By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Before the Bristol American Legion baseball team fell to Meriden this past Thursday (9-4), the locals were engaged in a huge battle against Avon the previous day.
And Post 2 was looking for a little revenge.
The first time around, Bristol fell to Avon by a 10-1 final from Buckingham Park on June 15 over an error filled affair as several players were out-of-position that day.
And it was payback time on June 30 as Post 2 dropped Avon, 3-1, from Muzzy Field in Bristol.
The victory was a big one as Bristol pitcher Matt Beaucar went the distance on the hill.
Over a tremendous 90-pitch effort, Beaucar allowed just four hits and a single run, moving to 2-0 on the campaign.
Bristol gave its pitcher support by scoring solitary runs over the first, second, and third innings – making it a 3-0 contest through three frames.
That’s the kind of performance Beaucar will provide for Bristol, whether it’s over a starting assignment or out of the bullpen like he did at Meriden on June 17 as Bristol won, 6-3.
Beaucar saved that game in a 2.1 inning, 40 pitch relief appearance.
Defeating Avon evened the season series between the programs at 1-1 with the rubber match taking place on Sunday, July 18 from Buckingham Park.
That’s going to be a big one and a huge, late-season showdown.
Zone 1 standings in a bit of a jumble
After Post 2 lost to Meriden to open the month of July, the five top teams in Zone 1 are separated by just two games.
As of Saturday, West Hartford is in first place at 7-2 while Meriden is just a half game behind (6-2).
Avon (5-3) is 1.5 games out of first place as is Bristol (6-4 Zone 1, 8-4 overall).
Naugatuck sits in fifth place at 4-3 but is just as dangerous as any squad in the zone.
“Everybody is kind of bunched up together,” said Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta. “They are all going to have to play against each other and somebody’s going to get a loss. We already played Meriden twice. We only have to play the one more time.”
“I think Meriden, West Hartford and we are the best three teams” in Zone 1.
And the two squads that have not won a game this season, Berlin, and Simsbury, are more than overdue for a huge victory.
And that’s a dangerous proposition as every game counts.
Berlin (0-7) and Simsbury (0-5) could land an unanticipated zinger against any of the top squads in Zone 1 at the absolute worst time.
The way things are sizing up, the difference in first or third place in Zone 1 this season could be just one game.
“I think the bottom two teams, Berlin and Simsbury, hopefully they’ll surprise and bite somebody,” said LaPenta. “I think Berlin might be able to do it. They might be able to squeeze out a win against somebody.”
This Bristol squad has all the tools and if the locals can put the entire puzzle together, big things are in store for Post 2 to end the season.
Bristol simply must take care of business as each game approaches, one contest at a time.
“My biggest thing is as long as we’re playing our best baseball at the end of the year, that’s what I want,” said LaPenta.
Up-coming Schedule
The July 4th holiday and the Rawlings Futures Showcase has Bristol playing a bit of a lighter schedule than normal next week.
It could be a blessing as the weather will still be a bit unsettled.
On Tuesday, Bristol travels to Naugatuck on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.) while Thursday sees Post 2 return home for a confrontation against Newington (7 p.m., Muzzy Field).
NOTES…Bristol’s contest against Berlin this past Saturday was postponed as the visiting squad did not have enough players to field a team. The forfeit win propelled Post 2 to 7-4 in Zone 1 play and 9-4 overall.
