Renegades win in eight to force game 3 in CCBL finals

SIMSBURY, August 4 – Tobacco Valley’s No. 9 hitter Jack Harvey of Farmington lined a two-out RBI single to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Renegades an exciting 3-2 win in extra innings over the two-time defending champion Southington Shock in game two of the Connecticut Collegiate Baseball League championship series at Memorial Field.

Tobacco Valley pitcher Travis Lane

It tied the series at 1-1 and handed the Shock their first loss ever in championship series play. Southington swept the best-of-3 finals by 2-0 margins over Tobacco Valley a year ago and the Simsbury Sabercats in 2009.

Tobacco Valley pitcher Travis Lane kept the Renegades alive. After allowing six hits and two runs in the first 2 1/3 innings, he didn’t allow a hit for the rest of the game. After giving up a leadoff single in the third inning, Lane, who pitches for Springfield College and graduated from Canton High, retired 20 of 22 batters.

Southington (22-5) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out, two-RBI triple from Ryan Giovanni that hit the top of the centerfield fence 355 feet away and bounced back into the playing field.

But Tobacco Valley (15-13) responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Alex Chetelat singled and took second on a throwing error. He moved to third on another error after an errant attempt to pick off another baserunner. He scored on a passed ball.

Greg Balawater reached on a fielder’s choice, moved to second on a single from Tim Georgen and took third when Harvey was hit by a pitch. Balawater scored when Southington hurler Donny Crook (Central Connecticut State) walked Tobacco Valley’s Sean Kelley.

Crook settled down and gave up just one hit over the next five innings, striking out four. The Shock turned a pair of double plays behind him.

In the bottom of the seventh, Tobacco Valley catcher Alex Bulger (University of Hartford) led off the winning with a single. He took second on a one-out single from Jordan English (Bryant). A walk to Balawater loaded the bases.

Two batters later, Harvey got his first game-winning hit since Little League.

In high school and American Legion, Harvey was a pitcher and seldom got a chance to hit. “I just love playing,” he said. “I’ve gotten the chance to hit this year. It’s been great.”