Baseball Wrap-up

Victories

becoming 

important as 

season rolls on

By Ron P. Coderre

Baseball victories in the early season are as important as late season wins.  Although there appears to be more weight on late-season wins because gaining a tournament berth might be on the line, a win is a win.

Woodstock Academy and Tourtellotte had a difficult time picking up victories last week.  Putnam, which had been enjoying success lost its only two games of the week.  Killingly can’t seem to catch a break as the Redmen lost a one-run decision to Bacon Academy.

Plainfield and Ellis Tech are enjoying winning seasons although the Panthers did suffer an embarrassing loss at the hands of East Lyme.

In the preps, Marianapolis lost to local rival Pomfret School but rebounded with a solid victory.

Putnam Suffers Two Key CSC-East Losses

Putnam wasted a solid eight inning pitching performance by Nicholas Foucault as the Clippers lost in 10 innings to Constitution State Conference – East opponent Norwich Tech 6-5.  Reliever Scott Davagian suffered the tough luck loss.  Foucault was 3-for-3 for Putnam while freshman Derek Bichard delivered a key double in the ninth.  Earlier in the week the Clippers lost to Windham Tech 11-3.  Putnam is 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the tight CSC – East race.

Ellis Tech, which is enjoying success at 5-4 on the year, came from behind to beat Griswold 10-8.  Saige Louis and Corey Golden had key hits in the Golden Eagle’s victory.   Brett Ravenelle, Ronnie Locanto and Jacob Hart had two hits apiece for the winners.  Later in the week the Golden Eagles lost their glitter when they were beaten by Bacon Academy 12-1.

Plainfield opened its week with an 11-0 whitewashing of Norwich Tech.  Dylan Horn threw a two-hitter at the Techsters for the win.  Dave Kumiega, Mike Bates and Colby Greenhalgh each had a pair of hits in the win.  The Panthers were then embarrassed by East Lyme 30-2 to fall to 7-4 on the season at the halfway mark.  Plainfield closed out the week with a 9-5 loss at the hands of New London.

Woodstock Academy fell to 1-7 on the year when the Centaurs were shutout 4-0 by Stonington.   The Centaurs also lost to a very good Montville team 7-2.  Killingly at 3-7 on the season lost a nail biter to Bacon Academy 3-2.  Drew Daley was the hard luck loser for the Redmen. 

Tourtellotte was beaten 11-7 by Griswold despite a 3-for4 performance at the plate by Tyler Boyden and Alex Angelo who had four RBI.  The Tigers came back strongly with a 20-6 whipping of Parish Hill.  Noah Putnam and his twin brother Logan Putnam each had four RBI for the winning Tigers.  Angelo added three hits and scored four runs.  Tourtellotte is 4-4 on the season and 0-2 in the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division.

Pomfret School picked up a nifty 5-3 win over Marianapolis in a game played in Thompson.  The Griffs are 1-1 on the year.  Marianapolis rebounded with a 10-0 five inning shutout over Concord Academy.  Junior Dalton Bodreau went the distance for the win, holding Concord to two hits.  George Murphy had two hits to pace the Marianapolis offense.  The Golden Knights are 3-3 on the season. 

 

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Baseball Wrap-up

Clippers

enjoy perfect 

week on 

diamond

By Ron P. Coderre

The weatherman finally played fairly and provided some moderate temperatures, allowing all local high schools to swing into action.  All six local teams were on the diamond as they attempt to catch up on the early season postponements.

Putnam moved into the Constitution State Conference-East play last week and enjoyed a perfect week, beating two in-conference opponents.  Woodstock Academy with only one game on the docket picked up a hard fought win.  Killingly also had only one game but came up on the short side of the ledger.

Ellis Tech Plainfield posted a 2-1 log, while Tourtellotte is still in search of its first victory in 2016.  Plainfield split four games in a busy week.  Marianapolis also picked up a win.

Putnam Wins a Pair in CSC

Senior Nicholas Foucault displayed his versatility in leading the Putnam Clippers to twin victories in CSC-East play.  Foucault pitched his mates to one win and used his bat in leading the undermanned Clippers to a second victory.  

The team opened with a 10-3 win over Ellis Tech in a game that was closer than the final score might indicate.  The score was 5-3 in favor of Putnam entering the seventh inning but the Clippers padded the lead with a five run outburst for the final margin.  Zack Cutler and Mitchel Barylski provided the fire power while Foucault struck out nine Golden Eagles in a route-going performance.

It took Putnam nine innings to get past Parish Hill on the road.  The Clippers posted a 4-3 win thanks to two hits and three runs-batted-in by Foucault.  Sophomore Scott Davagian had a route-going performance in picking up the win.  Putnam is 2-1 overall and an unblemished 2-0 in the CSC-East.

After falling to Putnam, Ellis Tech racked up a pair of impressive victories beating Grasso Tech 26-7 and Norwich Tech 4-3.  In edging Norwich Tech, the Golden Eagles scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning.  The winning run crossed the plate when Chuck Innes beat out a potential double play.

Earlier in the week Ellis Tech rolled over Grasso Tech in a massive hitting display.  Freshman Jacob Keefe had four hits, while his mates Brett Ravenelle and Corey Golden contributed three hits each.  Saige Louis (four RBI) and Jacob Hart (three RBI) came through in the clutch for the 2-2 overall and 2-1 CSC-East Eagles.

Plainfield opened the week in the Loss column as they fell to Bacon Academy 11-4 but the Panthers rebounded with a pair of victories.  In an Eastern Connecticut Conference – Medium Division matchup, Plainfield disposed of Killingly 10-1 as Jeff Nicolosi pitched six strong innings, while striking out nine Redmen.  Colby Greenhalgh had three two-baggers and two RBI, while David Carpenter drove in four Panthers.  Dylan Horn contributed a triple and tallied three runs.  Killingly is 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the ECC – Medium in the early going.

In an 18-11 high-scoring affair Isaiah Thompson went 5-for-5 with three RBI to lead the way.  Carpenter, Horn and Mike Bates each had two hits for the 3-1 overall and 2-0 ECC – Medium Panthers.  The Panthers closed out the busy week dropping a 7-1 decision to archrival Griswold despite a heroic pitching effort by the sore-armed Carpenter. 

Woodstock Academy picked up its first win of the young season with a close 7-6 verdict over Tourtellotte Memorial High School.  David Redfield was the winning pitcher for the Centaurs, striking 10 Tigers along the way.  Connor Bright and Doug Gerrity each had two hits for the 1-1 Centaurs of coach Bill Carpenter.

In its only other game, Tourtellotte fell to Windham 10-7.  The Tigers are 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the ECC – Small Division.  

Marianapolis picked up her second win of the season as the bats of Christian Cutroni and Colin Hourihan carried the Golden Knights to a 6-1 win over Kingswood-Oxford School.

 

Baseball/Softball Wrapup

Baseball & 

softball 

seasons 

struggle to get

started

By Ron P. Coderre

The high school baseball and softball seasons have finally started for 2016.  The April weather, which resembled normal February temperatures, made it difficult for schools to get outside on the diamond.  The February weather and temperatures experienced by the area this year was more ideal for baseball and softball than the current scenario presented by the weatherman. Despite the upside-down trick by the weatherman, baseball and softball teams finally managed to sneak in a few games. 

Some baseball teams managed to get their seasons started following some postponements and rescheduling.  Killingly opened on a sour note, as the Redmen lost their first two games before eking out a victory.  Putnam split its first two encounters.  Plainfield was able to post a victory.

In softball, the Tourtellotte Memorial High School ladies posted a huge opening-day victory, while Woodstock Academy was shutout by one of the best teams in Connecticut.  Killingly under new coach Lance Leduc did something unusual.  The Redgals won their opener.  Putnam was drubbed by Plainfield in its first game of the season but lost the following day. 

Plainfield Beats Stonington

Plainfield rode the hitting of Keegan Marcoux and Jeff Nicolosi in picking up an opening day 6-2 victory over the Stonington Bears.  Marcoux blasted a home run and drove in two runs, while Nicolosi was 3-for-3 including a double and a run-batted-in.  He was also the winning pitcher tossing six strong innings.

Killingly opened against two of the Eastern Connecticut Conference strongest teams and felt the wrath of both.  The Redmen lost 13-2 to Waterford in its opener.  A Ben Desaulnier two-run round tripper was the lone Killingly highlight of the contest.

Next up for Killingly was Montville on the road.  The Indians prevailed over the Redmen 14-6.  Brian Albee was 3-for-4 for Killingly.  The Redmen finally got into the Win column with a 3-2 squeaker over cross-town rival Ellis Tech.  Killingly posted the win with a come from behind last of the seventh inning rally.  Back-to-back doubles by Evan Zanauskas and Desaulnier provided the fireworks.  Drew Daley was the winning pitcher.  He struck out nine Golden Eagles on his way to the victory.   Killingly is 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the ECC Medium Division.

Putnam got their bells rung by the East Hampton Bellringers in its opener as the visitors invaded the Antique City and shutout the Clippers 9-0 behind the one-hit pitching of Kyle Cutler, who struck out a dozen Putnam batters.  The lone Putnam hit came off the bat of Nicholas Foucault who suffered the loss on the mound.

The Clippers responded with a nifty 3-1 win over Griswold behind the tosses of sophomore Scott Davagian who went the distance for the win.  Foucault, Kyle Loomis and Zack Cutler each drove in a run for the 1-1 Clippers.

Lady Tigers Unleash Brutal Hitting Attack

Tourtellotte opened its season with a 32-2 — that’s correct 32-2 victory — over outmanned Windham Tech in a Constitution State Conference – East contest.  There were a number of hitting heroes for the Lady Tigers.  Carinne Sosnowski had eight-RBI as she basted two dingers.  Grace Denault and Emily Vincent each posted three runs-batted-in for the winners.  Amanda Bogoslofski was the winning pitcher, posting eight strike outs.

Woodstock Academy lost its opener to the Fitch Falcons 10-0.  The game was much closer than the final outcome, as Woodstock trailed Fitch 1-0 into the fifth inning before falling apart.

Killingly, which was 3-17 last season, opened with a satisfying 7-3 win over Plainfield.  Ashley Viellette picked up the win in the circle.  Kara Mayhew and Madison Weaver had good games with the bat and glove for Killingly.  The loss leveled Plainfield’s record at 1-1 as the Lady Panthers were coming off a 22-2 win over Putnam on Friday.  Kat Devolve was 5-for-5 for Plainfield.