Canton’s Jake Bryant had three hits including a double in the final two games of the season for the Crushers.
WATERBURY, July 21 – Jay Lafontaine pitched 8 1/3 strong innings to lift Blasius Chevrolet-Waterbury to a 4-1 Tri-State League victory over the Canton Crushers on Saturday and earn a spot in the Stan Musial state tournament on the final day of the regular season.
With the win, Blasius (13-5) earned the third and final Tri-State League berth in the upcoming Stan Musial state tournament along with Terryville and Naugatuck. The eight-team, double-elimination tournament begins July 29 and runs through August 1.
Gary Novakowski picked up the save for Blasius while teammates Fran Phelan and Jeff Fonti combined for two runs scored and two RBI.
Taylor Riley got the start on the mound for Canton, going six innings and striking out three. Jake Bryant, Jeff Mulhall, Tom Dubois and Brian Kulik each had singles for Canton. Kulik had a RBI single.
The loss was the 14th straight for the Crushers (1-17), the second longest losing streak in team history.
The Tri-State League playoffs began on Thursday with a best-of-3 first round. Blasius faced off against Tribury.
On Wednesday, July 18, pitcher Pat O’Neill pitched a complete and struck out nine to lift the Bethlehem Plowboys to an 9-2 win over the Crushers in the final game of the season at Bowdoin Field. Kevin McDonnell was 3-for-3 for the Plowboys (9-8). Joe Aniki drove in two runs while Kyle Guisto, Teddy Gravel and Will Gerski drove in one run each.
It was a 2-2 game after five innings but the Plowboys scored seven runs in the final two innings to break the game open.
Jake Bryant got the start on the mound for Canton and pitched five innings. He was 2-for-3 at the plate with a single and a double. Taylor Riley, Trey VandeBogart and Jeff Mulhall also had singles for the Crushers.
Bethlehem 9, Canton 2
At Canton
Bethlehem (9-8) 100 014 3 — 9-8-1
Canton (1-16) 001 010 0 — 2-5-1
Pat O’Neill and Teddy Gravel; Jake Bryant, Jamie Coen (6) and Jeff Mulhall; WP: O’Neill; LP: Coen (0-1); 2B: Fainer (B), Bryant (Ca)
Blasius Chevrolet-Waterbury 4, Canton 1
At Waterbury
Canton (1-17) 010 000 000 – 1-4-1
Blasius Chevorlet (13-5) 020 002 00x – 4-7-1
Taylor Riley, Heath Cotton (7) and Jeff Mulhall; Jay Lafontaine, Gary Novakowski (9) and unknown; WP: Lafontaine; LP: Riley (0-5); 2B: Fran Phelan (B); 3B: Phelan (B)
2018 Tri-State League final standings
| Rec Pct. GB RF-RA +/- |
| Terryville Black Sox 15-3-0 .833 0 122-25 97 |
| Naugatuck Dogs 14-4-0 .777 1 143-37 106 |
| Tri-Town Trojans 14-4-0 .777 1 115-53 62 |
| Litchfield Cowboys 13-5-0 .722 2 126-68 58 |
| Blasius Chevrolet-Wtby 13-5-0 .722 2 110-55 55 |
| Wolcott Scrappers 12-5-0 .705 2.5 98-57 41 |
| Bristol Greeners 11-7-0 .611 4 69-98 -29 |
| Bethlehem Plowboys 10-8-0 .555 5 118-103 15 |
| Amenia Monarches 9-9-0 .500 6 71-91 -20 |
| Southington 66ers 8-10-0 .444 7 94-83 11 |
| Winsted Whalers 8-10-0 .444 7 86-108 -22 |
| Tribury Twisters 7-11-0 .388 8 61-109 -48 |
| Burlington Hunters 6-12-0 .333 9 56-99 -43 |
| Thunder baseball 6-12-0 .333 9 79-131 -52 |
| Torrington Rebels 3-15-0 .166 12 48-133 -85 |
| East Mt. Cougars 2-15-0 .117 12.5 59-112 -53 |
| Canton Crushers 1-17-0 .055 14 35-128 -93 |
Playoffs
First round (Best of three)
Thursday, July 26
Tribury 9, Blasius Chevrolet 8
Wolcott 9, Winsted 6
Southington 6, Bristol 1
Bethlehem 4, Amenia 2
Friday, July 27
Southington 7, Bristol 2, Southington wins series, 2-0
Blasius Chevrolet 4, Tribury 2, series tied 1-1
Saturday, July 28
Tribury at Blasius Chevrolet
Wolcott at Winsted
Bethlehem at Amenia
Sunday, July 29
Wolcott at Winsted, if necessary
Bethlehem at Amenia, if necessary
Second round (Best of three)
August 4-6
Tribury/Blasius winner at Litchfield
Wolcott/Winsted winner at Naugatuck
Southington at Tri-Town
Bethlehem/Amenia winner at Terryville
Tri-State semifinals (best-of-three)
August 14-16
Tri-State championship series (Best-of-three)
August 21-23
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