Baseball Wrap-up

Plainfield

cracks

top 10

By Ron P. Coderre

In a week filled with highs and lows, the performance of the Plainfield Panthers brought pride to the Northeast Corner of Connecticut with three huge wins.  The Panthers of coach Jason Chiavaras in a spectacular week brought back memories of the Plainfield teams of old under legendary coaches John Schiffner and Mitch Pietras.

Putnam  also enjoyed a good week highlighted by a no hit – no run performance by Josh Allard.  Marianapolis was perfect on the week at 3-0, raising its record over the .500 mark at 7-6.  The Clippers and Golden Knights engaged in a contest at Dodd Stadium, although due to the fact that Marianapolis plays in prep competition and Putnam on the high school circuit, the game was not official for the record books.  The Clippers prevailed 5-4 when they scored the tie breaker in the seventh inning.

The remainder of the schools, with the exception of Ellis Tech, which won its only game of the week, posted “goose eggs’ going winless.

#17 Plainfield Drops #1 Waterford

Plainfield proved to the rest of the world that it belonged in the Top 10 in Connecticut by beating three rugged opponents last week.  The biggest victory was a 5-3 win over the #1 ranked team in the State, Waterford High School.  The Panthers rode the arm of starter Kyle Boarman who went five innings in picking up the win and a strong two- inning relief effort by Mike Esposito.  In addition to his stellar relief job, Esposito contributed a key double.

In its first game of the week, Plainfield got by Killingly 7-2 behind the tosses of Jordan Federer who captured his third win against no losses.  Garet Griffin with a pair of two-baggers and Federer with a double and triple were the main offensive cogs in the Panther machine.

The Panthers closed out the week by eking out a 4-3 victory over the New London Whalers thanks to a Federer home run.  It may have been a hangover from the victory over Waterford but Plainfield garnered enough steam with a seventh inning run to edge past the Whalers to raise its record to 12-0.   

Ranked 17th in the New Haven Register Top 10 Poll entering the week, Plainfield will definitely gain recognition for its fine play, especially with the win over Waterford.  The impressive week should project the Panthers into the Top 10.

Putnam recorded two wins in the week with one being a forfeit victory over Whitney Tech.  The victory on the field however, was a dandy as Allard (3-1) threw a no-no at a very good Norwich Tech nine.  Allard was masterful throughout, while his mates responded by slapping out 12 hits to support his stellar performance.  Senior Luke Sarsfield, who is wielding a hot bat of late had a double in the win as did Tylor Genest.  Allard helped his cause with a triple.  Putnam   is 7-3 as they enter the second half of the season.

Ellis Tech (5-6) moved closer to .500 with 9-0 whitewashing of Bullard Haven.  Marianapolis raided its record to 7-6 and 3-1 in the SENE with a trio of victories.  The Golden Knights swept a doubleheader from Williams School 4-3 and 7-0 in a pair of five-inning games.  Griffin Kelly was the first game winner while Eric Goudreau captured the nightcap on the hill.  Kelly and Goudreau had key doubles in the first game victory.  Dylan Horn and Jack Hanrahan were the main offensive threats in the second game.  In its only other game Marianapolis rolled over St. Thomas More 14-2 behind the tosses of Dalton Bodreau.  Devin Springfield and Goudreau homered for the Golden Knights.

Killingly, after falling to Plainfield, lost to Waterford 7-1, New London 7-1 and Montville 8-4 as the Redmen fell to 2-10 overall and 0-5 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division.  Tourtellotte plummeted to 3-10 on the season and 1-6 in the ECC Small Division as it was beaten 13-1 by Griswold, 7-4 by Lyman and 12-0 as they were no-hit by St. Bernard.

Woodstock Academy lost a heart breaker to Norwich Free Academy 7-6 despite a double and triple by slugging Trent Appleton.  The Centaurs were up 6-3 entering the last of the seventh but surrendered four runs to NFA as they were unable to hold the lead.  In its other game Woodstock was shutout 6-0 by Ledyard, dropping the Centaurs to 4-7 and 0-6 in the ECC Large Division.  Putnam Science Academy saw its record fall to 1-3 when the Scientists were handed a 21-5 defeat at the hands of St. Thomas More.

RPC’s Super Standings: Plainfield 12-0; Putnam 7-3; Marianapolis 7-6; Ellis Tech 5-6; Woodstock Academy 4-7; Pomfret School 3-1; Tourtellotte 3-10; Killingly 2-10; Putnam Science academy 1-3.