Pomperaug leaves Immaculate in the dust Tuesday in a 15-7 win. Zach McGettigan steals second base with the kind of aggressiveness that got the Panthers “Pomp” back. (Ken Morse photo)
#MIDDLEBURY #REGION15
By Ken Morse — Special to the Middlebury Bee Intelligencer
The Pomperaug High School baseball team was saddled with a skid that saw them drop five of six games in a span of two weeks as the offense struggled and at one point was shut out for 21 straight innings. The Panthers got back up on the horse and are charging to the finish line as they have the “Pomp” back in their bats, putting two games into the win column this week. The 12-7 Panthers are 8-5 in the South West Conference (SWC) and have one game remaining Thursday, May 19, at home against Oxford to close out the regular season.
The turnaround began Monday against a 14-5 Masuk team that was riding high on a 10-game winning streak. Connor Sullivan took the hill and scattered six hits through six innings, striking out four batters.
Jake Coviello came in and slammed the door shut, earning the save by allowing no hits and striking out two. Matt Brophy led the way at the plate with three hits and three RBIs. Zach McGettigan had two hits, two runs and two RBIs while Nick Hebert added two hits and an RBI.
Pomperaug showed signs their batting slump was over in a tough 8-4 loss to Barlow last Thursday. The Panthers banged out 14 hits, but in the process lost a key player and leader in senior Grant Wallace due to a knee injury.
“Losing Grant is huge,” said Pomperaug head coach Mike Eisenbach. “Not only is he a senior captain and leader, he is a big bat in the lineup and our number one pitcher. But the guys have come together and are rallying around Grant using this to get their game back.”
That game would be the “Pomp” that has filtered throughout the batting order as the Panthers unloaded on Immaculate Tuesday in a 15-7 romp. The back-to-back wins and the resurgence in the offense are just what this team needed heading into the post season.
Ryan Dunfee went five innings on the mound, striking out five and allowing four runs for the win. Sherman Mitchell had three hits and three RBIs, with Brian Dagostino adding three hits and three runs to pace the offense.
Pomperaug got right after Immaculate, plating five runs in the first inning. Zach McGettigan (two hits, two runs) reached on an infield single and came around to score on a Matt Brophy RBI single.
Dagostino got every bit of the next pitch, sending a double over the left fielder’s head. Both runners scored when Andrew Minchella (three hits, two RBIs) reached on an infield throwing error.
Mitchell cleared the bases, adding a two-run single to put the Panthers on top 5-0. Pomperaug went on to pound out 16 hits, and their aggressiveness on the bases led to six steals and put runners in scoring position.
That energetic play led to a pair of runs in the second and third innings as the Panthers opened up a 9-1 lead. Dunfee had an RBI hit in the second with Dagostino adding RBI hits in the second and third inning.
Immaculate tried to get back in the game, putting up runs in the fourth and fifth innings and cutting the deficit at 9-4 before the Panthers knocked the door off the hinges. Pomperaug hung six runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth, marking the fourth time this season the bats have scored six in an inning. Josh McGettigan (three runs) got it started with a single to left followed by Brophy with a single deep in the hole at shortstop.
Dagostino hit a chopper up the third base side, and the Immaculate fielder dove for the third base bag, trying to get the head-first-sliding McGettigan. It was to no avail, and the bases were loaded with no outs.
Minchella and Dunfee chased home runs with singles, and Hebert wore one for the team, getting hit by a pitch to send another run across the plate. Mitchell hit a two-run double, and by the time the last out was recorded Pomperaug was out in front 15-4.
Will McDonald came on in relief and struck out two in two innings on the hill as Immaculate scored three times aided by three errors in the field. Pomperaug finishes up the regular season on May 19 at home against Oxford before the SWC tournament begins Saturday with teams still to be determined.
“This is definitely something we can build on heading into the post season,” said Eisenbach. “We are the fourth seed, and we will get a home game in the SWC tournament.”
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