By MICHAEL LETENDRE
STAFF WRITER
BRISTOL – When the game is on the line and your squad has a late lead against the Bristol Eastern baseball team, the contest is never over.
Since the Lancers are writing their own version of the comeback kids and on Thursday, May 5, another chapter was written at the expense of Bristol Central.
Trailing 2-0 going into the top of the final inning, Eastern scored three runs – getting back-to-back hits from Adrian James and Zach Marquis – to defeat the Rams 3-2 in a Central Connecticut Conference South, Blue Division showdown played from Bill McCooey field from the campus of Bristol Central.
It was another come-from-behind victory for the CCC South Blue division leaders, moving to 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the division.
It was the 60th all-time victory for Bristol Eastern against Bristol Central.
Central fell to 6-5 overall and has lost those five games by a total of nine runs.
“I’ll tell you the truth, the [Eastern] game was a carbon copy of our Southington game,” said Ray about the previous weeks’ 3-2 setback, lost in the seventh inning as well. “We were in command. We got a big hit in that game as well [from Noah Plantamuro]. We were up two runs. And then, balls find holes and we weren’t able to hold on.”
With two runners on for the Lancers, Adrian James lofted a triple to right to clear the bases and tie the game up at 2-2. From there, Zach Marquis plated James with a single to center to make it a one-run lead lead for Eastern.
And then the Lancers withstood Central putting two runners on the base to close the seventh to seize yet another late game comeback.
“Well, I’ll be honest with you, the first couple [of comebacks this season], I thought maybe we’re lucky but now I’m starting to think team has a little bit different something inside of them,” said Eastern coach Mike Giovinazzo. “When the chips are down, they don’t give up. It’s very refreshing to see as a coach.”
“You don’t have to motivate them. They motivate themselves.”
Eastern had runners on base in every inning except the fifth but credit Central pitcher Brad Burney as he battled throughout to pick up another tough luck loss.
Burney gave up seven hits, walked five, struck out four, and allowed the three runs but limited the damage and kept it a scoreless affair into the final inning of play.
That included a double-play ball in the third frame and surviving a bases loaded situation in the fourth tilt.
“They got good at-bats against Brad but I thought he made good pitches when he needed to,” said Ray of Burney. “He wiggled out of trouble out of that third inning with that double play and then for most of the game, he settled in. He was doing it really on one pitch. He didn’t have command of his other pitches.”
“Credit Eastern’s hitters. The fourth time through, they were able to take the fastballs and start driving them.”
His counterpart, Eastern’s Nate Carney, was even tougher and bounced back nicely after yielding two runs in the sixth inning.
And when Central had ducks in the pond, Carney buckled down and pitched a complete game.
Carney, moving to 5-0 in the win, allowed six hits for the game, walked one, hit one, struck out seven, and gave up one earned run.
“He’s a tough pitcher. We all know that Carney’s good,” said Ray. “He will always keep Eastern in the game. In those situations, you expect him to make a pitch that he needs to and he did.”
Eastern’s Greg Lozier zipped up two hits, James had his triple and collected two RBI and scored a run, while Marquis went 1-for-3 single with a walk and generated the game winning RBI.
For the second consecutive game, it appeared as Plantamuro tallied the game-winning hit.
He did it against Southington – only to watch the Knights score three consecutive runs to end the game – but against the Lancers, in the scoreless affair, jammed a double to left-center field as two runners crossed the plate and Central edged ahead in the contest by a 2-0 score.
“Plantamuro has been doing an outstanding job for us,” said Ray. “He’s probably been one of our steadiest offensive players in this three-game stretch where we’ve been playing these tough teams.”
Central only generated one hit over the first four innings, a single to right from Noah Cruz over the first frame. While in the top of the fourth for Eastern, the Lancers threatened to take the first edge in the contest.
But Burney masterfully pitched out of a one-out, bases loaded situation.
Marquis led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second by Carney, and when Jake Violette earned a base-on-balls, Eastern had something brewing.
Evan McGinley, whose defense proved to be a difference-maker in the game as well, loaded the bases by singling to center and quickly, the bases were juiced.
Burney then induced a come-backer by Gary Gagnier and cut down Marquis at the plate via a fielder’s choice and when Brian McPhee flew out to right field, Central get out of the jam with a 0-0 score.
And then in the bottom of the fifth, it was Central’s turn to threaten to score.
Jaeden Rasmus led off with an infield single was sacrificed by Burney to second.
And then the defensive play of the contest came to pass.
Designated hitter A.J. Pahl flashed a grounder to first base and the dribbler just slipped by Violette.
McGinley, playing at second base, got his mitts on the ball but it was still squirting towards the outfield grass.
Ray was signaling Rasmus home and the runner was looking to score.
From his knees, McGinley fired the ball home and Lozier snared the one-hopper as Rasmus was sliding into the plate.
A quick tag was applied and on and the close play, Rasmus was called out and the game remained scoreless after five completed frames.
“If [McGinley] doesn’t knock that ball down, it rolls into the outfield and [Rasmus] scores,” said Giovinazzo of the play.
But Central did score in the bottom of the sixth to size up a 2-0 lead.
With one out, Jaden Benoit singled to left center and the rally was on.
Carney struck out Cruz looking but plunked Jordan Banks with the ball to put two runners on.
The duo moved up to second and third on a passed ball and Plantamuro was looking for a pitch to drive.
On a 0-1 offering, Plantamuro lined a single to left-centerfield to score Benoit and Banks and with one inning to play, the Rams were in charge at 2-0.
But in top of the seventh, Eastern nabbed the edge for good.
Burney generated a strikeout of Gagnier; but the ninth batter, pinch-hitter Cory Fradette, was walked and the top of the order was due up for Eastern.
Nate Hickey, on the first pitch, drilled a perfect drag bunt down the first base line for a hit. When Burney’s throw went wild to first base, Fradette moved to third as runners were on the corners with one out.
“That’s one thing Hickey does for you,” said Giovinazzo of the bunt. “When he puts a ball in play like that, he puts a lot of pressure on the defense and you saw the result there.”
Hickey then stole second and quickly, two men were in scoring position.
Burney got the second out on a Lozier short fly to center, the runners weren’t able to advance and Central was one out away from its biggest victory of the season.
But James hit a fly ball to right, drifting toward the line, and it was just out of the reach of a diving Cruz, scoring both Fradette and Hickey, as the showdown was tied at 2-2 as James ended up on third base with a two-RBI triple.
“Adrian hits the ball all over the place,” said Giovinazzo. “The last time he was up, he pulled it down the left field line. This time, he hits it down to right field. He’s very tough to defend.”
And then Marquis drilled out the game-winning hit with a single to right-center to score James and remarkably, Eastern grabbed the lead at 3-2.
Off the hit, Rasmus relieved Burney and generated the final out of the inning as the Rams trailed by one.
However, Central did not go quietly in the bottom of the seventh but had to battle Carney – attempt to take the lead back in the final inning of the game.
“He’s a bulldog,” said Giovinazzo of his ace pitcher. “There was no doubt he was going back out in the bottom of the seventh.”
Carney got a strikeout for the first putout but then issued his first walk of the game to Pahl and the go-ahead run was at the plate.
Nathan Hickey popped out for the second out of the seventh but Nick Sassu followed with a liner just out of the reach of a diving Marquis in left, putting runners on second and third with two outs.
But Benoit grounded to first for the final out as Eastern won the contest by a 3-2 final as Central battled to the end.
“I’ve got to give my kids a lot of credit,” said Ray of the final half inning. “That was kind of a deflation. You’re in control of a game and all of a sudden, you’re down. To come back and have [two] runners in scoring position, second and third there, with an opportunity to tie or go ahead, it shows that you’re just not going to go down.”
“The obvious thing is Eastern got the big hit and we didn’t. But I can’t fault anybody for that.”