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Avon makes the plays to earn CEBA split with Cheshire; Simsbury drops pair

Avon’s Tyler Mandeville drove in the winning run with two outs in the fifth inning as Avon beat Cheshire, 3-2 in game one of Sunday’s Connecticut Elite Baseball Association doubleheader.

CHESHIRE, July 19, 2020 – The Avon Under 19 baseball team made plays Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak and beat Cheshire, 3-2 in a Division I Connecticut Elite Baseball Association contest.

Pitcher Arjun Grover went the distance on the mound, allowing four hits, two hits and striking out five in seven innings of work to earn his first win of the season. He is the first Avon pitcher to throw a complete game this season in the CEBA.

Grover (1-3) struck out the final two batters of the game with a runner on second base to secure the win.

Catcher Emmett Borenstein threw out three Cheshire runners at second base, ending the inning each time in the third, fourth and fifth inning.

Tyler Mandeville’s two-out RBI single to left in the fifth inning drove in the game-winning run for Avon.

Cheshire (8-5) rebounded in the second game of the doubleheader with 12 hits to gain a split and hand Avon a 11-7 loss.

In game one, Avon (2-12) had just six hits but they made them all count. In the second inning, Jackson Jobe’s sacrifice fly to right field gave Avon a 1-0 lead. They extended it to 2-0 in the third inning. Wyatt Lacombe doubled and moved to third on a two-out single from Nick Amatulli before scoring on an error.

Cheshire picked up a run in the fourth inning, but Avon extended their lead in the fifth. Christian Boudreau walked with one out. With two outs, he stole second base and scored on Mandeville’s RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

Cheshire added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning and threatened in the seventh but Grover was up to the task to get the win.

In game two, Avon had a season-high 12 hits but it wasn’t enough in a four-run loss. Avon led 4-1 after two innings but Cheshire scored 10 of the game’s next 11 runs to seize control.

Avon had four doubles in the game from Bourdeau, Jobe, Lacombe and Raha, who was 2-for-4 with one RBI. Lacombe was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Mandeville was 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and two RBI while Borenstein also had two hits.

Matt Cahill picked up the win in relief for Cheshire. He entered the game in the second inning and pitched four innings, allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Avon batters fanned 11 times in game two.

For Cheshire, Ryan Scialabba was 4-for-4 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored. Rob Roles was 2-for-3 at the plate.

Avon returns to action on Tuesday night when they visit West Hartford (7-6) at Hall High beginning at 5:45 p.m.

Avon 3, Cheshire 2
At Cheshire
Avon (2-11)             011  010  0  — 3-6-1
Cheshire (7-5)         000  110  0  — 2-4-2
Arjun Grover and Emmett Borenstein; Jonah Feldman, Luca Raccio (5) and unknown; WP: Grover (1-3); LP: Raccio; 2B: Wyatt Lacombe (A), Feldman (C)

Cheshire 11, Avon 7
At Cheshire
Avon (2-12)             310  011  1  — 7-12-1
Cheshire (8-5)         104  240  x  — 11-12-2
Tyler Mandeville, Nick Amatulli (4), Jackson Jobe (5) and unknown; Rob Roles, Matt Cahill (2), Jake Miller (6); WP: Cahill; LP: Mandeville (0-3); 2B: Christian Boudreau (A), Jackson Jobe (A), Wyatt Lacombe (A), Max Raha (A), Ryan Scialabba (C), Rob Roles (C)

West Hartford 10-13, Simsbury 0-5
SIMSBURY, July 19, 2020 – West Hartford raced out to big early leads in a pair of Division I games against Simsbury to sweep a doubleheader with a 10-0 victory in five innings in game one and a 13-3 victory, also in five innings, in game two.

West Hartford (7-6) had a 9-0 lead after two innings in game one and a 9-0 lead after three innings in game two. West Hartford had 18 hits in the two games and gave up just eight to Simsbury (4-7).

Simsbury’s pitching struggled on this steamy Sunday afternoon. Simsbury gave up eight ways in game one and 13 walks in game two.

Tim Cotter led West Hartford in the opener going 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Thomas Redden was 2-for-3 with three RBI. Joseph Dooley went the distance on the mound for West Hartford, allowing just three hits and striking out four to earn the win.

Matt Rose, Danny Coppinger and Mike Santos each had singles for Simsbury.

In game two, William Fox and Redden each had two hits and an RBI for West Hartford. Simsbury was led by Jack Rose, who had a double and one RBI. Coppinger, Schneider, Cayden Thomas and Santos each had singles for Simsbury in game two.

Simsbury returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Sage Park to take on Division I leader Berlin (11-3) beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Berlin has a 1½ game lead over Meriden (9-4) and a 2½ game lead over Cheshire (8-5), Each team will play 20 games and nearly all of them will complete the regular season by the end of July. The top two teams in Division I will make the playoffs.

West Hartford 10, Simsbury 0 (5)
At Simsbury
West Hartford (6-6)             180  10  — 10-9-1
Simsbury (4-8)                       000  00  — 0-3-2
Joseph Dooley and Liam Stone; Cayden Thomas, Greg Mrosek (2), Kevin Gallagher (5) and unknown; WP: Dooley; LP: Thomas (1-1); 2B: Tim Cotter (WH) 2

West Hartford 13, Simsbury 3 (5)
At Simsbury
West Hartford (7-6)             514  03  — 13-9-0
Simsbury (4-7)                       000  12  — 3-5-3
Ean Tyler, Michael Weiss (3), Nick Udell (5) and unknown; Daniel Gorham, Mike Santos (1), Jack Rose (3), Cooper Schneider (4), Sean Griffin (5) and unknown; WP: Tyler; LP: Gorham (1-2); 2B: Brennan (WH), Jack Rose (S)

Connecticut Elite Baseball Association
Under 19
Division 1

Team W-L Pct GB
Berlin 11-3 .786  —
Meriden 9-4 .692
Cheshire 8-5 .615
West Hartford 7-6 .538
Bristol 6-6 .500 4
Newington 6-8 .429 5
Simsbury 4-9 .308
Avon 2-12 .143 9

Saturday’s results
Newington 2, Meriden 1
Bristol 4, West Hartford 3
Newington 4, Meriden 3
Sunday’s results
Avon 3-7, Cheshire 2-11
West Hartford 10-13, Simsbury 0-3
Meriden 7-6, Bristol 2-2
Berlin 5-5, Newington 3-0
Monday’s game
Berlin at Meriden
Tuesday’s games
Avon at West Hartford, 5:45 p.m.
Simsbury at Berlin, 6:30 p.m.
Meriden at Cheshire
Newington at Bristol

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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