Bae helps Avon win first game; Canton, Simsbury falter in later innings

Avon pitcher Daniel Bae pitched two innings of scoreless relief and had a big two-run double as the Falcons won their first game of the season Wednesday against Northwest Catholic.

AVON, April 17 – Avon High pitcher Daniel Bae pitched two scoreless innings in relief and picked a runner off first base to help lift the Falcons to their first victory of the season with a 5-2 CCC West victory over Northwest Catholic at Buckingham Field.

Bae picked off a runner off first to end the sixth inning for Northwest Catholic. In the seventh, the Lions had two men on base but Bae coaxed Jonathan Heiden into grounding into a double play. Drew Windroff flied out to center field to end the game.

Bae also contributed at the plate. He hit a two-run double in the third inning as Avon built a 4-2 lead.

Northwest Catholic tied the game in the fourth inning but Avon responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-4 lead.

Avon’s Justin Hasler walked and moved to second on a balk call. Hasler stole third and scored on Zack Aiello’s RBI single.

Max Raha was 2-for-4 for the Falcons while Miles Borenstein hit a double. Jake Coppen got the start on the mound for the Falcons, going 3.1 innings, allowing three hits and striking out three. Max Raha pitched 1.2 innings and struck out four to earn his first win of the season.

Avon plays their third straight game on Thursday when they host Granby at 3:45 p.m. at Buckingham Field.

Avon 5, Northwest Catholic 4
At Avon
N.W. Catholic (1-6)            020  200  0 – 4-4-2
Avon (1-5)                             013  100  x – 5-6-4
Chase Rancourt, Drew Windroff (6) and unknown; Jake Coppen, Max Raha (4), Daniel Bae (6) and unknown; WP: Raha (1-0); LP: Windroff; Save: Bae (1); 2B: Bae (A), Miles Borenstein (A); Jonathan Heiden (NW), Drew Windroff (NW)

Ellington 11, Canton 5
ELLINGTON, April 17 – The Ellington High baseball team took advantage of two errors, two walks, two hit batters and three hits to score eight runs in the sixth inning and pull away from Canton, 11-5 in a North Central Connecticut Conference game on Wednesday.

The Purple Knights (4-3) trailed by two runs going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Logan Macaluso had a key sacrifice fly that gave Ellington the lead and Gavin Laughlan had a three-run triple as the Purple Knights pulled away for the win.

Canton (2-4) was led by James Mattson, who was 2-for-4 with a single and triple. Jack Rose was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and one RBI while Ferrone was 2-for-3 with three RBI and a triple. Starting pitcher Michael Sullivan (0-3) went 5.1 innings and struck out two.

The Warriors, who have lost two in a row, host Thomaston on Thursday at Bowdoin Field.

Ellington 11, Canton 5
At Ellington
Canton (2-4)                         100  202  0  –  5-7-4
Ellington (4-3)                      300  008  x  — 11-7-1
Michael Sullivan, Devin Brown (6), Ryan Scarfuri (6) and Matt Rose; Colin Holmes, Logan Macaluso and unknown; WP: Macaluso; LP: Sullivan (0-3); 2B: Jack Rose (Ca) 2, Macaluso (Ell), 3B: Drew Ferrone (Ca), Gavin Laughlan (Ell), James Mattson (Ca)

Hall 5, Simsbury 3
SIMSBURY, April 17 – Hall scored five unanswered runs and pitcher Griffen Van Rye allowed just three hits over 6 2/3 innings to lead the Hall High baseball team to a 5-3 win over Simsbury in CCC West action on Wednesday at Memorial Field.

Simsbury (4-2) had a 3-0 lead after five innings but Hall (3-5) scored four runs in the sixth inning to take the lead. They added an insurance run in the seventh inning on a walk, sacrifice bunt, single and an error.

Hall rallied thanks to three walks in the sixth, a hit batter and a two-run single from Matt Keller.

Simsbury starting pitcher Jack Donofrio pitched five shutout innings, striking out eight. Van Rye struck out five for Hall and allowed three hits.

Blake Chapman gave Simsbury a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-run double. The Trojans extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning. Patrick Kerr singled and was replaced by pinch runner Kevin Gallagher, who moved to second when Shane Walker was hit by a pitch.

Gallagher stole third and scored on a wild pitch.

Simsbury hosts Maloney on Thursday at Memorial Field.

Hall 5, Simsbury 3
At Simsbury
Hall (3-5)              000  004  1  — 5-5-1
Simsbury (4-2)   002  010  0  — 3-3-1
Griffen Van Rye, Andrew Skwiot (7) and unknown; Jack Donofrio, Dylan Leonard (6), Ryan Laubscher and Ryan Caufield; WP: Van Rye; LP: Leonard (0-1); 2B: Blake Chapman (S)