By Michael Letendre
BERLIN – Bristol American Legion baseball coach Jerry LaPenta knew that Berlin’s winless start to the Zone 1 campaign was a complete fluke.
And off recent great play, the Berlin squad became one of the hottest in Zone 1 as of late.
In its showdown against Bristol on Tuesday from Sage Park in Berlin, Post 68 scooped up a 6-2 edge midway through the contest and was firmly in the driver’s seat.
But there was the flip side to consider as Post 2 used a five run fifth to steal the lead as Bristol dropped Berlin by a 7-6 final – maintaining second place in the Zone 1 standings (10-4 Zone 1, 12-4 overall).
Post 2 is 4-0 over its last four games and have won nine-of-ten Zone 1 tilts.
After Bristol fell behind 2-0, the squad popped two runs on the board in the bottom of the third (Bristol was the home team despite playing on the road) to tie things up.
But Post 68 fought back, notching four runs in the top of the fourth as Berlin wrangled up a 6-2 cushion to put the pressure back on Bristol.
And behind a seven-hit attack, culminating with a big five-run fifth, Post 2 made all the offensive plays late to take the game for good.
“We hadn’t played in eight days, so I was really nervous about the layoff,” said LaPenta. “It showed in the beginning. We didn’t have real competitive at-bats. Once we tied it up and Berlin put up four runs, we easily could just have gone away.”
Mike Lorenzetti started the game for Post 2 and did not allow a hit over his 3.1 innings of work.
He struck out nine and walked eight as the home team was only able to put two balls in play.
Matt Beaucar (3.2 IP, one hit) came into game in place of Lorenzetti during the fourth frame, allowing just one hit, and earned another victory out of the bullpen.
The ‘away’ team managed to score a run in the first inning as Garrett Fallon drew a one-out walk and scored off three passed balls.
Lorenzetti ended up fanning the side, leaving the score at 1-0, as Post 2 came up to bat.
In the bottom of the first, Bristol’s Andrew Lozier drew a full-count walk but was stranded as Ryan Fradette lined out to end the first with Berlin ahead by a run.
Lorenzetti continued to throw heat into the second stanza as it was three up and three down – all via K – with Bristol looking to draw even in the bottom of the tilt.
Jack Kozikowski led off with a base-on-balls but never advanced while Justin Piskorski walked with one gone in the top of the third for Berlin.
He swiped second and third and with two outs, Post 2 was trying to hold the runner from scoring.
Ryan Hyde also walked to put men on the corners before a passed ball scored Piskorski to make it a 2-0 contest.
Austin Brown generated the game’s first hit, a crafty bunt that Berlin pitcher John D’amore did a great job fielding but could not get the runner in time.
And when Adam Caron slipped a single into left, runners were on first and second with one gone.
A double steal got the duo into soaring position and when Fradette launched a ball into right field, the fielder gloved it but could not squeeze it in.
The two-base error allowed Brown and Caron to score and quickly, it was tied up at 2-2 through three.
In the top of the fourth, D’amore drew four balls with one out and an error at third put two men on.
Both runners advanced off a passed ball and when Camden Murphy walked, the bases were juiced for the top of the order.
Another passed ball scored D’amore as Berlin reassumed the edge at 3-2.
Piskorski walked for the second time and with the bases loaded again, Beaucar came in to replace Lorenzetti.
“[Catcher] Nate [Ouellette] was struggling. He hurt his thumb and was having a real hard time catching,” said LaPenta. “Mike was probably squeezing [the ball] a little bit. Sometimes that happens with Mike because he throws throw so hard. Matt came in and did an amazing job.”
And Berlin’s first hit belonged to Fallon as he blasted a two-RBI single to right-center as the visiting contingent led by three at 5-2.
To finish the scoring, Hyde dropped in a long fly-ball to center for the second out, but Piskorski scored from third base as Berlin secured a 6-2 edge.
However, that would be the end of Berlin’s scoring exploits as Beaucar shutdown the offense from there.
With one retired in the fourth, Zack Rinkavage walked, and Ouellette dropped a ball into left for a hit to put two on.
Trevor Nohilly advanced the duo but a groundout from Brown kept Berlin’s cushion at four through four.
After a quick 1-2-3 inning by Beaucar, Post 2 went on the attack to snare the lead for good.
Caron was hit-by-pitch, Lozier sliced a single to short center and when Fradette was interfered with at the plate by Berlin’s Chris Gendron behind the plate, the bases were loaded without the benefit of an out.
Kozikowski then slipped a base hit by the shortstop to plate a run and when Bouchard dropped a single into left, another runner scored as Bristol chopped the deficit to 6-4.
Rinkavage took advantage of the relief pitcher Justin Piskorski, earning a bases-loaded walk, and when Ouellette hit a grounder in between first and second, the play was to second base.
But the runner got to second safely in what turned into a fielder’s choice, Kozikowski scored on the play, and it was a brand-new game at 6-6.
Finally on an 0-1 count, Rinkavage went to steal home – just making safely under the tag in a bang-bang play – as Post 2 reassumed the lead at 7-6.
“What he was really supposed to do was steal home straight on the throw back from the catcher,” said LaPenta of Rinkavage. “That catcher [Gendron] is a pretty good catcher, and he was standing up with guys on base and firing it right back [to the pitcher]. The game got kind of crazy in that inning. [Gendron] was staying on his knees just kind of lobbing [the ball]. The plan was as soon as his arm goes back to throw [to steal home but] that time, he looked. He made a mistake. He should have run at Zack.”
“I thought [Rinkavage] was safe…it was a bang-bang [play and] and I thought it was a good call and the right call.”
With one out in the top of the sixth and trailing by a run, Murphy walked and later took second but got himself in trouble as he was nearly picked off the bag.
But off a scrum, Murphy just beat the throw – making it safely into third.
However, he over-slid the bag, Bristol got the ball back and when Murphy tried to plow back into third base, Rinkavage tagged him out as the threat was squashed.
With the one-run lead in hand, Lorenzetti re-entered the game in the DH slot and smacked a single off the glove of the first baseman into right field as Bristol was at it again.
But the runner ended up stranded as the game went into its final inning with Berlin still trailing 7-6.
After a long delay as the Berlin coaching staff was protesting the Lorenzetti re-entry with the umpires, to no avail, Beaucar and the defense sealed the deal.
After a Fallon walk, two fly-outs and a strikeout ended the game as Bristol secured a much needed 7-6 victory in Berlin.
“Like I’ve said all year, these guys have really shown me they’ve got some heart,” said LaPenta. “It was a big, nice win for us.”
Bristol American Legion, Senior Baseball – Zone 1 game
BRISTOL 7, BERLIN 6
from Sage Park, Berlin
Berlin (12-4) 101 400 0 – 6 1 2
Bristol (3-11) 002 500 x – 7 7 1
WP: Matt Beaucar (Bristol); LP: Justin Piskorski (Berlin)
Berlin Batting
2B – None
3B – None
HR – None
Bristol Batting
2B – None
3B – None
HR – None
Records: Bristol 12-4 overall,10-4 Zone 1; Berlin 3-11 Zone 1
