By Michael Letendre
AVON – The Bristol American Legion Baseball team seems snakebitten each time the squad plays Avon from Buckingham Park this season.
And while Bristol hung on for five innings during its latest bout against Post 201 on Monday, a three-run sixth did-in the locals.
Avon broke Bristol’s seven-game Zone 1 winning streak, defeating Post 2 by a 4-0 final.
Post 201 moved to 10-6 in Zone 1 action while Bristol fell to 13-5 and 15-6 overall.
Avon chucker Daniel Bae (6.1 IP, three Ks) did extremely well, giving up six hits while allowing just one runner to get into scoring position through six completed frames.
“[Bae] is a good pitcher,” said Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta. “He pitched against us before. He pounds the zone, and he does a good job. He keeps runners close. We really couldn’t run that much. It was a tight game.”
On the flip side, Bristol pitcher Matt Beaucar deserved a better fate in his first loss of the campaign.
He kept it a 1-0 run game through five innings before the bottom fell out on the squad in the sixth when Avon scored its three runs.
Beaucar went six innings, allowed just two extra-base hits while walking only one .
“He pitched great,” said LaPenta of Beaucar. “We did not execute tonight. We’ve been playing really well going on three weeks, but we made a bunch of little mistakes tonight.”
Despite miscues and mistakes, Bristol gave the ball a whirl to open play.
Bristol’s Andrew Lozier drilled a two-out double a country mile to right-center field with two outs in the first frame but never advanced.
In the bottom of the first for Avon, the home team had a ton of activity but could not notch a run.
Leadoff batter Tyler Booney singled to right and when Max Raha (3-for-3, run) bounced a grounder to shortstop for a base hit, Avon had two on with no one out.
But Bonney was cleverly picked off by Beaucar when the runner tried to take third base.
Dylan Love ended up grounding out to end the first as Bristol snuck out of a big jam.
In the second stanza, Tyler Martin (2-for-3) drilled a one-hopper to right as Post 2 had something brewing again.
But Roberto Cruz struck out to end the second stanza as the game remained a scoreless affair.
Beaucar retired the side in the second – and five in a row overall which included a slick line-drive catch by Ryan Fradette in centerfield – to keep the Avon bats silent.
Bristol went down in order in the third tilt and Beaucar made all the big plays in the bottom of the inning, including a slick cut down of a ball destined to go as a base hit – while catcher Owen Davis showed hustle, catching two pop-ups in foul territory to keep the locals at bay.
In the fourth, Lozier slammed another ball to right that was skillfully caught by Nyberg while Fradette reached base via error as his offering to shortstop was bobbled before it was thrown to first base a tad too late.
A ground-out by Davis advanced Fradette to second but one last fly-out to Nyberg saw Avon quickly back at the dish.
Raha led off the fourth with an infield hit to second base and even after stealing second, the Bristol defense made all the plays to keep him from scoring.
And through four frames, there wasn’t any score.
Martin started off the fifth frame with a single to right-center, but the runner was gunned down sliding into second base for the first out of the inning.
“Tyler gets a leadoff single, he can’t get thrown out at second,” said LaPenta. “He’s got to know if he can make it or stay at first because we’re going to bunt, get him to second [base and] with two shots to take the lead, it’s a different game.”
Bae continued to throw well but when Trevor Nohilly drew ball four, a runner was back on the bases for the visitors in the fifth.
Brown’s two-out bunt was handled at first base as Bristol couldn’t crack the scoreboard.
“They’re a good team when [Bae] pitches,” said LaPenta of Avon. “They battle.”
For the third time in three innings, Avon had its leadoff man onboard as Ed Jankowski singled to right in the bottom of the fifth.
Luke Coppen then laid down a perfect bunt as Caron fielded the ball to Martin, covering first base.
But Jankowski just sprinted by second base and made it to third safely as no one was covering the bag and a late throw did not get the runner.”
“In playoff games, those things are going to matter,” said LaPenta of Avon’s extra base.
With one out, Nick Amatulli belted a ball off the upper part of the fence in left – easily scoring Jankowski – as Post 201 led it, 1-0.
And then Bristol set the deck in the sixth stanza as Adam Caron led off with a single to center with Lozier up to bat.
Lozier just got underneath it as his high fly-ball to center was caught and a 6-4-3 double play ended Bristol’s best chance to put a dent on the scoreboard.
Avon, still leading by a run, started the sixth with a blazing double from Raha and when Emmert Borenstein slipped a ball into left-center, the lead runner scored to make it a 2-0 contest.
A passed ball got Borenstein to third while a walk to Matt Leopold put runners on the corners.
Davis attempted to throw out Leopold stealing second, but the ball bounced into the outfield, Borenstein easily scored from third as Avon surged in front, 3-0.
And then an RBI single to right from Jankowski completed the scoring and heading into the seventh, Post 2 trailed 4-0.
Bristol rallied to open the seventh as Davis slipped a single to center and Jack Kozikowski belted a base hit to left and very quickly, men were on first and second with no outs.
And with that, the tying runner was in the on-deck circle for Bristol.
“We kept fighting there,” said LaPenta. “We got two guys on in the bottom of the seventh.”
After fanning Martin, Avon went to Coppen on hill to close things out.
Pinch runner Alex Canzellarini stole third, putting men on the corners, but Cruz tried to bunt on strike three for the second out.
One final grounder by Nohilly to second ended the contest as Bristol was shoutout at Avon, 4-0.
“There was just a lot of little things we didn’t execute tonight,” said LaPenta. “[But] we still control our own fate [in the zone].”
Bristol American Legion, Senior Baseball – Zone 1 game
AVON 4, BRISTOL 0
from Buckingham Field, Avon
Bristol (15-6) 000 000 0 – 0 6 1
Avon (10-6) 000 013 x – 4 8 1
WP: Daniel Bae (Avon); LP: Matt Beaucar (Bristol)
Bristol Batting
2B – Andrew Lozier
3B – None
HR – None
Avon Batting
2B – Nick Amatulli, Max Raha
3B – None
HR – None
LOB – Bristol 6; Avon 4
Records: Bristol 15-6 overall, 13-5 Zone 1; Avon 10-6 Zone 1
