The Pomperaug Panthers ride the arm of senior right-hander Connor Sullivan, No. 26, as the team escapes Weston 2-1 in the SWC quarterfinals Saturday in Southbury.
(Ken Morse photo)
#MIDDLEBURY #REGION15
By Ken Morse Special to the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer
The Pomperaug High School Panthers baseball team escaped with a 2-1 win over Weston Saturday in the South West Conference (SWC) quarterfinals played in Southbury. The No. 4 seed 13-8 Panthers held on over the No. 5 seed Patriot Division champs with Connor Sullivan going the distance on the hill allowing just six hits and striking out eight.
“My game plan coming in here was to throw strikes and stay ahead in the count,” said Sullivan. “I didn’t want to hurt myself walking batters, and for the most part I made the pitches I had to make.”
Weston did get on the board first when Collin Donnelly hit a one-out single in the second inning. Scott Derene drove a double to the fence on left to put the Trojans up 1-0.
Sullivan came back to get a strikeout and then induced the next batter to hit a ground out to first baseman Josh McGettigan to get out of the jam.
“We are at the point in the season where it’s one and go home,” said Pomperaug head coach Mike Eisenbach. “The kids know that and they went out and played a great game, limiting mistakes and backing up their pitcher.”
Pomperaug couldn’t get much going against the Trojans’ number one pitcher, Nick Mitchell, until the bottom of the fourth, when a little timely hitting took care of business.
Matt Brophy singled and came around to score the tying run when Nick Hebert drilled a double to the gap. Matt McGrath came on as a pinch runner and scored the go-ahead run on a single from Andrew Minchella.
“I was just looking for a pitch I could drive,” said Hebert. “He got me before, so I went up there looking for a fastball and that’s what I got. We went through a little slump but that’s behind us.”
Weston had their chances, but Sullivan and the Pomperaug defense were up to the challenge. Dan Covino got his second hit of the game in the third, and Mitchell reached on an infield single.
Sullivan induced a ground ball, and the defense took care of it. Shortstop Ryan Loiselle starting an inning-ending double play to Chris McFarland at second base to McGettigan at first, ending the threat.
In the sixth inning, Weston tried to go for the long ball only to have the Pomperaug outfield do the job. Zach McGettigan hauled in a fly ball to straight away center. A one-out walk and a stolen base had a runner in scoring position.
Sherman Mitchell made a sliding catch in the gap from left field to save the run from scoring. With two outs, Minchella camped under a fly ball to right field, and Weston came up empty.
“The kids stepped up today,” said Eisenbach. “We had talked about it going into this tournament, and it all started with Sully; he gave us a good job out there. The other pitcher is one of the best in the league. He got all conference. But Sully matched him pitch for pitch. We are staring to execute, and Nick came through with a big hit-and-run play.”
In SWC quarterfinal round action Saturday around the league No. 2 Masuk defeated No. 7 seed Notre Dame 6-0. New Fairfield, No. 8 seed, sprang the upset, getting past No. 1 seed Newtown 7-5. New Milford, No. 3 seed, edged out No. 6 seed Bethel 3-2.
Tuesday, May 24, at Penders Field in Stratford the semifinals will have Masuk taking on New Milford at 4 p.m. with Pomperaug taking on New Fairfield at 7 p.m. The SWC championship is slated for Wednesday, May 25, at 7 p.m. at either Penders Field or Bethel High School. The location will be announced Tuesday.
CORRECTION: The baseball semifinals were Monday, May 23. The Panthers lost to New Fairfield 5-1.
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