May 1, 2008
Trojans take two from Bobcats
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by Brian Brennan
It was a week of positives for the Weston High varsity baseball team, which found itself almost back to a .500 winning percentage. Despite losing to Bunnell to start the week Weston followed with back-to-back wins over Brookfield.
Last Monday, April 21, the Trojans visited Bunnell and were on the board in the first when Jesse Nusbaum hit a ground rule double and was singled in by Sam Armstrong for a 1-0 lead. Neither team scored again until the bottom of the third, when Jamie Monn scored Nusbaum with a fielder’s choice. Later in the inning Kyle Zembsch doubled to score Mann, and it looked like Weston was headed for a shocking win with a 3-0 run lead intact.
But that was when the floodgates opened. In the top of the fifth Bunnell scored six runs off starter Jesse Link and then reliever Michael McDonald for a 6-3 lead. In the top of the sixth, Bunnell iced the game with another run and cruised the rest of the way for a 7-3 win.
“We played with the No. 4 team in the state and had them down 3-0 in the fifth inning,” said Weston coach Frank Fedeli. “That should tell us that we can play with any team in the state if we make the routine plays. “We have to keep playing hard and good fundamental baseball. If we keep that in mind, we should be OK the rest of the way.”
Looking to rebound in their next game, the Trojans traveled to Brookfield the next day. The visitors got out of the gate quickly when Mike Odierna doubled and scored on a Mike Waterhouse triple for a 1-0 lead. Nusbaum then grounded out to bring the former home.
Brookfield quickly rallied and scored runs in the bottom of the first and second to tie the game but in the top of the third Monn started what would be a big day for him with a sacrifice fly to score Mike Berliner. The score stayed the same until the top of the sixth, when Monn crushed a home run to left field to give Weston what looked like a safe 5-2 lead.
The Bobcats quickly got runners to second and third off Berliner to set the stage for Brendan Slattery, who crushed a three-run homer to left to tie the game. In the bottom of the seventh it looked like the Bobcats would win in dramatic fashion as they got a runner to second with nobody out.
Berliner was relieved by Odierna, who struck out the side and continued to dominate in extra innings. Overall, Odierna pitched three innings, allowed three hits and one run, and struck out 10.
He received a much-earned victory in the top of the 10th when Weston scored five runs on an RBI single by Zembsch, a two-run double by Waterhouse and then a two-run single by Nusbaum for a 10-5 lead. Brookfield scored one run in the bottom half of the inning off Odierna but it simply had no answer for him as he struck out the side and secured a 10-6 extra-inning win.
The next day the Trojans had a rematch against the Bobcats at home. Weston once again took a first inning, 2-0 lead as Armstrong doubled in Odierna and Waterhouse.
Brookfield got a run in the top of the third, but the Trojans pulled away in the bottom half of that inning. Nusbaum singled home a run, as did Berliner, and Monn hit into a double play to score another run and give Weston a 5-1 lead.
Weston’s lead was extended to 8-1 when Waterhouse doubled in a run and then Nusbaum drove in two more with a double. However, Brookfield cut the lead in half with three runs in the top of the fifth, making the score 8-4 and then it really threatened to tie the game in the sixth when it loaded the bases with nobody out. Nusbaum came in to relieve McDonald and did an excellent job, getting a popout to right and then a double play to end the inning and any thought of a Brookfield comeback before the Trojans won 8-4.
Now 5-6, Weston visits Bethel on Friday for a 7 p.m. game, visits New Milford on Saturday, hosts Immaculate on Monday, and is at Joel Barlow on Wednesday.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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