By Michael Letendre  

BRISTOL – Before the varsity baseball squads from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern commenced play on Friday night from Muzzy Field, the undercard was equally impressive.  

The JV squads from both schools went to work over a very entertaining affair and going into the seventh and final inning, the showdown was all knotted up at 2-2.

And it took game-winning heroics by the Rams to seize ultimate victory, notching a run in the top of the seventh stanza, to seize a 3-2 win over the Lancers.    

The Rams improved to 7-3 overall while the Lancers fell to 5-3 off the losing effort.  

The contest was a very well-played affair, coming down to the wire while featuring tremendous pitching from both sides.  

Central’s Jake Montana and Eastern’s Jonny Montgomery each could have won the game, but the Rams were able to hold on late.  

Montana earned a no-decision in the end while reliever Gavin Colvin, who came into pitch during the sixth inning, earned the victory for Central.  

Montgomery took home the tough luck loss for the Lancers.  

Central scored twice in the top of the first frame while Eastern answered with a couple runs during sixth inning play.  

But the Rams took over from the start as Alex Kuzniar led the first frame off with a single up the middle.    

An infield error followed on a grounder off the bat of Mason Allan, putting runners on first and second.    

Rocco Spirito then drove in both runners with a double to left center to propel Central to a 2-0 push.    

But Montgomery pitched extremely well over the next five frames, allowing just two singles to keep Central’s hot bats at bay. 
On the flip side, Montana did not allow a hit over the first three frames, gave up singles in both the fourth and fifth but no further damage was done to keep Central ahead by a 2-0 push.  

In the fourth inning, the Eastern offense started showing signs of life as Declan Schenck drilled a single but a grounder up the middle from Randy DeNoto turned into a 6-6-3 double play to erase the runners.  

And in the fifth frame, it was more of the same.  

Following a single by Montgomery, a 6-4-3 double play stopped the Kingstreeters in their tracks and the 2-0 cushion was still being enjoyed by the Rams.  

But things changed quickly during sixth inning play.  

Eastern’s Jason Rivard opened the stanza with a single up the middle and Jose Burgos followed with a double to left, putting runners on second and third with no one out.    

Off a strikeout, Adoni Fernandez singled up the middle to score both Eastern runners – tying the game at 2-2 with one inning left to play in regulation.  

And Central scored the final run of the affair during the fateful seventh stanza.  

With Montgomery still dealing from the mound, Central’s Adam Newton opened the seventh with an infield single and a pop-fly single to short right center by Kuzniar put runners on first and second.  

Finally, Newton scored the winning run on an infield error to help the Rams secure a 3-2 push.    

Montgomery soon reached the pitch limit and was relieved by Anthony Nocera who generated the final out of the frame.  

Central reliever Gavin Colvin, who had come on during the sixth inning, struck out the Eastern side in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win for the Rams – winning the showdown by a 3-2 final.  

Bristol JV City Series Baseball  

BRISTOL CENTRAL 3, BRISTOL EASTERN 2  

from Muzzy Field, Bristol  

Bristol Central (7-3)              200 000 1 – 3 6 1  

Bristol Eastern (5-3)             000 002 0 – 2 5 3  

Battery: Bristol Central – Jake Montana, Gavin Colvin (6) & Rocco Spirito; Bristol Eastern – Jonny Montgomery, Anthony Nocera (7) & Peyton Hasler. 

WP: Gavin Colvin (Bristol Central); LP: Jonny Montgomery (Bristol Eastern)  

Bristol Central Hitting    

2B – Rocco Spirito  

3B – None  

HR – None  

Bristol Central Hitting    

2B – Jose Burgos  

3B – None  

HR – None  

Records: Bristol Central 7-3 overall; Bristol Eastern 5-3.