West Hartford surges to beat Avon; Simsbury hands Berlin first CEBA loss

Avon’s Daniel O’Brien was 2-for-3 and drove in two runs in Avon’s 12-7 loss to West Hartford in CEBA action on Thursday night.

AVON, July 9, 2020 – Avon’s Daniel O’Brien was 2-for-3 with two RBI while teammate Blaise Engle had two hits but West Hartford scored 12 runs in the final three innings to hand Avon a 12-7 defeat in Under 19 play in the Connecticut Elite Baseball Association Thursday night at Buckingham Field.

The game was scoreless for four innings before the two teams combined for 19 runs in the final three innings.

West Hartford (2-3) took a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning before Avon rallied with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Justin Hasler and O’Brien each reached on singles and scored after three passed balls in the inning to cut the West Hartford lead to one run, 3-2.

West Hartford took advantage of a walk, an error and a pair of passed balls in the sixth inning to extend the lead to five runs, 7-2. Ryan Farley, who was 2-for-5 with four RBI and two stolen bases, had the big hit with as two-run single.

Avon (0-6) again cut the lead in the sixth inning to two runs, 7-5. O’Brien had a RBI single in the inning.

But West Hartford put the game away with five hits in the seventh inning, including a triple from William Fox, who also had a single, three RBI and three stolen bases. West Hartford swiped eight bases.

Avon was 6-for-7 stealing bases with Max Raha and Hasler stealing two each. Christian Boudreau also had a double for Avon. Starting pitcher Nate Johnson pitched three scoreless innings for Avon, striking out five. He didn’t give up a single hit.

Avon returns to action on Sunday when they host Simsbury for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Buckingham Field.

West Hartford 12, Avon 7
At Avon
West Hartford (2-3)           000  034  5 – 12-9-2
Avon (0-6)                            000  023  2  — 7-8-3
Nate Johnson, Arjun Grover (4), Tyler Mandeville (6), Justin Hasler (7) and unknown; Griffin Van Rye, James McPhee (7) and unknown; WP: Van Rye; LP: Grover (0-2); 2B: Christian Boudreau (A), John Brennan (WH), 3B: William Fox (WH); HR: none

Simsbury 12, Berlin 8

SIMSBURY, July 9, 2020 – Kevin Gallagher and Matt Rose had three hits each to help Simsbury hand Berlin their first loss of the season, 12-8, in an Under 19 Connecticut Elite Baseball Association contest Thursday night at Memorial Field.

Simsbury (2-4) had a season-high 12 hits and scored nine unanswered runs to take a 9-3 lead after five innings of play. Berlin had won their first six games of the season and leads Division I in the Under-19 division in the CEBA.

Rose was 3-for-4 with three RBI and a double while Gallagher was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Connor Anthony was 2-for-5 with two RBI and catcher Jack Daily was 2-for-3 for Simsbury.

Berlin took an early 3-0 lead in the third inning but Simsbury immediately rallied in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out rally. With the base loaded, Greg Mrosek walked to drive in a run only to be followed by RBI singles from Rose and Sean Griffin.

Simsbury extended their lead to 8-3 in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Anthony had a RBI single, Jack Rose drove in a run on a fielder’s choice and Matt Rose drove in two runs with a double. Another run scored on a wild pitch.

Berlin closed the gap in the sixth inning with five runs as Simsbury struggled on the mound. Three consecutive walks drove in three runs before Berlin’s Gianni Fanelli ripped a two-run single to left field to cut the Simsbury lead to one, 9-8.

Simsbury extended their lead in the sixth on a two-RBI double by Gallagher and Matt Rose threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts to secure the win.

Simsbury returns to action on Friday when they travel to Muzzy Field for a game against Bristol at 5:30 p.m.

Simsbury 12, Berlin 8
At Simsbury
Berlin (6-1)                           003  005  0  —  8-5-2
Simsbury (2-4)                     003  513  x  — 12-12-5
Adam Bilinsky, Garrett Fallon (4), Justin Piskorski (5), Gianni Fanelli (6) and Chris Gendron; Daniel Fritz, Greg Mrosek (3), Cooper Schneider (5), Matt Rose (6) and Jack Daily; WP: Mrosek (1-0); LP: Fallon; 2B: Kevin Gallagher (S), Matt Rose (S); 3B: none; HR: none

Connecticut Elite Baseball Association
Under 19
Division I

Wednesday’s results
Berlin 9, West Hartford 3
Avon at Meriden, ppd.
Simsbury at Bristol, ppd
Newington at Cheshire
Thursday’s results
Bristol 4, Newington 0
West Hartford 12, Avon 7
Simsbury 12, Berlin 8
Cheshire at Meriden
Friday’s games
Simsbury at Bristol, 5:30 p.m.
Meriden at West Hartford
Sunday’s games
Simsbury at Avon (2), 1 p.m.
Newington at West Hartford (2), 11 a.m.
Meriden at Berlin (2), 11 a.m.
Cheshire at Bristol (2), 1 p.m.