By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – After absorbing a tough 4-1 deficit in the middle of a Connecticut Twilight League semifinal elimination bracket game against the third ranked Rocky Hill Rockies on Monday night, the Bristol Shock refused to go quietly into the night.
The former Bristol Knights netted nine unanswered runs as the locals staved off elimination, snaring a huge 10-4 victory from Muzzy Field to stay alive in CTL postseason play.
It was the second straight tournament victory over the Rockies for the sixth rated Knights (10-13 overall).
Despite playing on its home field, Bristol was the visiting team and right off the bat, veteran Tommy Stagis dropped a blooper into right but never advanced further.
In the bottom of the first, the Rockies added a run to their till but tried for two.
With one away, Rafi Garcia doubled near the line in right field and when Will Ramos walked, two men were on.
Kevin Larkin supplied the RBI as his flare to right scored Garcia to make it a 1-0 contest.
And then off a single to left by Klan Downes, Rockies longtime coach Chris Barsa sent a charging Ramos home, but the runner was tagged out at the dish, keeping it 1-0 contest.
Rocky Hill pitcher Mike Rigdon cruised into third, having retired nine straight, before his squad scored again.
Dan Roth drew a one-out walk for Rocky Hill, stole second and came home on a perfectly placed double by Ramos – nearly dropping the ball into the corner of right field – as the Rockies scooped up a 2-0 push.
It could have been worse, but Bristol ended the third as Colby Jones made a diving catch in foul territory – just behind the third base bag – tom keep it a two-run contest.
After Rigdon had retired ten in a row, Kyle Lentini dropped a Texas leaguer into left as Bristol was on the verge of scoring.
Lentini stole second to get into scoring position and Jones dropped in his biggest hit of the night.
Jones crushed a deep-dish double into left field, easily scoring Lentini, as the deficit was cut in half at 2-1.
To end the stanza, Bristol’s Justin Martella was robbed of a hit in center field which would have tied the game, but Bristol had life, down by just a single run going into the bottom of the fourth.
Bristol brought in Nick Dzioba to throw, replacing starter Howard Rebhun (3 IP, two runs, four hits) but the chucker hit the first two batters he faced.
Trent Dillon sacrificed the duo over and a double to the gap in right by Owen Wosleger cleared the bases as the Rockies secured a 4-1 push through four.
However, it was all Bristol from there.
Kyle Daddona (3-for-4, RBI, two runs) opened the fifth with a shot to center as his double got things rolling.
Patrick Kelley (2-for-3, run, two RBI) followed with an infield hit to shortstop and with runners on the corners, the Shock were in business.
Kelley quickly stole second and when the ball thrown into centerfield on the play, Daddona scored on the miscue as Bristol trimmed the deficit to 4-2 with a man still on third.
And an RBI groundout by Stagis scored Kelley and the contest was a one-run affair again, this time at 4-3.
Bristol’s Jordan Banks got on base via an error, representing the tying run.
However, he got caught off the bag and was stuck in an unfortunate (Bristol) pickle.
Banks gamely tried to work his way out of the jam and was eventually tagged out, but the two runs put the Shock back in contention again, trailing by just a single run.
The Rockies went three up and three down in the fifth and heading into the sixth, the visiting aggression had some real momentum.
After Lentini opened the sixth with a two-base hit to left, the Rockies were forced to deal with Bristol’s wheelhouse.
That trying run nearly came to pass when Jones smoked a base hit over the first basemen’s head, but Lentini was eventually thrown out at the dish for the second out.
However, Martella followed by singling up the middle and no one was going to throw out Jones at the plate, making it a brand-new game at 4-4.
Daddona followed with a single up the middle as Bristol had runners on first and second as Barsa made a pitching change.
A passed ball quickly moved the runners into scoring position and Kelley then dropped in the game-winning hit.
A slick double, that just danced fair in front of the right field line, scoring both runners, as Kelley nabbed two RBI and for the first time all evening, Bristol was on top, leading 6-4.
Dzioba was in the groove going into the sixth and once he retired the side, it was eight straight batters retired heading into the seventh.
Bristol scored four times in the final frame to made things academic.
Lentini scored on an error, Banks came home on a passed ball, Daddona canned an RBI blooper and finally, feisty Jon Blais netted a bases loaded walk that propelled the Shock to a 10-4 cushion as Bristol had batted around.
Jared Gallagher came in to mop up for the Shock in the seventh, eventually striking out the side, as Bristol survived and advanced, making its way into the final elimination game behind its six-run triumph over the Rockies.
NOTES…Over the final four innings of the game, the Shock’s scoring sequence looked like this on the scoreboard: 1234. Had Bristol scored five runs in the eighth – for whatever strange reason – that would have looked like 12345 on the board. Ironically, 12345 is the combination on Scott Dickens’s luggage…
Connecticut Twilight League – Elimination Bracket Semifinal Showdown
No. 6 BRISTOL SHOCK 10, No. 3 ROCKY HILL TERRIERS 4
from Muzzy Field, Bristol
Bristol Shock (10-13) 000 123 4 – 10 12 1
Rocky Hill Terriers (13-9-1) 100 200 0 – 4 5 2
WP – Nick Dzioba (Bristol); LP – Mike Rigdon (Rocky Hill)
Bristol Shock Batting
2B – Colby Jones, Kyle Daddona, Kyle Lentini, Partrick Kelley
3B – None
HR – None
Rocky Hill Batting
2B – Rafi Garcia, Will Ramos, Owen Wosleger
3B – None
HR – None
Records:Bristol Shock 10-13 overall; Rocky Hill Rockies 13-9-1.
