By Michael Letendre
NEWINGTON – Apparently, Bristol American Legion baseball pitcher Roberto Cruz loves to square off against Newington this year.
Post 2 has taken on the Newington squad three times this season, zipped up a perfect 3-0 ledger against program, and Cruz has won on the mound in all those games.
On Sunday, Cruz came into pitch for Mike Lorenzetti during the fourth frame, throwing three innings of three-hit ball, as Bristol nabbed a 4-3 victory from Alumni Field in Newington.
The locals are 15-5 overall and 13-4 in Zone 1 play. Bristol now sits in the drivers seat of Zone 1 with three games left to play.
Newington fell to 6-10 off the loss.
Cruz allowed a single unearned run, walked three and fanned four over an efficient 59-pitch stint.
He came in for Lorenzetti who, for the second straight start, did not allow a hit over his time on the hill.
In four innings, Lorenzetti yielded one earned run, walked seven while punching out eight to earn a no-decision.
At the plate, Bristol’s Andrew Lozier was nearly perfect – going 3-of-4 overall – which included a double and two RBI.
Austin Brown, Adam Caron, Evan Bouchard, Tyler Martin, Owen Davis, and Jack Kozikowski all generated hits for the locals.
Brown added an RBI via a sacrifice fly and scored two runs while Davis also notched a run and an RBI.
Post 2 stole six bases on the night, advancing whenever it could, as Brown had two to lead his squad.
Austyn Howe pitched well for Newington but could never get over the hump as he went the distance.
Offensively, Newington tallied 10 walks, but the offense could not generate a game-winning hit as it stranded nine batters on base over the losing endeavor.
It was a back-and-forth affair early as Bristol scored a run in the top of the third, but Newington responded with one in the fourth to tie the game up at 1-1.
Post 2 nabbed another run in the fifth to go ahead by one,but when Newington tallied two in the bottom of the stanza, the home team led 3-2.
Bristol scored two in the top of the sixth and Post 117 never responded over the final two frames as Post 2 grabbed a big 4-3 come-from-behind victory to earn its 13th win in Zone 1 play.
Up-coming schedule
Bristol has won seven straight Zone 1 games – and 12 out of its last 13 – and plays at Avon tonight (5:30 p.m.) from Buckingham Park.
It’s the rubber match between the squads as each team has won a game earlier in the season.
Originally, a non-zone game at South Windsor was on the docket but was cancelled due to the Avon make-up.
On Wednesday, Bristol battles West Hartford from the friendly confines of Muzzy Field with a start time of 7 p.m.
This is another make-up game and West Hartford will be the home team in Bristol.
And then this coming Sunday, Post 2 travels to Memorial Field for an early 11 a.m. showdown against Simsbury.
That will be the final day of regular season play as the 2021 Senior single elimination postseason tournament commences on August 3.
We’ll have more on the state tournament as the week comes to a completion.
Bristol American Legion, Senior Baseball – Zone 1 game
BRISTOL 4, NEWINGTON 3
from Alumni Field, Newington
Bristol (13-4) 001 012 0 – 4 9 1
Newington (6-10) 000 120 0 – 3 3 1
WP: Roberto Cruz (Bristol); LP: Austyn Howe (Newington)
Bristol Batting
2B – Andrew Lozier
3B – None
HR – None
Newington Batting
2B – None
3B – None
HR – None
Records: Bristol 15-5 overall,13-4 Zone 1; Newington 6-10 Zone 1
