By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – It’s round two on Monday evening as the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern baseball squads look to turn its respective seasons around with a big showing from Muzzy Field.
Game time is slated for 6 p.m. and, without a doubt, both teams could use a win for a couple different reasons.
Why Bristol Central needs to beat Eastern…
After going 12-0 to start the season, injuries, near misses and just plain old luck have derailed the Rams.
But a couple wins over the final week of the regular season could vault Central back into the top-8 of the Class L field.
If the Rams defeat Eastern and then pick off double-tough Avon (also at 12-6 overall) on Wednesday, there’s a good chance Central leapfrogs over Middletown (13-6) depending on how the week plays out.
A 14-6 finish for Central would be a great way to end the regular season.
Why Bristol Eastern needs to beat Central…
It’s so strange to see the Lancers at the bottom of the Class L standings but this week could flip everything around.
Eastern is currently 5-12 with three games left before the conclusion of the regular season.
But the next two opponents after Central are beatable, combining for a record just under .500 overall.
On Tuesday, Eastern travels to McKenna Field to square off against East Hartford (7-12) and then on Wednesday, Wethersfield (9-9) invades Muzzy Field at 3:45 p.m. in a BE/BC doubleheader.
Saying all those games are must win would be an enormous understatement.
The Coaches
This will be Central head coach Bunty Ray’s 32nd game against Bristol Eastern as head coach.
After that 10-0 win against the Lancers earlier in the campaign, Ray comes into the contest 16-15 against the Kingstreeters.
For Eastern, Gaudet gets his sixth crack against Central and is 2-3 overall against the program.
In Gaudet’s first season as head coach at Eastern, the squad defeated the Rams 6-5 on May 6 and then 3-2 to end the 2021 campaign for the sweep.
Overall – The Series – Overall
This will be the 126th game between the two programs with the Lancers leading the all-time series, 68-57.
Over Eastern’s history, its first coach – Clem J. Roy – was three games under .500 for his career against Central while Mike Giovinazzo won 53 of 91 games (you remember Coach G…the guy that won 601 career games for the Bristol Eastern baseball team? The Hartford Courant sure didn’t remember that fact in a story from this weekend).
Bristol Central’s season since beating Bristol Eastern…
The Rams haven’t won a game since beating the Lancers 10-0 (in six innings) back on May 5.
That’s when the injury bug zapped Central of some of its skill and depth along with some bad breaks led to a six-game losing streak (Coach Ray would say you have to make your own breaks in life).
The Rams fell at Tolland (8-2) on May 8 and was then mercy ruled by Lewis Mills, the CCC South champions, (10-0) over a one-hitter two days after falling to the Eagles.
And over the next four games, Central scored two runs or less in three games while falling to Farmington after scoring six runs.
But all four of those setbacks were by two runs or less.
Here’s the unfortunate list:
May 12 – Central falls at Berlin, 2-1
May 15 – To start a stretch of five straight games from Muzzy Field, the Rams absorbed a tough 8-6 decision to Farmington.
May 17 – Central dropped a 2-1 decision to RHAM (Mikey McMahon had a big RBI tally over the losing effort).
May 18 – Maloney topped Central by a 4-2 final.
It was ever so close in all four games with the likes of Ty Davis (he’s a quality arm that has nine Ks over his last two games with minimal earned runs) and Nate Pirog throwing well but just not getting to the pay window.
Bristol Eastern since losing to Bristol Central…
The Kingstreeters have gone 2-4 since that 10-0 thrashing by Central.
But just like the Rams, all four losses were winnable ones.
Eastern dropped a 5-3 decision to Edwin O. Smith on May 8, while two days later, the Lancers were a big 10-3 winner over a very good Middletown squad.
Owens Myers pitched well in the 3-2 loss at Plainville on May 12 and then dropped a tough 9-6 outing to Newington three days later – leading the Nor’easters 6-2 after two innings before getting shutout the rest of the way.
A 16-7 stomping of Farmington last Wednesday saw Ben D’Amato zip up six RBI but the squad simply couldn’t generate a big hit on May 18 over a disappointing 5-1 loss to Avon from Muzzy Field.
Steve Gaudet’s troops have continued to compete, continued to push the envelope and hope to do so one more time against the Rams.
What to expect from Central on Monday?
Ray will be turning to Pirog on the hill against Eastern and the pitcher has been there and done there over several big games at Central.
With that injury bug slowing down the likes of senior stud Frank Spirito, among others, it should be fun to see who steps up for the Rams against the Lancers.
Will this be the game that finally gets Central back on track?
Eastern is certainly hoping for the opposite.
Speaking of the Lancers…
What to expect from Eastern on Monday?
It’s a no retreat, no surrender mantra for the Kingstreeters against the Rams.
Gaudet threw Caleb Molinsky on the mound in the loss to Avon while seeing Ryan Maglio earn the win against Farmington last Wednesday before running out of pitches.
Anthony Nocera should be ready if called upon but is this the game Maglio takes the mound in?
Declan Schenck or Myers might be used for middle relief purposes in this one.
What’s the Bottom Line Here?
Either squad winning this game wouldn’t be any real surprise.
Central is due to break its losing streak and getting a ‘W’ against its crosstown rival would be pretty sweet.
On the flip side, if Eastern wants to get back to the postseason, the squad will have to win out its remaining games and it starts by defeating Central.
How much is riding on the line at Muzzy Field come Monday evening?
Come down to the game and check out the rematch between the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern baseball programs at 6 p.m.
All TBE readers, supporters and donors
The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
- Non-members will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Free readers and people who have subscribed by email will be able to access four (4) articles per week.
- Donors and financial supporters will have unlimited access as long as they log in.
Note: Donors may have to contact TBE if they find they are being limited, since we will need to set up a membership account for you. Email editor@bristoledition.org for instructions. Sorry for any inconvenience. People with financial difficulties may write editor@bristoledition.org to be considered for free access.
