By Michael Letendre
TOLLAND – It was just a matter of time before the Bristol Eastern baseball squad would get to the pay window in 2022.
And collection time was Wednesday as the Lancers took Tolland to the cleaners.
Eastern ending up defeating Tolland 14-4 in a Central Connecticut Conference Interdivisional romp on the road.
The game was called at the completion of six innings due to the mercy rule as the Lancers evened their ledger at 1-1 overall.
Tolland fell to 3-2 over the losing effort.
The defensive component was impressive as Eastern’s Ryan Maglio chucked a complete game.
Maglio allowed four runs, gave up eight hits, and posted just one walk.
He fanned three to earn his squad a badly needed victory.
Eastern roped up ten hits in the game, two each from Cole Latko, Maglio, Rio Fernandez, and Ben D’Amato.
The Eagles never led in the contest and struggled from the onset.
Eastern jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Base-on-balls to Jaydon Churchill and Latko, followed by an RBI single by D’Amato, made it a 1-0 game.
A passed ball scored the second run and an RBI double off the bat of Jose Feliciano made it a three-run game.
After a scoreless second stanza, the Lancers went right back to work in the third, generating just two hits, but scoring five runs as the game morphed out of control for the Eagles.
A single by Rio Fernandez and an RBI base hit from D’Amato were the hits tallied by the Kingstreeters during the inning.
Taking advantage of two walks, a hit batter, and a crucial two-run error, Eastern’s lead reached 8-0.
Tolland followed up with two runs in the bottom of the fourth – making it an 8-2 game.
But the Lancers had an answer of their own.
Eastern scored four times in the fifth, highlighted by a run scoring double by Fernandez, as it became a 12-2 game with the mercy rule looming.
The Eagles notched a run in the fifth but Eastern put two more runs on the scoreboard in the sixth.
Owens Myers and Elliot Norris both earned walks and scored on a two run double by Churchill as Eastern led by 11 and eventually won the contest by ten.
Bristol Eastern Baseball – CCC Interdivisional Showdown
BRISTOL EASTERN 14, TOLLAND 4
from Tolland high school
Bristol Eastern (1-1) 305 042 – 14 10 1
Tolland (3-2) 002 011 – 4 8 3
Battery – Bristol Eastern: Ryan Maglio & Rio Fernandez; Tolland: Joey Keane, Connor Lantocha (4), Caleb Oberkemp (6) & Wyatt Zahner, Nate Boures (4.)
WP: Ryan Maglio (Bristol Eastern); LP: Joey Keane (Tolland)
Bristol Eastern Batting
2B – Jose Feliciano, Rio Fernandez, Jaydon Churchill
3B – None
HR – None
Tolland Batting
2B – Joey Keane, Joe Zabilansky
3B – Nate Boures
HR – None
Records: Bristol Eastern 1-1 overall; Tolland 3-2
