra frames and failed to score. The Dogs (5-3) were led by Ken Graveline (2-run double) and Ricky Delarosa (RBI double). Graveline also pitched the first 10 innings for Naugatuck. Jamie Kimberly threw in the 11th for the Dogs and took the loss.
Tri-Town Trojans  2   Bethlehem Plowboys  0
Andrew Osolin fired a complete game, giving up just three hits in a Tri-Town win over Bethlehem at Gallup Field in Bethlehem. The Trojans (4-2) got on the board in the top of the fourth on a double by Steve Price, which scored Casey McDonald (leadoff walk). In the sixth, Connor Murray led off with a bunt single. A steal and throwing error brought Murray home. Kyle Osolin went 1-for-3 for Tri-Town. Taylor Searles took the loss for the Plowboys (5-4).
Winsted Whalers  4   Bristol Greeners  0
Dan Connelly fired a shutout and added two hits of his own in a Winsted road win over Bristol at Muzzy Field. Connelly gave up just five hits and struck out three. Zairis Fernandez drove in two runs (sacrifice fly, bases-loaded walk) while Donny Crossman added an RBI single for the Whalers (3-4). Mitch Buonafede took the complete-game loss for the Greeners (3-5).
Terryville Black Sox  12   Waterbury Wild  8
Terryville (2-5) put together three big innings in a win over Waterbury. The Black Sox scored four times in the second, then put up three runs in the fourth before erupting for five in the fifth. Only a five-run outburst by the Wild in the final inning made the score closer than it actually was. Gary Swierzinski had three hits and four RBI while Kevin Larose doubled twice and drove in two runs for Terryville. Andrew Tremble added two hits. Joe Deming pitched the first six innings (3 runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts) and picked up the win. Fraz Kader doubled for Waterbury. Sean Trafford took the loss.
Bristol Greeners 10   Amenia Monarchs  3