By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bristol Central baseball team exploded for four runs, seizing ultimate control of the showdown, as the locals zipped up a 4-2 CCC Interdivisional victory over Rocky Hill from the JV field at BCHS.
Central (2-4) got an outstanding effort on the hill from Nate Pirog (6 IP, 1 R, five hits, 5 Ks) who worked out of just about every jam he was situated in.
He gave up a single run in the fourth frame but other than that, Pirog had another tremendous outing.
“He’s been our most consistent pitcher all year, hands down,” Central coach Bunty Ray said about Pirog. “He always gives us a good outing. He’s not going to go out there and throw lights out all the time or strike everybody out. But when he needs a big strikeout, he seems to get it. He has great presence, controlling the running game, and I can’t say enough about how he’s preformed out there.”
“He wanted the ball in the last inning and that tells me something about him.”
Terriers’ chucker Ben Centurelli threw extremely well in defeat, allowing four hits and scooping up seven strikeouts but the locals finally got to him in the sixth.
Central’s Oscar Kuzniar had the game winning hit while Frank Spirito added an RBI single, reached on an error and was hit-by-pitch.
And while the squad didn’t have great at-bats over the first five innings, it all came together in the sixth as Aiden Lopez, Spirito, and Kuzniar nabbed the big hits.
“This is a young team and early on, I’m trying not to get frustrated,” said Ray. “I kept coaching and told them, ‘hey, listen. At some point, you’re going to make an adjustment. They’re throwing early breaking balls and you keep chasing them and you don’t have any approach.’ It’s not about our swings, it’s about approach at this level. Everybody worries about their swing. Our swings our fine. You don’t get to varsity baseball unless you can swing at something.”
“We finally got guys on, we finally stayed off of the breaking ball and actually, [Centurelli] got tired a little bit.”
Brendan Whalen led Rocky Hill (5-3), going 2-of-4 with a single and a double.
After Rocky Hill’s Jaiden Reyes earned a walk to start the game, Central catcher Ryan Ring gunned down the runner going to second base for the first out, Christian Stafford made a great grab at third for another putout and Whalen popped out to Lopez at second to end the threat.
On the flip side, Centurelli retired the three batters he faced in the bottom of the first as the contest was quickly afoot.
In the Terriers’ second frame, Zack Myers dropped in a single to left-center but Pirog buckled down – fanning Jack Pawlich and Centurelli as they looked at third pitch strikes – and on one final groundout, Central was back at the dish.
Spirito was plunked by a pitch early in his at-bat to leadoff Central but Centurelli struck out two and got Brian Capezzone to line-out to second as the scoreless game quickly went into the third inning.
Rocky Hill’s Dan Lin smacked a one-out single to right but no damage was done as Pirog remained poised, allowing just two hits over his first three innings of work.
The Rams pounced on Centurelli a bit in the third as Anthony Santilli leadoff with a base-on-balls and when Mike Allen laid down a perfect bunt just in front of the mound, the sacrifice turned into a base hit – putting two on with no one out.
On another bunt attempt, Lopez quickly popped out to the pitcher and Santilli was doubled up going back to first for a slick double-play.
It was still scoreless into the top of the fourth when Whalen dropped a double to deep center and Myers laid down a sac bunt in front of Ring as the lead runner hustled to third with one out.
Designated hitter Jack Pawlich grounded to second on the ensuing play but the throw home was off the mark as Whalen slid in safely and Rocky Hill took a 1-0 lead.
But even with two runners in scoring position, Pirog struck out Pat Boyle for the second time as the Terriers were held to just one run.
In the bottom of the fourth, Spirito reached via error with one gone but never left first base.
And through four completed innings, Rocky Hill was leading 1-0.
Reyes smacked a one-out single in the top the fifth and eventually, the Terriers had men on second and third with two gone.
But Pirog struck out Myers for his fifth K, getting out of the jam, as Central got back to the plate still down a single run.
Centurelli needed just three pitches to retire the side in the bottom of the fifth as the chucker was throwing a one-hitter through five.
“I thought he did a really great job,” said Ray of Centurelli.
Pawlich opened the sixth with an infield single through Allan made a great stop and throw from shortstop to first base.
Boyle drew a two-out walk to put runners on first and second but Lin flew out to right to end the frame.
In the bottom of the tilt, Central went for broke.
Aiden Lopez dropped a full-count double over the head of the centerfielder as the Rams had a runner in scoring position for the first time since the third inning.
And then Stafford’s offering to short right was dropped as the runner hustled to second and Central had two men in scoring position with one out and Spirito at the dish.
And then Spirito dropped a single into short right-center, scoring Lopez, as it was a brand-new game at 1-1 with one out and men on the corners.
Pinch runner JT Clark moved to second on runner’s indifference and then Kuzniar roped his single up the middle – clearing the bases – as Central secured a 3-1 push off what turned into the biggest hit of the afternoon by either squad.
“Oscar, what an at-bat,’ said Ray. “I knew he was going to do something from the at-bat prior. He actually sees what’s going on.”
Capezzone then walked to put two on and Vanasse drilled a ball to short.
The fielder’s throw to third base was wild as pinch runner Joe Mauriello sprinted home as the error led to Central’s fourth run of the inning – making 4-1 entering the final inning of play.
“His breaking ball got a little flat,” said Ray of Centurelli. “And we were able to get to him a little bit more.”
Spirito came into throw to open the top of the seventh, walking the first two batters, while Whalen zipped a ball by the second baseman to score Reyes – chopping the deficit to 4-2.
But Spirito buckled down, striking out the side to earn a save, as Central wrapped up a two-run victory against a very good Rocky Hill program.
“Nothing is really easy for us,” said Ray. “For them, I just said ‘stay with the process.’ That’s what we want to see. We lost that kind of game earlier in the year. Today, there was a little bit more of an intensity, a little bit more purpose and there’s still things going on out there but as long as they go on and we win, then you can grow from them.”
“The excitement is what I wanted to see…a little bit of passion.”
Bristol Central Baseball – CCC Interdivisional Showdown
BRISTOL CENTRAL 4, ROCKY HILL 2
from one of the baseball fields at BCHS
Rocky Hill (5-3) 000 100 1 – 2 6 3
Bristol Central (2-4) 000 004 x – 4 4 0
WP: Nate Pirog (Bristol Central); LP: Ben Centurelli (Rocky Hill,) S – Frank Spirito (Bristol Central).
Rocky Hill Batting
2B – Brendan Whalen
3B – None
HR – None
Bristol Eastern Batting
2B – Aiden Lopez
3B – None
HR – None
Records: Bristol Central 2-4 overall; Rocky Hill 5-3