By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – With ducks on the pond and the Bristol Central baseball team attempting to stage a furious seventh inning rally, Bristol Eastern had to make some big defensive plays to close out its city series battle on Thursday.

But the Lancers had Andrew Lozier on the mound and the senior standout thrived – even as the pressure rose to a fevered pitch.

And the Eastern defense helped close out the contest, leading the Lancers to a 3-2 victory over the Rams from Muzzy Field in Bristol.

“Going into this game, we knew this was going to be a close one,” said Lozier. “Eastern/Central is always close but I came in and I was going to battle. In my mind, as soon as I showed up, I’m going the whole time. I want to pitch all seven [innings]. I want to beat these guys and that’s what I did.”

Lozier went the distance against the Rams, posting a two run, seven hit and four strikeout gem – adding another complete game effort to his career ledger.

“I wasn’t going with anyone else,” said Eastern coach Steve Gaudet of Lozier. “He had two pitches left on his pitch count and he was going all the way through.”

Eastern improved to 7-13 while Central – playing for the first time since May 12 due to COVID protocol – dropped to 9-6.

Central coach Bunty Ray lost two starters during game play due to injuries and then had to replace starting pitcher Mike Lorenzetti on the hill via the pitch count rules.

But the Rams went toe-to-toe against the surging Lancers.

“The first game [against Eastern], I was very upset. Tonight, and I’m not a big excuse maker, but the kids gave me everything they had,” said Ray. They’re out there, not having been out there in a long time and they’re doing what they can. But they weren’t struggling.”

Lorenzetti was tremendous on the hill, drawing a tough loss but fanning 12 and allowing just four hits over 4.2 innings of outstanding play.

Only one of the hits he allowed went for extra bases and when the team need an out, Lorenzetti helped provide one via punch-out from the plate.

“The kid is coming off of, obviously, having to sit out,” said Central’s Ray of Lorenzetti. “He was tired [and] he was fatigued around the third inning. If he didn’t hit the pitch count, I would have let him work through that last inning [in the fifth] too. And every time I went out to talk to him, the conversation was ‘what do you want to do?’ He’s earned that as a senior. He wanted to stay and I didn’t see any reason to take him out.”

“I talked to my assistants a bunch of times saying, ‘should we make a change?’ There’s something about [Lorenzetti], the look in his eye…so I figured I’d ride him out.”

Lorenzetti was perfect at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored.

Lozier picked up two strikeouts over the top of the first inning while Lorenzetti posted three straight Ks – getting his curveball over the dish – to keep it scoreless through one.

Lorenzetti started the second stanza with a blazing triple to right and scored on a grounder to short by Frank Spirito as Central nabbed a 1-0 push.

Jacoby Banks then walked and when Adam Caron slapped a single to right, two men were on with just one out.

But a 6-3 double play ended the frame as the Lancers looked to answer.

Ryan Fradette opened the bottom of the tilt with a blooper to short center and Eastern was in business.

Fradette then stole second and Ben D’Amato (1-for-2, RBI) dropped a short flare in left And when the ball got away from the fielder, the lead runner scored from third as the game was quickly tied at 1-1.

“All these guys had great at-bats,” said Lozier. “They battled and we did our thing.”

However, Lorenzetti – through his crafty pitching – managed to strikeout the rest of the side as the game was tied 1-1 going into the third tilt of play.

With one away in the third, Central’s Zach Vanasse – filling in for the injured Dillon Hudson – was plunked by a pitch, later stealing second.

Sean Wininger drew a two-out walk and Lorenzetti beat out a infield hit to short, that took a Muzzy Field hop, as the bases were loaded for Spirito.

But Lozier fanned the slugger as the game remained a 1-1 contest.

Trevor Nohilly and Tyler Martin earned base-on-balls and with one out in the bottom of the third, two runners were on for Eastern.

And for the third straight inning, Lorenzetti struck out the side as the fourth frame commenced with both teams engulfed in a 1-1 stalemate.

Central opened the fourth as Banks drew a leadoff walk and two fielder’s choices later, Mike Allan occupied first base.

He moved to second on a botched pickoff play, but Ring grounded out to end things.

With one gone in the bottom of the fourth, Tyler Stickels unleashed a stand-up triple to the gap in right, but Lorenzetti battled back, tallying strikeout 10 and 11 as the game remained a 1-1 contest through four.

And then Lozier made sensational plays on two ground balls in the fifth, hustling after one and knocking down another for a 1-2-3 inning.

“The kid goes out there and gives 110-percent to his team,” said Ray of Lozier. “He fields his position. They were a couple plays that he made, not as a pitcher but as a fielder, that could have given us a few more [runners on base].” 

In the fifth, Eastern put together its game-winning drive.

Nohilly opened the inning with a single to left and when Jayden Churchill bunted him over to second, the Lancers had a runner in scoring position.

Martin reached base via infield error as two were on for Lozier.

Lozier walked to load the bases but Lorenzetti fanned Fradette for his twelfth and final strikeout of the game – ending the pitcher’s evening.

“Mike carried us,” said Ray. “He was getting strikeouts. We didn’t have to make as many plays. The ones that we had to, we made a few [behind Lorenzetti]. Obviously, we wiggled out of some [jams].”

With Spirito now on the hill for Central and the bases juiced, he walked D’Amato and Stickels for RBI tallies as the Lancers snared a 3-1 edge.

“That was enormous, getting those couple runs to give us a little bit of breathing room,” said Gaudet of the bases loaded walks. “[Central] was going to keep fighting, I knew that. We just needed to hang on.”

Wininger then came on to throw to end the threat as Central moved into the sixth trailing by a couple runs.

But the Rams got right back at it as Lorenzetti slapped a single down the third base line and off a grounder to Lozier, the ball was thrown low to second base, bouncing off the bag and into short right-center as two men were on with no one out.

A fielder’s choice from Banks put runners on the corners with one out and when Caron dropped in a grounder, Lorenzetti scored from third as the Rams chopped the deficit to 3-2.

“It’s a credit to [Ray] to get those guys even ready to play, to keep them in the game,” said Gaudet. “They battled their butts off.” 

Allen then raced out an infield hit to shortstop and, once again, men were on first and third.

But Ring grounded out to short to end the threat as the Lancers were hanging on by a run.

Churchill drew a two-out walk in the sixth and when Martin smacked a single to right, two runners were on.

A walk to Lozier loaded the bases but Wininger picked up a huge strikeout as Central came to bat in the seventh trailing by a 3-2 push.

And with one gone, JT Clark dropped a base hit into left as the Rams a absolutely refused to give in.

Lorenzetti then blasted out a two-out base hit to center and with men on the corners, Central was one hit away from trying up the event.

But Fradette chased down a Spirito ball that was blasted to the gap in left-center to end the game as Eastern hung on to win, 3-2.

“[It] was incredible today,” said Lozier of the defense. “Ryan out there in the outfield, Cole [Latko] was laying out everywhere to make plays, and everyone was going at it today and that’s a team win. It really was.”

And after two weeks of not being able to practice fully and hit the diamond, Central showed enormous grit and determination until the final pitch was thrown.

“We never gave up,” said Ray. “The grit was outstanding. Obviously, we caught two injuries and two starters came out during the game. You lose [Roberto] Cruz, you lose Dylan [Hudson] and now, all of a sudden, I’m putting kids out there that haven’t really played varsity baseball. They went out and put the bat on the ball. There were a couple plays, base-running wise, that we could have just anticipated a little more.”

“It just didn’t go our way.”

CCC South Baseball 

BRISTOL EASTERN 3, BRISTOL CENTRAL 2

from Muzzy Field, Bristol 

Bristol Central (9-6)             100 001 0 – 2 7 2  

Bristol Eastern (7-13)           100 020 0 – 3 5 2  

WP: Andrew Lozier (BE); LP: Mike Lorenzetti (BC) 

Bristol Central Batting 

2B – None

3B – Mike Lorenzetti

HR – None

Bristol Eastern Batting 

2B – None

3B – Tyler Stickels

HR – None

Records: Bristol Eastern 7-13 overall; Bristol Central 9-6 overall