By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – A big victory for the Bristol Eastern baseball team was somewhere on the horizon for the squad to end the regular season.

And that win came on Friday night as the Lancers upended a very good squad from Hall of West Hartford – shutting out the team by a 9-0 decision from Muzzy Field.

It was a complete game effort by Eastern (7-10) as the program is on the cusp of a state tournament berth.

Hall fell to 11-7 as the team saw its five-game winning streak snapped.

Everything clicked for Eastern as the team had excellent pitching, saw timely hitting (14 hits), and played errorless ball to snare the win.

Eastern junior righthander Mike Roalf was simply tremendous over the winning endeavor.

He pitched a complete game gem, throwing 103 pitches, allowing just five hits, striking out ten, and walking just two. 

Eastern pounded out 14 hits in support of Roalf, scoring in each of the first three innings, as the Kingstreeters opened a 7-0 lead – never looking back. 

Cole Latko scooped up three hits, scored twice, and tallied an RBI while Jaydon Churchill, Connor Cyr, Ben D’Amato, and Elliot Norris all had two hits.  

Churchill dropped in a fifth inning double to deep left while Cyr, Ryan Maglio, and D’Amato each tallied two RBI.

The Lancers scored twice in bottom of the first to square the game away in quick fashion.

A walk to Conor McCormick opened the first inning.

He then stole second, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on Connor Cyr’s single between short and third.  

Cyr scored the second run of the frame as D’Amato hit a ball towards the middle of the infield which deflected off the pitcher’s glove towards shortstop.

No play was able to be made as the infield tally made it a 2-0 contest though one.

Hall’s only scoring chance came in the second but Roalf and the defense snuffed that drive right out.

A walk, followed by a single, put two runners on with no outs for Hall.

The runners moved up to second and third on a sacrifice bunt but Roalf retired the side from there.

A come-backer and a strikeout ended the threat and Hall never threatened again. 

From there, Hall never had more than one baserunner on base in any inning with only one runner advancing past first base.

The Lancers added three runs in the second as Latko singled past second base to start the inning.

Norris then laid down a perfect bunt on the third base side, beating it out for a hit and when Churchill’s grounder was misplayed, Latko scored to make it a 3-0 game.   

Cyr later singled to right center to score Norris and D’Amato’s base hit up the middle plated Churchill as Eastern squared up a 5-0 edge.

In the third tilt, following a walk to Rio Fernandez, Latko’s single to right center scored Fernandez, and Norris again beat out a perfect bunt down the third base line to put two runners on.

And a single to left by Churchill scored Latko as Eastern nabbed a 7-0 push.

The final two runs came in the fifth, started off by a McCormick single, and when Churchill unleashed a double, runners were on second and third.  

Ryan Maglio then pinch hit for the Lancers, smacking the first ball he saw to center for a single and two RBI as Eastern squared up a 9-0 victory to get within a game of state tournament qualification.

This coming week

Eastern is scheduled for three games, starting with the city series confrontation against tournament bound Bristol Central (8-10) on Monday night from Muzzy Field at 6:30 p.m.

And then on Wednesday, the Lancers battle against Wethersfield on the road and host the Bulkeley/AAE/Bloomfield squad in a make-up showdown on Thursday from Clem J. Roy Field at BEHS to close out the regular season.

Bristol Eastern Baseball – CCC Interdivisional Showdown 

BRISTOL EASTERN 9, HALL 0

from Muzzy Field, Bristol

Hall (11-7)      000 000 0 – 0 5 1

Bristol Eastern (7-10) 232 020 x – 9 14 0

Hall: Quinn LaRock, Nick Udell (3), Lucas Pyro (4), Simon Rosenberg (6) & Tommy Laspada; Bristol Eastern: Mike Roalf & Rio Fernandez. 

WP: Mike Roalf (Bristol Eastern); LP: LaRock (Hall).

Hall Batting 

2B – James Redden

3B – None

HR – None

Bristol Eastern Batting 

2B – Jaydon Churchill

3B – None

HR – None 

Records: Bristol Eastern 7-10 overall; Hall 11-7

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