Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Roberto Cruz, one of the many talented pitchers from the Bristol American Legion Baseball team, earned his first starting assignment of the season against Wallingford this past Saturday night.
And it was an exhibition contest that went right down to the wire.
But Cruz was tough, allowing the opponents minimal production at the plate and while Post 2 didn’t create much offense on the flip side, the game was decided by the locals over the final inning of play.
With the bases loaded and one out, Jack Kozikowski dropped in an infield hit – scoring Austin Brown from third base – as Bristol walked off with a 1-0 victory over Wallingford from Muzzy Field in Bristol.
The win propelled Bristol to 2-1 overall.
Cruz was sharp, going the distance, and allowing only two hits as the Bristol Central chucker got the job done.
Bristol had only four hits for the game, but it was just enough in the end as Cruz cruised for his first win on the hill.
Cruz needed just 87 pitches to defeat Wallingford and expect a couple more starts and some relief efforts along the way this summer for the chucker.
Bristol American Legion Schedule for this week
Three Zone 1 games are on the slate for Bristol this week as Bristol hits the road for its first two games.
On Tuesday, Post 2 travels to Buckingham Park to square off against Avon in what should be a classic encounter.
Game time at Avon is 5:30 p.m.
Then on Thursday, the road trip continues as Post 2 battles Meriden from Legion Park with a 5:45 p.m. start.
Finally, Bristol returns to Muzzy Field Saturday as one of the newest squads in Zone 1 comes to the Mum City.
Naugatuck takes a crack at Post 2 in a Zone 1 tilt, starting at 10 a.m.
Bristol Jr. Legion drops first two games of the season
The West Hartford Junior American Legion program traveled to Riley Field in Bristol this past Sunday and swept the afternoon.
Game scores were 6-1 and 10-0.
Bristol led 1-0 in that first showdown as pitcher Jaydon Churchill allowed just one run over the first five frames of play for Post 2.
But in the sixth stanza, Bristol gave up four runs and yielded another in the seventh to fall by five runs.
And then in the immediate rematch – with West Hartford positioned as the home team – Post 2 dropped a tough 10-0 decision.
It was just a 1-0 contest through two tilts but a five-run third ended the game for the locals.
Michael Allan drew the loss for Bristol.
The juniors of Bristol get right back at it this Wednesday as the team travels to Torrington for a Zone 1 engagement from Fuessenich Park at 5 p.m.
And then on Saturday, Bristol returns to Riley Field on Saturday to battle Simsbury in a single bout at 4 p.m.
