Harris strikes out 10 as Avon Legion rallies in the seventh to beat Bristol, 2-0

Avon pitcher Connor Harris allowed just four hits and struck out 10 as Avon beat Bristol, 2-0 in American Legion baseball action Saturday.

BRISTOL, June 30 – Pitcher Connor Harris went the distance allowing just four hits and striking out 10 as the Avon American Legion baseball team won their sixth straight Zone 1 contest with a 2-0 victory over Bristol Saturday afternoon at historic Muzzy Field.

It was a pitcher’s duel at Muzzy with Bristol’s Kenny Knox, who had a no-hitter going until Avon’s Justin Olson singled with two outs in the sixth inning.

Avon (10-2, 9-1 Zone 1) won the game in the top of the seventh inning. Dylan Nastri led off the inning with a single and moved to second base on a successful sacrifice bunt from cleanup hitter Jeremy Zarwanski. Chris Jacobs drew a walk and Adam Theriault had a RBI single that drove in Nastri for a 1-0 lead.

Later in the inning, pinch hitter Will Boone had a RBI single that drove in Theriault for a 2-0 lead.

That was enough for Harris, who retired the side in order to secure the win. Harris is now 4-1 on the season.

Bristol (8-4, 6-3) received hits from Cory Fradette, Jeremy Ganavage (2-for-3) and Jacob Violette. Post 2 has dropped three of their last four Zone 1 contests.

Post 201 did make some good defensive plays, too. Nastri laid out and dove to catch a fly ball in center field in the first inning to set the tone. In the seventh, Jake Coppen made a great play at second base in the seventh inning to rob Bristol of a potential hit.

Avon remains in first place in Zone 1 with a 9-1 record followed by Simsbury (5-2 zone), Winsted (6-3 zone) and Bristol (6-3 zone).

Avon returns to action for a non-zone contest against Berlin at Sage Park on Tuesday, July 3 at 6 p.m. They return to action in Zone 1 on Saturday, July 7 when they travel to Plainville.

Avon 2, Bristol 0
At Bristol
Avon (10-2)                          000  000  2 – 2-4-0
Bristol (8-4)                         000  000  0 – 0-4-1
Connor Harris and Jeremy Zarwanski; Kenny Knox, Ethan Ryan (7) and Jeremy Ganavage; WP: Harris (4-1); LP: Knox

JUNIOR LEGION
RCP 3-5, Avon 1-3
AVON, June 30 – Rocky Hill/Cromwell/Portland (RCP) swept a Zone 1 doubleheader from the Avon Junior American Legion baseball team (under 17) Saturday at Buckingham Field.

RCP won the opener, 3-1. The game was tied at 1-1 when RCP (8-6) took a lead on RBI single from Jack Risley in the fifth inning. RCP added an unearned run in the seventh for a 3-1 advantage.

Avon (7-6) had six hits and RCP hitters walked five. But Avon stranded 10 runners on base and the two RCP pitchers combined to strike out 12 Avon hitters.

Max Raha was the only Avon hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Brayden Nemarich had a RBI single for Avon in the third inning.

In the second game, RCP had nine hits in a 5-3 victory. Ryan Boyle (3-4) and Grant Collins (2-4) each had doubles for RCP. Avon was limited to just three hits in the second game, one by Raha. Blaise Engle gave up nine hits and struck out four on the mound for Avon.

Avon returns to action when they host the Simsbury Junior Legion on Monday at Buckingham at 5:45 p.m.

Zone 1 Junior standings: Bristol 10-1, Glastonbury 9-4, West Hartford 6-3, RCP 8-6, Avon 7-6, Simsbury 4-11, Winsted 1-13.