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Enrique Diaz, left, and Elian Torrez. Photos by Thomas Netzer
Putnam Science Academy baseball coach Bob Hetu turned to a couple of bystanders near his team’s dugout during last Tuesday’s game and said, “This isn’t supposed to happen,” to which someone replied, “Maybe it is.”
In truth, a 17-2 win that day over Salisbury – the fourth-ranked team in New England – probably wasn’t supposed to happen. But it didn’t belie the point: PSA is really good team that has gotten outstanding pitching and, typically, timely hitting on its way to a 12-6 record. PSA even got votes in the latest New England poll, an incredible step for the first-year program.
Harry Roy had plenty of run support Tuesday, but it wasn’t like he needed much of it.
The PSA righthander improved to 6-0, scattering seven hits and allowing just two runs while striking out nine.
“We walked into the season and didn’t think we had a lot of pitching depth,” catcher Alberto Cantalini said. “Harry and Jacob (Hines), especially Harry, has really carried us. Every time he goes on the mound, he is ‘that guy.’ “
After Roy pitched around a two-out error in the top of the first, the Mustangs scored six times - via two hits and six walks - in the bottom half.
Then Roy, in what turned out to be his most important inning of work, struck out the side in the second, getting his team back at-bat with a 6-0 lead.
“It was about trying to get the bats back in the dugout as fast as possible,” he said. “They were already hot, so let them get back up and score.”
That worked out better than he could have imagined as PSA put the game away in the inning, plating 11 more runs on five hits and seven more walks.
All of a sudden, Roy was working with a 17-0 lead, but that’s not as easy as it sounds.
“All of the adrenaline, all the hype about the game just kept me going and kept me focused,” he said. “That, and just wanting to win.”
Chris Almanzar finished with two hits and scored twice from the leadoff spot. Ryan Hines had an RBI double and scored three times. And Cantalini finished with a double, four RBI, and two runs scored in yet another statement win for PSA.
“No one really knows who we are because we are a first-year program,” Roy said. “But beating the No. 4 team in New England 17-2...I think that says something.”
Said Cantalini: “It shows the group that we have, the work guys put in in the offseason. And we’re like a big ol’ family. Everyone is really close and we have a good time. After the games, the vans get loud. Before the game, we’re loud. We just have that team chemistry, and when you have that with a lot of good baseball players, we do what we do.”
There was more good pitching throughout the week. Monday, Lucas Bertram and Almanzar both pitched well and gave the Mustangs a chance but the bats just couldn’t get the big hit this time as PSA fell 3-1 to Hamden Hall, a top-15 team in New England.
And Jacob Hines battled his way to throw five shutout innings Friday before Kings-Edgehill of Canada scored four times in the sixth inning when he came out, handing PSA just its sixth loss in 18 games.
Enger Paulino had two hits and a walk while Enrique Diaz had a single, walk, and sac bunt for PSA, which hit a lot of balls hard but just couldn’t find any hole for them to drop into. Kings-Edgehill, meanwhile got its runs on a bases-loaded balk, a sacrifice fly, a long double, and an error.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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PUTNAM — Joseph Donovan Jr., 60, of Woodstock Ave., died April 30, 2023, at home. He was the companion of Catherine Greene for 30 years.
Born in 1962 in Putnam, he was the son of Mary Jean (Willis) Donovan of Quinebaug and the late Joseph Donovan Sr.
Mr. Donovan was a veteran serving with the U.S. Navy and worked for many years as a machinist at the Loos and Company in Pomfret.
Joseph was an Eagle Scout, member of the Zack Robinson Racing Team at Stafford Motor Speedway, and an avid Harley Davidson rider, Life Member and Captain at the Quinebaug Volunteer Fire Department, former chief at the West Thompson Fire Department, and former captain engineer at the Putnam Fire Department.
He leaves his mother, Mary Jean (Willis) Donovan of Quinebaug; his lifelong companion, Catherine Greene of Putnam; his siblings, James Donovan of Quinebaug, Jon Donovan Sr. (Kristie) of Beaufort, S.C., Allison Ratliff (Randy) of N. Grosvenordale, and Jennifer Pittman and her fiancé, Michael Kesling of Hampton; nieces and nephews, Jon Jr., Joseph, Audrey, Sidney, Jesse, Austin, Cadence, Madalyn, and Braelynn, and great-nephew, Colt.
He also leaves Catherine’s children, Michael Greene (Sharon) of Eastford, Mark Greene (Karen) of Danielson, Kelly Greene of E. Longmeadow, and Callie Parker (Joey) of Grosvenordale.
Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. May 4 in Valade Funeral Home and Crematory, 23 Main St., N. Grosvenordale. A gathering will begin in the funeral home at 10 a.m. May 5 followed by a service in the funeral home at 10:30.
Burial follows in West Thompson Cemetery.
Donations: The Joseph Donovan Sr. and Joseph Donovan Jr. Scholarship Fund, c/o Quinebaug Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 144, Quinebaug, CT 06262.
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Everyone has been affected by cancer in some way, and this resonates with the Honor Movers Team. On Fridays team members wear pink shirts to identify breast cancer awareness. A portion of the day’s proceeds are donated at the end of the year to an organization that focuses on cancer advocacy.
This past year, the Honor Movers Team raised $2,500 and owner David Lavoie matched it for a donation total of $5,000. It was recently presented to Hale YMCA’s Road to Wellness fund-raising event to help fund Hale YMCA programs like Livestrong, a 12-week program designed to help community survivors improve their strength and overall quality of life. The program has helped hundreds of local cancer survivors on their road to wellness.
Amanda Kelly, Hale YMCA Youth and Family Center executive director, said: “We are so grateful to Honor Movers for their donation to the Hale YMCA’s LiveSTRONG at the YMCA cancer survivor program. The $5,000 donation was made directly to the program’s endowment, which not only supports the participants currently going through the program but will support the program for generations to come. This 12-week program is offered at no cost to any adult, and their support person, with a cancer diagnosis. We see a range of participants from newly diagnosed to years in remission. This contribution from Honor Movers will financially support two participants per year for the future of the program!”
Honor Movers’ Lavoie said: “I started Honor Movers in 2018 to offer a service to the community that was not readily available. In 2021, I was in the process of ordering more uniform T-shirts for the team and asked for their input on the design. My son, Collin, who is currently running my teams on moves, suggested we wear pink on Fridays. I said ok but why? He said that our family has been affected by breast cancer and he wanted to be part of Breast Cancer Awareness. This conversation spawned into the team donating a portion of the move proceeds on Fridays to a local organization that supports cancer awareness. And ‘Pink Fridays’ took off. We wanted to keep it local but couldn’t decide on an organization that was a match. I’m an active member of the Hale YMCA and while participating in the 2022 Spinathon and listening to the stories of cancer survivors I was so moved that I knew this was the organization we wanted to support. After the event finished, I approached Jen Looney, Senior program director, and told her what I was proposing. Jen instantly started to tear up and brought me over to Amanda Kelly, executive director, and I got the same exact response from Amanda. Their reactions confirmed this was the right decision.”
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Senior pitcher Lexi Thompson displays the form that garnered her career-high 19 strikeouts against Killingly last week. Photo by Marc Allard.
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Freshman pinch-runner Campbell Favreau slides under the tag of Killingly third baseman Hannah Cozza in the Centaurs’ 12-1 victory last week. Photo by Marc Allard.
Really rocky.
That’s how Woodstock senior softball pitcher Lexi Thompson described the beginning of her effort in the circle against Killingly last week.
It ended in much better fashion.
Thompson finished with a career-high 19 strikeouts and allowed just one hit in a 12-1 victory for the Centaurs over their nearest rivals.
“(Woodstock Academy catcher) Maddie (Martinez) and I were just humming it in there. I love pitching to her. We have a chemistry. I don’t know how to explain it but she is somebody that I trust. She calls the pitches and I trust her more than anyone I know,” Thompson said.
Thompson struck out two in the first inning and then went on a tear.
She retired the last hitter in the first swinging, struck out the side in the second and third innings, got two strikeouts each in the fourth and fifth and then struck out the side again in the sixth and seventh innings.
“That’s definitely her high (for strikeouts in a game). Two years ago, as a sophomore, she had 18 in a game. She got it done (Tuesday). She was rolling and she was feeling good,” said coach Jason Gerum.
But it took just a moment to get that motor started.
Thompson walked the leadoff hitter, Jayden Durand, struck out the next hitter, and then Hannah Cozza delivered an RBI double to left.
“I wasn’t really feeling my pitches at all. There was one pitch that I could honestly throw for a strike and I was like ‘OK, that’s the way it will be (Tuesday).’ But we turned it around, we started to hit and it turned out OK,” Thompson said.
It was not unexpected.
“She takes a long time to warm up in warmups and then she, generally, takes a little time to warmup into the game, that’s very normal. Most of the stuff we give up in games is usually early when she is getting warmed up but once she is on all cylinders, if she is on, she’s on,” Gerum said.
Thompson took care of the early deficit by herself. She jacked a long fly ball to center that easily cleared the fence. It was her sixth home run of the season.
She has driven in 23 runs for the Centaurs this season.
“I’m loving it. I’m feeling it. We’re spending a lot of time on batting practice. (Monday) we did an hour and a half off the machine and we can’t go until everyone is finished,” Thompson said.
An oddity for Thompson.
She also added a single against Killingly.
“That was just her second single (of the season),” Gerum said with a laugh. “Now, it’s like seeing if we can get some singles because she has so many extra-base hits this year. Another bomb, her sixth in 11 games, we will take that.”
Thompson also had five doubles coming into the game.
Her team backed her up in the third inning when it scored eight runs.
Martinez had the big blow with a two-run double while Ainsley Morse added an RBI single and Mia Pannone knocked in a run with a groundout. The Centaurs also benefited from a pair of Killingly errors which resulted in four Woodstock runs.
Martinez added a home run of her own; a frozen rope that just cleared the left field fence height-wise but would have kept going for a long time if a stone wall had not got in its way.
“We always notice kids like Lexi who is really crushing the ball but we have a lot of hitters who have a lot of singles and doubles and Maddie has a lot of key hits in big games. She drives the ball, line-drive doubles, and got one to go out (Tuesday). I’m happy for her,” Gerum said.
The win improved the Centaurs’ record to 4-0 in Division II of the Eastern Connecticut Conference.
The Centaurs did see their eight-game win streak end in an 11-4 loss to Fitch on Friday.
Woodstock is now 9-3 overall.
The Centaurs spotted Fitch a 2-0 lead but quickly rebounded to take a 4-2 advantage in the bottom of the first inning.
Avery Collin had a two-run single and both Pannone and Delaney Anderson added run-scoring singles in the rally.
Unfortunately, the Falcons scored five times in the second inning, three times in the third and once in the fourth to claim the victory.
Martinez finished with three hits in the loss. Sarah McArthur, Pannone, Thompson and Collin all had two hits each.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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