By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – Dylan Woodsome did it again for the Bristol Senior American Legion Team on Tuesday night.

When Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta needed a starter for his depleted squad, Woodsome’s name was called and the chucker earned his second win of the campaign – helping to defeat Simsbury by an 8-4 push in a Zone 1 bout from Muzzy Field in Bristol.

The victory moved Bristol to 10-6 in Zone 1 action as the program ended the regular season at 10-7 overall with the playoffs on deck.

Woodsome (2-0) allowed out just a handful of hits, going 5.2 innings over a slick 78-pitch outing.

He walked just one, yielded five hits, and never gave Post 84 much to work with – dealing from the start.

“He’s been tough as nails for us all year,” said Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta of Woodsome. “Today, he proved that pitching isn’t all about velocity. It’s about off-speed, keeping people off-balanced, popping up, getting out in front.”

Both team’s tallied eight total hits but each one by Bristol seemed to be bigger than the last.

And it took Simsbury several innings before finally scoring a run against Woodsome.

By that time, the visiting aggression was already in a deep hole.

Simsbury’s Nolan Conderino (2-for-4) eked out a two-out base hit to left off Woodsome to open the affair but was stranded at second to end the half-inning.

Elliot Norris (2-for-3, three runs, RBI, six stolen bases), on the flip side, earned a leadoff walk and quickly stole second and third as Post 2 was looking to score.

Adam Caron (1-for-2, walk, sac fly, two RBI) also drew a walk, putting runners on the corners, and with two away, Simsbury was in a pickle – the ‘Bristol pickle’ that is.

Breaking towards second, Caron baited a throw from behind the plate, and Post 2 went for it.

As Caron danced a bit between first and second, Norris stole his third base of the evening – nabbing home plate with relative ease – as Bristol surged in front, 1-0, through one.

“When he gets on base, we’re totally different team,” said LaPenta of Norris. “He just makes everything happen for us.”

With two gone in the top of the second, Simsbury’s Peter Siana (2-for-2, two runs) belted a triple to deep left field but Ryan Maglio snared a Chris Paolella line drive at second base to end the frame.

Bristol got back to work in the bottom of the second as Tyler Martin lofted a ball over the Simsbury shortstop but overran the second base bag on a steal attempt and was tagged out on the play.

Woodsome then drew a one out walk, moved to second on a passed ball, stole third along the way but never made it home.

However, Bristol was at it again one inning later.

Norris opened the Bristol portion of the third with an infield hit to short and Jayden Churchill zipped a single into left to put two on with no outs on the board.

A double steal saw each runner advance a base and when the ball was thrown away at third, Norris trotted home to score a run and off a slick RBI double to left by Caron, Post 2 etched up a 3-0 cushion.

“Adam had some nice at-bats today,” said LaPenta of Caron. “He drove in a couple runs, had a sacrifice fly and a nice double.”

Ryan Fradette added an infield hit to put runners on first and third and with one out, a wild pitch scored Caron as Bristol snapped up a 4-0 edge.

Woodsome ended the top of the fourth with his first strikeout of the game as he retired seven of his last eight batters to that point of the showdown.

Maglio opened the bottom portion of the fourth with a walk and Chris Osuch laid down a perfect sac bunt to advance the lead runner into scoring position.

And Norris sent Maglio home off his flare to right, propelling Bristol to a 5-0 cushion.

Norris then stole his fifth base of the game but ended up stranded as Simsbury trailed by five going into the fifth.

Simsbury poked out a couple singles in the fifth and on a double steal, Siana scored as the visitors cracked the scoreboard but still trailed, 5-1.

Martin drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth and then Woodsome crushed a ball to the gap in right to score Martin, circling around to avoid getting tagged at the dish, as Post 2 scooped up a 6-1 lead.

It was pickle time once again as a double steal saw Alex Canzellarini, pinch running for Woodsome, scoot home – making it a 7-1 contest through five.

Woodsome left the game with two gone in the sixth as Mike Roalf replaced the starter on mound with a couple runners on.

Simsbury’s Chris Paolella unleashed a double to right – just out of reach of a diving Matt Beaucar – as two scored to make it a 7-3 game.

Paolella later tagged the dish on a fielding error to trim the deficit to 7-4 midway through the sixth.

Norris reached in the sixth inning via an error, moving on to second base, and when he swiped third, the theft was his sixth steal of the game.

He later scored on a Caron sacrifice to left as Post 2 zipped up an 8-4 lead going into the seventh.

“We just kept adding runs on,” said LaPenta. “Just to get that run back to make it 8-4, four runs is a lot better than three. With a four run lead, you have to get a lot more guys to the plate and I thought Mike [Roalf] did a nice job coming in and relieving.”

Simsbury couldn’t generate any additional offense to end the contest as a Roalf strikeout propelled Bristol to the four run victory.

Starting on Saturday, state tournament action begins as Post 2 will start play in Bristol from Muzzy Field at 1 p.m.

Bristol Senior American Legion Baseball – Zone 1 Game

BRISTOL 8, SIMSBURY 4

from Muzzy Field, Bristol

Simsbury (6-10)                     000 030 0 – 4 8 2

Bristol (10-6 Zone 1)             103 120 x – 8 8 1  

WP – Dylan Woodsome (Bristol), 2-0 overall; LP – Colby Wilhelm(Simsbury)

Simsbury Batting 

2B – None

3B – Peter Siana

HR – None

Bristol Batting 

2B – Adam Caron, Dylan Woodsome

3B – None 

HR – None

LOB – Simsbury 7; Bristol 5  

Records: Bristol 10-7 overall (10-6 Zone 1); Simsbury 6-10.

ith the proclamation, click here. 

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