Simsbury’s Jake King gets past Avon catcher Cody Doyle as he scores the game-winning run in Simsbury’s 3-2 win in eight innings Thursday at Memorial Field.
SIMSBURY – The Simsbury American Legion baseball team played another thriller Thursday night against Avon – its third such game in less than a week. It helped Post 84 capture its first Zone 1 championship since 2008.
Jake Wood’s RBI single to centerfield in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted Simsbury to a 3-2 victory over Avon at Memorial Field, virtually clinching the title for Simsbury. Post 84 made it official about two hours later with a 10-2 win over Wolcott.
Simsbury beat Avon three times this week. On Sunday, Post 84 prevailed in a game that had been suspended after seven innings in June with a 10-7 win in 12 innings. Then, Simsbury beat Avon, 1-0 with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Last night, Avon took a 2-0 lead but Simsbury rallied with two runs in the fourth inning and won it in the eighth.
Were these your toughest games of the season? “By far,” said Simsbury’s E.J. Lavoie, who picked up his second win on the mound in five days against Avon.
Lavoie, who has five saves on the year, pitched two innings of shutout relief to keep Post 201 off the scoreboard. He pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the eighth inning. “I just throw strikes and try to keep people off base,” he said. “I try to let my infielders do the work for me.”
“It feels great,” Simsbury manager Tom Vincent said. “It was a great day for us. They were two great games.”
Simsbury pitcher Peter Myers allowed just three hits over six innings in Post 84’s 3-2 victory.
Simsbury (21-5, 18-4 zone) still has two regular season games remaining at Southington on Friday and against Unionville on Saturday. But Post 84 will be getting ready for the state tournament. They’ll play a best-of-3 series beginning next Wednesday, July 23 for the right to play in the Northern Sectional tournament in Bristol.
“We lost to a real good team,” Avon manager Brian Doyle said. “You have to tip your hat to them. They don’t have many weaknesses. Every time they change a pitcher, they seem to bring in a better one.”
Simsbury has won 10 of its last 11 Zone 1 contests. “We’re peaking at the right time,” Vincent said. “It’s been our depth. It’s been a different guy every night. The guys have been disciplined. They don’t give up on an at-bat and they can hit with two strikes.”
Avon (17-6) was looking to stem the tide and took a 2-0 lead after three innings. In the first inning, Ben Lombard singled, stole second base and scored on an two-out error for a 1-0 lead. In the third, Matt Williamson walked with one out and scored on Ben Suski’s two-out double to left field for a 2-0 lead.
On the mound, Connor Dunn didn’t allow a run and gave up just one hit in three innings of work. He struck out three.
Simsbury came alive when Avon lefthander Michael Castellani entered the game in the fourth. Castellani pitched at Bucknell in the spring and got some playing time in the NCAA tournament. “They got geared up the challenge,” Vincent said of his club.
Lavoie led off the fourth inning with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a RBI double from Andrew Girard. The game was tied by Girard, who scored from second on a two-out error. Castellani wasn’t as sharp as he was on Sunday but he scattered five hits over four innings as the game went into extra innings.
Avon had a golden opportunity in the top of the eighth. Lombard singled with one out and moved to second on a two-out single from Cody Doyle. Suski (2-4, 2 doubles) reached on an error to load the bases. But Lavoie, who played baseball at Western Connecticut State this spring, got Sean DelGallo to fly out to deep centerfield to end the threat.
In the bottom of the eighth, Jake King and Lavoie led off with consecutive singles. A walk to Jacob Cassano loaded the bases. And on the first pitch he saw, Wood smacked a dying fly ball to centerfield.
Lombard nearly made a spectacular catch on the ball, diving on his belly. But he came up throwing trying to get the runner out at home. King was able to scamper past Doyle for the game-winner.
“They’re a good team,” Vincent said of Avon, which won its first Zone 1 championship a year ago. “You get a tough game from them every time. You have to do all the right things to beat them.”
Simsbury got a great pitching effort from 15-year-old Peter Myers of Canton, who went six innings. He scattered three hits and struck out four. And Post 84 got a nice defensive play in the sixth, throwing out Suski who was trying to stretch a one-out double into a triple. Suski doubled to right field and Cassano fired the ball to Lavoie, who threw it to Jack Nedorostek for the out.
Suski was 2-for-4 with doubles for Avon while Lombard had two hits. Avon (17-6) has lost three straight games to Simsbury and will play in the single elimination portion of the state tournament beginning on Sunday at Avon Old Farms.
“When we started the year, we didn’t know how good we would be,” Doyle said. “It’s a credit to them to be playing for a zone championship. I’m proud of them.”
For Simsbury, Lavoie had three hits, including a double.
In the nightcap, Simsbury took a 3-0 lead on a two-RBI single from Ryan Gothers and a sacrifice fly from Dakota Hunter. Wolcott (9-14) cut the lead to one run, 3-2 but in the fifth inning, Simsbury put the game away with seven runs.
Lavoie and Josh Figueroa each had two-RBI doubles in the fifth while Girard had a RBI single. Wood drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Pitcher Jamie Coen (3-1) pitched four innings to pick up the win.
NOTES: This is Simsbury’s seventh Zone 1 championship. Their previous titles came in 2008, 2003, 1995, 1991, 1987 and 1981. “You can never take these for granted,” Vincent said. “These (titles) are hard to do.
Simsbury 3, Avon 2 (8)
At Simsbury
Avon (17-6) 101 000 00 – 2-5-1
Simsbury (17-4) 000 200 01 – 3-9-2
Connor Dunn, Michael Castellani (4) and Cody Doyle; Peter Myers, E.J. Lavoie (7) and Ryan Gothers; WP: Lavoie (2-0); LP: Castellani; 2B: Ben Suski (A) 2, Lavoie (S), Andrew Girard (S)
Simsbury 10, Wolcott 2
At Simsbury
Wolcott (9-14) 000 110 0 — 2-3-3
Simsbury (18-4) 300 700 x — 10-8-4
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