Baseball Wrap-up

Warm 

weather 

promotes 

busy baseball 

week

By Ron P. Coderre

All local high school and prep school baseball teams took advantage of the warm weather conditions to get out on the diamond.  After being in the gym and indoor batting cages, players and coaches were anxious for game action.

The effects of the long winter resulted in mediocre outcomes for some and disappointment for others.  Killingly, Ellis Tech, Putnam, Plainfield and Woodstock all recorded wins in a week filled with a mixture of wins and losses.  Tourtellotte and Putnam were winless entering their Dodd Stadium contest on Thursday, April 16.  One of the teams was guaranteed to hit the win column following the 4 p.m. game and Putnam garnered that honor.

Pomfret School engaged Marianapolis Prep in a battle of the preps, while the Golden Knights picked up a victory in a road trip to Williams School in New London.

Putnam off on a Sour Note

The Putnam Clippers looking forward to the start of what was anticipated to be a good season got off to a rocky start.  After losing its opener to Stonington, Putnam was white washed by the Bellringers of East Hampton 2-0 despite a stellar pitching performance by Nicholas Foucault.  The junior right hander struck out nine and allowed only one hit in the loss.

Putnam then stepped out of the Constitution State Conference for a contest with Hale Ray and suffered a serious loss 14-3 despite two-hit performances by Ryan Whitehouse and Zach Cutler.  The Clippers finally hit pay dirt with a 10-4 win over Tourtellotte thanks to catcher Jacob Guertin who went 2-for-3 including  triple for two runs batted in to pace the victory.  Kyle Loomis and Steven Dakai also enjoyed big days at the dish.  Putnam is 1-3 and Tourtellotte 0-2.  Tourtellotte also dropped its season opener to Lyman 9-1. 

Killingly High School coach David Austin squared off against his former team Woodstock Academy and his Redmen managed an opening season 3-1 victory over the Centaurs.  Winning pitcher Drew Daley allowed only three hits, while striking out seven Acad hitters in a complete game effort.  Owen Guillot and Daley each had two hits in the winning effort.

Unable to stand prosperity Killingly was beaten by E.O. Smith 7-3 and fell to New London 5-3 to drop to 1-2 on the season.  Tre Belanger was the lone highlight for the Redmen with two doubles and a triple.

Woodstock picked up its first win of the season, a 6-1 victory over Griswold, thanks to the hitting of Ryan Gadoury and Trent Appleton.  Gadoury had two hits, including a double, while Appleton added a pair of singles for the Acads.  The Centaurs fell to 1-4 when they were beaten 13-9 by Norwich Free Academy.  The 1-4 Acads received a three-hit performance from Eli Majak.

Plainfield’s Jordan Federer had an outstanding pitching performance, striking out 18 Norwich Tech batters but the Panthers were unable to provide him with offensive support as the Techsters squeaked out a 3-2 win, spoiling Federers Nolan Ryan-style effort.

The Panthers rode the bat of Steve Jankowski, who was 3-for-4 including a double, with two runs and two RBI to pace Plainfield to an 8-1 win over Stonington in an Eastern Connecticut Conference Medium Division game.  The win puts Plainfield at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the division.

Ellis Tech played three games, losing to Windham 16-12 and Norwich Tech 3-1before picking up a 6-2 win over Wheeler.  Chuck Innes homered for the Techsters in the loss to the Whippets.  Ellis Tech is 1-4 and 0-1 in the CSC East on the season.  The game against Norwich Tech was played in Cooperstown, N.Y., the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Pomfret School opened its season against Marianapolis and bested the Golden Knights 8-4 to get the season of on a positive note.  The Knights leveled their record at 2-2 with a 7-0 shutout over the Williams School behind the tosses of Dalton Bodreau who whiffed 14 Williams batter in a route-going performance.