By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – It was just a matter of time before the bats for the Bristol Eastern baseball team were going to spring to life.
And that’s what happened on Wednesday afternoon as the Lancers pounded Conard offensively, leading to a 7-0 victory from Clem J. Roy Field in Bristol.
Eastern (2-2 overall) zipped up a season-high 11 hits in its demolition against the Red Wolves (3-5) in a CCC interdivisional showdown.
Rio Fernandez collected three hits (two doubles) for the Kingstreeters while also scoring two runs and nabbing an RBI.
Ben D’Amato added two hits (double and single), driving in four runs, while Connor Cyr posted two base hits over the winning effort.
But the contest wasn’t just about the offense explosion.
Eastern pitcher Ryan Maglio was simply sensational against the Red Wolves.
He pitched the first six innings, allowing just two singles, struck out 11 while walking five to snare the win.
Noah Gatti pitched the seventh stanza for the Lancers to help preserve the three-hit shutout.
The Red Wolves attempted to put together a two-out rally in the first inning as Maglio gave up an infield single to Jack Kane.
After walking the bases full, Maglio tallied a huge strikeout to end the threat while on the flip side, Eastern pounced on Conard for a couple runs.
Cyr opened the stanza with a single to left, Owen Myers reached on an error and a throwing miscue put the runners on second and third.
D’Amato then doubled to left, clearing the bases, as the home team held a two-run edge through one.
But the Lancers weren’t finished as the squad scored an additional three runs in the bottom of the second.
Fernandez smacked a double over the centerfielder’s head to start things off while Mason Harris earned a base on balls to put two on.
With two gone, Myers hit a ball up the middle – with it hitting off the pitcher towards shortstop with no play – to juice the bases.
Fernandez scored on a wild pitch and D’Amato’s singled to center, sending Harris and Myers home, to make it a 5-0 game.
In the third, Caleb Molinsky opened the inning with a single to right, swiped second, and tagged the dish on Fernandez’s double to left center, making the contest a 6-0 affair through three.
After a scoreless fourth in which Maglio fanned the entire side, the Kingstreeters were back at it again in the fifth to snare the final run.
Fernandez singled to left and when Harris followed with an infield single, runners were on first and second.
Brayden Schenck sacrificed the duo into scoring position, and Cyr’s pop-fly single to right scored Fernandez as Eastern held an imposing 7-0 push.
Conard threatened in the sixth but the attempted rally did not produce a run.
A leadoff walk and a two-out single up the middle by Ben Lemieux put two runners on.
However, one final strikeout by Maglio kept the shutout intact and Gatti pitched a scoreless seventh to ice the game as Eastern moved to .500 over the 7-0 victory against Conard.
NOTES…It was the 36th all-time showdown between the programs as Conard carries a slim 19-17 edge in series play…It was Eastern head coach’s Steve Gaudet first ever game against the Red Wolves…The Lancers are back in the thick of things today at Rocky Hill in a CCC interdivisional bout at 3:45 p.m. and then squares off against Newington (Friday, 3:45 p.m.) on the road.
Bristol Eastern Baseball – CCC South Action
BRISTOL EASTERN 7, CONARD 0
from Clem J. Roy Field, BEHS
Conard (3-5) 000 000 0 – 0 3 3
Bristol Eastern (2-2) 231 010 x – 7 11 0
Battery: Conard – Brendan Grady, Matt Oriola (4), Aidan Bailey (5), Jacob Henretta (6) & Ben Lemieux; Bristol Eastern: Ryan Maglio, Noah Gatti (7), & Rio Fernandez.
WP – Ryan Maglio (Bristol Eastern); LP – Brendan Grady (Conard)
Conard Batting
2B – None
3B – None
HR – None
Bristol Eastern Batting
2B – Ben D’Amato, Rio Fernandez (2)
3B – None
HR – None
Records: Bristol Eastern 2-2 overall; Conard 3-5.
