By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – While the Bristol American Legion Baseball team was on the verge of advancing in its first round state tournament game against South Windsor on Tuesday, Post 2 coach Jerry LaPenta was looking towards the future in terms of pitching.
And with star chucker Andrew Lozier throwing into the sixth inning over a 7-2 game – just at his 79th pitch – the long time mentor made a change.
Due to pitch count rules, getting Lozier out of the game before he threw his 80th pitch allowed the standout to throw in a possible championship game over the weekend.
The exchange paid off as Owen Davis (0.67 IP, 1 ER) and Tyler Martin (1 IP) held the fort.
“I was a little nervous about making the move,” said LaPenta. “I don’t normally do that but [Lozier] was at 79 pitches. If I don’t take him out there, he can’t pitch again [in the postseason]. Now, if we get to the championship game, he’ll be available.”
Bristol’s pitching rotation is strong and will remain so with Lozier available for duty from Ceppa Field in Meriden.
The Tournament Qualifier wasn’t all it was chalked up to be
For Northeast Regional Tournament Qualifier NCL, the payoff was a trip to Massachusetts for the New England Regional and a shot at the American Legion World Series.
But for the other nine losing squads, the Qualifier threw a wrench in the regular season and team’s like West Hartford and Fairfield ended up paying the price for it.
After a strong start, and then the one-and-done with the Qualifier, West Hartford never seemed to be able to capture back any of its early season momentum.
That all culminated on Tuesday over a 4-0 upset loss to Tri-Town – the 11th ranked squad in the North – as the sixth rated program dropped its first round game in the single elimination tournament.
And Fairfield (19-5, Zone 4), playing six games in the Qualifier and losing in the title game, did not compete in the state playoff fray.
That easily could have been Bristol if things had been different and the locals had snuck into the Qualifier as a low seed.
“I just heard West Hartford got upset which I’m shocked by,” said LaPenta after Bristol’s win. “They haven’t been playing well since they went down and to Greenwich. But us losing the [Regional Qualifier] tiebreaker might have been a blessing in disguise because that could have screwed our whole season up.”
Karma
Anybody who knows LaPenta understands that the long time coach is extremely superstitious…in the baseball sense.
He’ll keep going to what works despite the score or personnel on the field.
And that means aggression on the base paths – stealing, hit-and-runs, ‘Bristol Pickles’ – any type of advancement, even as the score is a bit lopsided in Bristol’s favor.
LaPenta stays with what works and that strategy always seems to pay off handsomely.
“I find that if we play that way all year, I don’t like to go away from it,” said LaPenta. “I’m a big karma guy. I’m a baseball superstitious guy.”
In 2015, Bristol took a baseball trip to Cooperstown – winning its exhibition game – and then went on quite a roll, posting a 23-9 ledger that included several consecutive victories.
And LaPenta kept wearing the shirt that got his squad all those triumphs.
“I wore that same shirt the year we went to Cooperstown,” said LaPenta. “We won 15 games in a row. I wore the same shirt for 15 games.”
And even after scoring five runs in that first inning against South Windsor, there was a ton of baseball still to be played.
Teams have come back from bigger deficits after the first frame, Bristol kept its foot on the gas to the end, outscoring South Windsor the rest of the way by two runs.
“Five runs is not a big lead,” said LaPenta. “So you’ve still got to be aggressive and I was happy to get the insurance runs back so that I can relax a little bit more in the top of the seventh.”
Survive and Advance
The single elimination format of the state tournament this year leaves absolutely no margin for error.
And the players know that very fact, realizing every game could be their final one this summer.
Win at all costs, do what you have to do, and the reward is playing the next day – despite the opponent.
Lozier also spilled – but did not eat – the beans when he disclosed who Tri-Town’s opponent on the mound will be on Wednesday.
And Tri-Town is going to have to find someway to slow down Roberto Cruz when he takes the hill from Muzzy Field on Wednesday.
“It’s win and advance,” said Lozier. “It’s the playoffs. We’ve just got to survive, one game at a time. We’ve got a lot of confidence with Roberto [pitching] tomorrow. And we’ve got Tri-Town. I was expecting West Hartford.”
“It was a little switch-up there but we’re going to go in there, same amount of confidence we had today and we’re going to get a win.”
American Legion Baseball State Tournament – First Round Results and Schedule for Wednesday
Here are the results from the 2021 19U Connecticut State Tournament on Tuesday as the field was paired down to 16 teams after first round play.
19U Connecticut American Legion State Tournament Championship
Single Elimination tournament results
Northern Region – First Round
*No. 1 Waterford (Bye)
*No. 15 Moosup at No. 2 RCP (Crowell HS) – RCP won 9-0
*No. 14 South Windsor at No. 3 Bristol (Muzzy Field) – Bristol won 9-1
*No. 13 Naugatuck at No. 4 Middletown (Palmer Field) – Middletown won 2-1
*No. 12 Northeast at No. 5 Norwich (Dickenman Field) – Norwich won 4-1
*No. 11 Tri-Town at No. 6 West Hartford (Conard HS) – Tri-Town upset West Hartford, 4-0
*No. 10 Ellington at No. 7 Avon (Buckingham Field) – Avon took it, 3-0
*No. 9 Tri-County at No. 8 Willimantic (Recreation Field) – Tri-County won, 2-1
Southern Region – First Round
*No. 1 Madison (Bye)
*No. 2 Danbury (Bye)
*No. 14 Glastonbury at No. 3 Wallingford (Pat Wall Field) – Wallingford won, 9-2
*No. 13 Ridgefield at No. 4 Meriden (Legion Field) – Meriden took it, 3-1
*No. 12 Newington at No. 5 Stamford (Cubetta Stadium) – Newington upset, 5-1
*No. 11 West Haven at No. 6 Trumbull (Trumbull HS) – Trumbull wins, 12-0
*No. 10 Orange at No. 7 Hamden (Hamden HS) – Hamden was the winner, 4-1
*No. 9 Stratford at No. 8 Westport (Staples HS) – Westport won, 4-2
Northern Region – Second Round Games (Wednesday)
No. 9 Tri-County at No. 1 Waterford (Waterford high school)
No. 7 Avon at No. 2 RCP (Cromwell HS)
No. 11 Tri-Town at No. 3 Bristol (Muzzy Field, 6:30 p.m.)
No. 5 Norwich at No. 4 Middletown (Palmer Field)
Southern Region – Second Round Games (Wednesday)
No. 8 Westport at No. 1 Madison (Town Campus)
No. 7 Hamden at No. 2 Danbury (Abbott Tech)
No. 6 Trumbull at No. 3 Wallingford (Pat Wall Field)
No. 12 Newington at No. 4 Meriden (Legion Field).
