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Wolcott; Burlington Game #1 Winners in Semi-Finals

Burlington Hunters 8   Candlewood Kraken 0

The Burlington Hunters defeated the Candlewood Kraken 9-0 in game 1 of their semi-final matchup. The Hunters got the scoring started in the first thanks to RBI singles from Justin McCulloch and Tim Krol.  The Hunters did not look back from there and added 7 more runs over the course of the game.  Anthony Izzo got the start on the mound of the Hunters and logged 7 strong innings, scattering just 2 hits while striking out 10.  David Kerlejza pitched the final two frames, striking out 3, to secure the victory.  Andrew Bunger, Chad Lavelle, Justin McCulloch, Tim Krol, and Jacob Paschetto all had 2 hit performances to help lead the Hunter offense.  For the Kraken Connor Corcoran, Jake Coniglio, Braydon Stellato, and Luke Pliego each had a hit.  The Kraken And Hunters are back in action tomorrow for game 2 of the series at Fuessenich Park.  

Game Highlights: For the second time this season, thanks to Tim Krol and Zack Martin, the Hunters scored on a sac fly when the runner started on second base; Team mom Yvonne came through for the boys by bringing two cases of water to help combat the heat; Justin McCulloch did his best Sway and George impression and pimped a single that hit off the wall; and finally Zack Rinkavage drove all night from a tournament in Virginia to not only solidify the integrity of the bench, but to also have a can flipped on him and landed courtesy of Jason Pelletier in the post game celebration.  

Wolcott Scrappers 8   Bethlehem Plowboys 4

The Scrap took game 1 of the semifinals over the Plow by a score of 8-4 on Saturday. Drew Rocca got the start for Wolcott and found the zone a bit better this time, going 4 innings with 6 Ks and allowing just 2 baserunners. The Scrap would take a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th, where Ryan Ponte took the first pitch he saw over the center field fence to get Bethlehem on the board. A couple hitters later and with a man on, Kyle Daddona would follow suit, giving the Plowboys a 3-2 lead. The Scrap would then load the bases for Dillon Fernandes in the top of the 8th, whose first few at-bats looked like he hadn’t touched a bat in a month (he hasn’t). He finally woke up with a bases-clearing double to put the Scrap up 5-3. Wolcott would put up 3 more in the frame to put the game away.
Joe Sconz led the way for the Scrappers with 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Nick Sconz had two completely awful swings that turned into hits to go with an RBI, run, and BB. Joe Dunne took literally the best swing of his life for a booming ground-rule double in the 7th, then zoned out and starting trotting around third like he’d homered. Alex James reached base 3 times, AJ Martinez scored twice, and Ethan Stepputtis pitched the final 1 1/3, striking out 2.
Carsten Donovan stranded 9 hits over 7 quality innings for the Plow, striking out 5. Isaiah Johnson and Nate Cormier both had 2 hits and a double for Bethlehem, and Cormier struck out 3 in the final 1 2/3.