By Michael Letendre
BERLIN – Where would the Bristol American Legion baseball program be this season without the stellar pitching of Matt Beaucar?
The former Bristol Central standout has been tremendous over his stints on the mound this season and on Tuesday’s 7-6 come-from-behind victory against Berlin, Beaucar’s number was called one more time.
And over 3.2 glorious innings of relief ball, Beaucar allowed just one hit, struck out four and walked only a couple batters to win his fourth game of the campaign.
Currently at 4-0, Beaucar has been an assassin on the hill whether he’s starting the game or coming out of the bullpen to shut opposing offenses down.
“I came in knowing I just had to throw to the best of my abilities,” said Beaucar of the Berlin game. “I just had to give my team a chance to win the game.”
Once again, Beaucar’s stint on the hill led to another standout performance – one of five tremendous showings for Post 2 this season.
He’s won the last two games for the program, nearly blanking Simsbury on July 11 in an 11-1 romp as his five inning, 57 pitch gem showed efficiency and ability, while throwing just 49 pitches in the win at Berlin yesterday.
Over the season, Beaucar chucked a complete game against South Windsor on June 11, came out of the bullpen to help trip up Meriden six days later and on June 30, the pitcher went the distance versus Avon in what was termed a ‘must-win’ confrontation.
Bristol toppled Avon that day, posting a 3-1 victory, as Beaucar allowed four hits over his seven innings which included just one walk, four Ks and an unearned run.
That 4-0 ledger isn’t a fluke as Beaucar doesn’t need 100-pitch outings to turn away an opponent.
He’s not flashy, doesn’t require much fanfare and when he comes into the game, he simply throws strikes to get his squad right off the field.
And Beaucar knows that a shot at the Regional Qualifier is the goal and coming in to beat Berlin got the locals to the pay window and on the cusp of an automatic postseason situation.
Frankly, helping his squad defeat Berlin put Bristol on the doorstep of something very big.
“It’s huge,” said Beaucar of the win against Berlin. “We have to get ready for the Regional Tournament. We need one more win tomorrow against Newington and that will get us a spot in the Regional Tournament.”
Zone 1 Standings to date
Where is Bristol in the latest standings in Zone 1 play?
Right in the mix at the top.
Currently, Meriden is in first place at 11-4 while Bristol is a half-game behind at 10-4 (12-4 overall).
West Hartford shows a record of 9-5 on the Connecticut American Legion Baseball website but really should be 10-5 off a 7-0 blanking of Newington the previous day.
Post 2 in action tonight
Bristol travels to Newington for a Zone 1 showdown at 5:30 p.m. from Legend’s Field in Newington.
And just like last night, Post 2 is the home team as this is another make-up game.
