Roundup
Centaurs
crush
Tigers
The biggest concern Woodstock Academy softball coach Jason Gerum had going into the Centaurs’ game with Tourtellotte April 9 was the elapsed time between games.
The first time the Centaurs took the field this season was on March 31.
That was a long 10 days, generally spent inside the gym, between games.
“It was just great to get outside and play,” Gerum said. “The nice thing about the bad weather last week, early in the season, is that we’ve now piled up a lot of three-game weeks. Now, we just get to play a lot.”
The rust showed a bit early, but the Centaurs rallied for a 17-4 win over the Tigers at Roseland Park.
Tourtellotte (0-3) took advantage of a pair of infield errors when Michaela Godzik singled home both Jolie Wilber and Stephanie Daly, who reached on those errors, to give the Tigers the lead.
It didn’t last long.
The Centaurs settled down defensively, making just one more error the rest of the way. Pitcher Hannah Wotton allowed just four more hits and the Woodstock Academy bats heated up despite the cool temperatures.
The Centaurs (1-1) quickly responded in the bottom of the first with Hannah Burgess and Naomi Rivard drawing lead-off walks and Ciri Miller followed with the first of her four hits and first of five runs batted in with a single to right.
Miller now has seven hits in her first nine trips to the plate this season.
“I pride myself on my hitting,” Miller said.
Maia Corrado singled home another run, Heather Converse added a two-run single and Hannah Burgess tripled home three.
Miller’s second single and RBI of the first inning gave the Centaurs the 9-2 advantage.
“(Miller) and Burgess are steady eddies and both are returning All-Stars,” Gerum said. “Ciri is probably one of the most focused kids I’ve ever coached. We know about her academics, all the stuff she does, extracurriculars in school, she’s just very focused. She just steps into the box, focuses, and gets it done.”
The Tigers got a run back with a Stephanie Daly triple and a sacrifice fly by Godzik in the third, but The Academy countered in the bottom of the inning.
Converse and Burgess both walked and an outfield error allowed two runs to score. Casidhe Hoyt then went yard, hitting a ball into the wind over the fence in dead center field off reliever Lindsey Houghton.
“When (Tourtellotte) brought in their second pitcher, she throws a little slower. Our girls tend to pull the ball foul a lot. They get under it because of the speed changes, it’s almost too slow for them. Just last week, we were working on staying inside on the ball; keep the hands inside and driving the ball and she is someone who struggled with it. I reminded her of that two pitches before and she got inside on it and just drilled it up the middle,” Gerum said.
It cleared the Little League softball fence and threatened to go over the adjoining baseball fence before coming to rest.
“As soon as she hit it, I said, ‘It’s out,’” Miller said.
The blast gave the Centaurs a 13-4 lead.
Miller drove in another run in a two-run fifth and both runs in a two-run sixth inning to account for her five RBIs.
“We’ve started right where we left off last year so we’re really excited for the season,” Miller said.
Miller also made a nice catch off her shoestrings in the second inning and the Centaurs also got a double play.
“For us, it’s about routine plays. The teams are going to get hits, going to score here and there, but if our pitching can limit walks which Hannah Wotton (4 strikeouts, 3 walks) is doing a good job with now and we can make the routine plays, we can be in any game we play against anybody,” Gerum said.
Baseball Win
Eric Preston’s single down the third-base line with the bases loaded April 8 was what The Woodstock Academy baseball teams needed to capture a season-opening 4-3 win over Wheeler in eight innings.
“It was a nice start for us,” said coach Brian Murphy. “We battled back on a cold day. Fell behind, 3-0, but never gave up.”
The Lions reached starter Luke Mathewson, who recorded 14 strikeouts, for three runs in the fifth inning.
“Luke was a bulldog on the mound,” Murphy said.
A balk scored the first run and Justin Veal knocked in two with a single.
Mathewson went seven innings, giving up just eight hits and the three earned runs.
He helped his own cause with an RBI in the sixth inning when the Centaurs tied it up. Tommy Li drove in the run that forced the extra inning.
Peter Spada relieved Mathewson on the hill in the eighth, surrendered a hit, but struck out two to keep the Lions (0-2) at bay.
The Centaurs got the run they needed in the bottom of the inning.
“It was nice to get a win in the home opener,” Murphy said. “The field was a little bumpy and that caused some troubles, but we put together a strong effort.”
Nathan John and Zach Ellsworth added a pair of hits each for the Centaurs.
Golf Win
Woodstock Academy golf coach Rich Garceau, like many in Eastern Connecticut or the northeast for that matter, has just about had his fill of winter.
The long duration of the season has kept a lot of golf courses closed as the spring vacation week looms.
But, somehow, April 5 the Centaurs did manage to squeak in their season opener against Tourtellotte at the Raceway Golf Club.
The results were pretty favorable with the Centaurs winning 6-1.
“Considering we have only practiced once outdoors all season and that was in a driving rain, I was really pleased to have a team score under 200 (strokes),” said Garceau. “With time and patience with the weather we should be competitive.”
The Centaurs recorded only 193 strokes in the victory.
Jack Gelhaus was the medalist for the Centaurs, but lost his match.
Gelhaus was paired up against Tourtellotte’s Jared Belanger who carded a 40, two strokes better than The Academy senior.
The other matches, however, went the Centaurs way.
Mason Stewart won his match, 53-57, over Tony Smith while Owen Borski put together a 16-stroke victory over Seth LaFontaine. Eli Child was only four strokes back of Gelhaus as he carded a 46 in a win over Jordan Bergeron.
“Eli and Jack really stepped up with strong performances. Their grit in the cold was hard not to admire,” Garceau said.
Robert Maheu shot a 53 for the Centaurs to record a forfeit victory.
“The day really showed a high level of mental toughness considering the cold and wind.  The boys certainly could have let it get the better of them and quit mentally but they should resilience and finished strong,” Garceau said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director

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