By Michael Letendre

BURLINGTON – Trailing by a run going into the bottom of the sixth against Bristol Eastern, the Lewis Mills baseball team scored four times – rallying to defeat the Lancers by a 7-5 final in Burlington on Saturday.

Mills moved to 4-3 on the season while Eastern fell to 2-4. 

In the sixth stanza, Eastern was leading 4-3 before the Spartans made its game-ending run.

Mills’ Jayden Longdin opened the inning with an infield single to third off Eastern starter Ryan Maglio.  

Following a walk, Cam Fisher reached on another infield single, this one deflecting off the pitching rubber into the air to second baseman Elliot Norris, who cold not make a play.

Suddenly, the bases were loaded. 

Maglio walked the next batter to force in a run, tying the showdown at 4-4.  

Jaydon Churchill came in and relieved Maglio but the Spartans kept the pressure on.  

An RBI walk, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Noah Moriarty, and a double to left by Alec Varano led to three runs and put Lewis Mills on top, 7-4.

It would be a deficit too much for the Lancers to come back from though the Kingstreeters nearly did so in the end.

Maglio pitched well, giving up two unearned runs in the first and then settled in nicely.  

Varano hit the first pitch of the game for a single, inside of third base, and promptly stole second.  

Following a walk to Thomas O’Connell, Maglio’s pick-off attempt at first was wild, rolling down the right field line.

Varano scored on the play and a sac fly by Longdin scored O’Connell – making it a 2-0 game.  

Following that O’Connell base-on-balls, Maglio retired eleven batters in a row.

With Maglio cruising, Eastern chipped away at the deficit over the following three innings.

Consecutive singles by Owen Myers, Conor Cyr, and Norris produced a run in the second to chop the deficit in half, 2-1.

In the third tilt, singles by Cole Latko and Maglio, followed by a walk, loaded the bases.

Latko scored on a groundout to tie things up and the Lancers then scored twice in the fourth frame to go up by two (4-2).  

Singles from Myers and Cyr started the inning and a sacrifice by Norris had runners on second and third for Eastern.  

Churchill then singled in Myers and Cyr scored on a groundout to give the Lancers a two-run edge.

Mills cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth as Ben Rewenko tripled to left and scored on Moriarty’s single to center to trim the deficit to one.  

And the fateful sixth came and went as Mills established a three-run cushion.

Eastern threatened in the seventh with one out as Rio Fernandez and Ben D’Amato singled off Fisher – putting the tying run at the plate.  

Following a strikeout for the second out, Myers walked to load the bases as Fisher reached the pitch limit.

Austin Ouellette relieved Fisher and allowed Cyr an infield single to short for a run, making it 7-5, and Eastern was one hit away from tying the event up. 

But Ouellette generated a strikeout for the final out as Mills won by a couple of runs.

Eastern had thirteen hits for the game, all singles.  

Cyr etched up three singles while Latko, Fernandez, and Myers each had two hits apiece.  

Varano zipped up two hits for Mills, including a double.

Bristol Eastern Baseball – CCC South Showdown 

LEWIS MILLS 7, BRISTOL EASTERN 5

from Lewis Mills High School, Burlington

Bristol Eastern (2-4) 011 200 1 – 5 13 2

Lewis Mills (4-3) 200 014 x – 7 7 1

Bristol Eastern: Ryan Maglio, Jaydon Churchill (6) & Rio Fernandez;

Lewis Mills: Cam Fisher, Austin Ouellette (7) & Thomas O’Connell.

WP: Cam Fisher (Lewis Mills); LP: Ryan Maglio (Bristol Eastern); S – Austin Ouellette

Bristol Eastern Batting

2B – None

3B – None

HR – None

Lewis Mills Batting

2B – Alec Varano

3B – Ben Rewenko

HR – None

Records: Lewis Mills 4-3 overall; Bristol Eastern 2-4