Pomperaug third baseman Andrew Minchella crosses the plate for the first run of a six-run outburst in the fourth inning at Nonnewaug Saturday as the Panthers pull away to a 12-3 win to remain undefeated at 4-0 on the season. (Ken Morse photo)
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By KEN MORSE Special to the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer
The Pomperaug High School baseball team continued to swing the bats as they pounded out 15 hits in a 12-3 win over Nonnewaug Saturday in Woodbury. The 4-0 Panthers are off to their best start since 2009, and they are doing it with stable pitching, a strong defense and an offense that is coming into its own.
A day earlier, on Friday, Pomperaug plated six runs in the first inning against Weston in an 11-6 win. Grant Wallace pitched the first four innings on the hill with Nick Hebert doing the catching behind the plate. Ryan Dunfee closed the door, pitching the final two innings in relief.
Brian Dagostino led the attack with three hits and three RBIs. Sherman Mitchell, Josh McGettigan, Matt Brophy and Chris McFarland all had two hits each to pace the Panthers’ offense.
“We had too many strikeouts in our first two wins of the season,” said Pomperaug head coach Mike Eisenbach. “We tweaked the lineup a little bit, and the offense is starting to come around.”
Nick Albano took the mound for the Panthers against the Chiefs Saturday and turned in a gutsy performance. Albano (four innings, five hits, three runs, three strikeouts) battled his way out of two jams, keeping Nonnewaug in check until the Pomperaug bats put the game away.
The Panthers came out of the gate pushing two runs across the plate in the first inning. Sherman Mitchell singled and stole second base to get into scoring position. McGettigan drew a walk, and Dagostino (two hits, two RBIs) followed with a run-scoring single to centerfield.
Andrew Minchella drove a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring McGettigan before Nonnewaug pitcher Tom Abramovich got out of the jam by inducing two foul outs to first base.
The Chiefs struck back in the bottom of the frame with Kurtis Krizan busting a one-out double into the left field corner. An infield error followed by a walk had the Panthers pitcher Albano on the ropes with the bases loaded.
Joe Contento singled a run through the infield before Albano got out of trouble and retired the side without any further damage. The Panthers big right-hander settled into a groove, striking out two in the second and escaping a first-and-third jam in the third.
“We have a lot of potential on this team,” said Eisenbach, sounding cautiously optimistic about the 4-0 start. “We can’t get too ahead of ourselves. We need to stay focused and take it one game at a time.
“It’s nice to be sitting where we are. But by no means can we just sit back. We need to continue to work hard and get better as a team. It’s a long season and we have a ways to go.”
Pomperaug headed into the fourth inning clinging to a 2-1 lead when the bats erupted for a six-run outburst. It was the second time in two games the Panthers put the game away with a six-run rally.
Minchella got it started, slicing a single away from the right fielder down the line. Coach Eisenbach used text-book baseball trying to make something happen as Matt Brophy dropped a sacrifice bunt out in front of the plate to move the runner into scoring position.
That’s when the hit parade started. McFarland, Connor Sullivan and Ryan Loiselle followed with run-scoring singles as the Panthers were helped along on the base paths with the Chiefs pitcher being called for two baulks.
Mitchell lifted a sacrifice fly to right, and McGettigan hit a run-scoring single to left as the Panthers were on top 6-1. Pomperaug wasn’t done just yet as Wallace turned on a pitch and drove it through the gap in center for a run-scoring triple.
Dagostino ruined a perfectly good baseball, crushing a drive just out of the reach of the right fielder for a triple to score Wallace. By the time the smoke cleared, Pomperaug was way out in front holding an 8-1 advantage.
“This is the second game in a row that we have been able to get our bats going like this,” said Eisenbach. “It’s nice to see, and we are coming up with timely hits where we can put runs on the board.”
The Nonnewaug Chiefs responded in the bottom of the fourth as they tried to stay in the game. An infield error opened the door as Bryan Fraser reached base with one out.
Matt Pape hit a solid single to centerfield, and Alex Reimold hit a run-scoring single to right field. Pape came all the way around to score when the ball got away from the outfielder, making it an 8-3 game.
Albano shook it off and came right back to strike out the next batter before inducing a fly ball to end the inning. Pomperaug put three more tallies on the scoreboard to put the game away in the fifth.
McFarland reached on an error, with Sullivan and Loiselle hitting singles to load the bases. That ended the outing for the Chiefs pitcher, Abramovich, and brought on Andrew Kane.
Sherman was hit by a pitch to chase home a run, and Ryan Dunfee sent a run home, drawing a walk. A fielder’s choice from Wallace scored the final run of the fifth inning and opened an 11-3 lead.
Coach Eisenbach went to the bullpen to finish up the game, bringing in Jake Veillette. The sophomore lefty buckled the knees of the Nonnewaug batters with a curve ball that dropped off the table as he struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth. Jacob Coviello then finished off the Chiefs by throwing scoreless relief.
“Jake did a real nice job for us,” said Eisenbach. “He’s a left-hander and that helps as well. We have six guys who can throw the ball and a couple of JV players who can throw a few innings for us.
“It’s a nice mix of older guys and the younger kids also contributing. We just need to not get ahead of ourselves and just take it one game at a time.”
On Monday Pomperaug saw its unbeaten streak come to an end with a tough 4-2 loss to Newtown. Wallace went five innings on the hill, surrendering four hits and striking out six, but the Nighthawks put together a three-run fourth inning to stay out in front.
Jacob Coviello and Connor Sullivan each threw one inning of relief, striking out two, and the Pomperaug bats closed the gap, scoring single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Sullivan and Minchella paced the offense with two hits and one RBI each.
Pomperaug is back in action this week today, Wednesday, April 20, when they host Brookfield and then on the road Friday, April 22, at Bunnell and Saturday, April 23, at Ridgefield.
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