Avon Legion rolls past Bristol in season-opening victory, 10-1

Bristol third baseman Tyler Stickels can’t come up with the ball as Avon’s Tyler Nyberg steals third base in Tuesday’s Zone 1 American Legion game at Buckingham Field. Avon prevailed, 10-1.

AVON, June 15, 2021 – The Avon American Legion baseball hopes to be a good team in Zone 1 this summer. With a core team that went to the Class L semifinals just a week ago and with four additional high school players, Post 201 hopes to make a run at the Zone 1 championship this summer.

And good teams take advantage when they can. Visiting Bristol was shorthanded Tuesday night at Buckingham Field with four starters and six players missing for a variety of end-of-the school-year reasons and activities.

Avon (1-0, 1-0 Zone 1) had just five hits but they stole four bases and had some timely hits to beat Bristol, 10-1 in the American Legion opener for Post 201. The win snapped a four-game losing streak at the hands of Post 2 and the nine-run margin of the victory was the largest ever for Avon in the series’ history.

“I had expectations we should win this game,” Bristol manager Jerry Lapenta said. “Talent wise, we’re very good but we had six guys that weren’t here tonight including two All-State players. It makes a big difference but it’s not an excuse. Avon still played well and we made a bunch of mistakes.”

It was a 3-1 ballgame after five innings before Post 201 broke it open with seven runs in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, Avon’s Dylan Love scored on a passed ball to push the lead to three runs, 4-1. Bristol should have gotten out of the inning but errors and mistakes kept the inning alive. Post 2 made seven errors in the game.

Bristol shortstop Evan Bouchard, left, tags out Avon’s Christian Boudreau in  a rundown during Tuesday’s American Legion baseball game at Buckingham Field.

The bases were loaded when Emmett Borenstein ripped a three-run double to centerfield. Borenstein finished the game a pair of doubles and two of Avon’s five hits.

“It’s great to be back in Legion,” said Borenstein, who played on Avon’s most recent American Legion baseball team in 2019. American Legion cancelled their baseball season last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The spring (at Avon High) was great and it’s pretty much the same team with a few additions.”

Bristol (2-2, 0-2 Zone 1) had some baserunners but couldn’t do too much with them. Danny Bae, who was 3-3 with three complete games with Avon High this spring, picked up his first American Legion victory. He pitched five innings, allowed five hits and struck out three. He didn’t walk a single batter.

Ben Angus, who was 7-1 with Avon High in the spring, pitched two innings of shutout relief, giving up one hit and striking out four.

“We have high expectations,” first-year manager Miles Borenstein said. “Obviously we have a lot of kids from the (Avon) high school team that made a deep run in the state playoffs. We have a lot of good players and added some good players from other towns and other schools. So, I am looking forward to it.”

“We’re going to have fun. We’re going to be aggressive on the bases. Be aggressive early in the count and swing well. We have good pitching and a good defense. It’s a good solid team,” the skipper said.

There are just five Zones across the state this summer in American Legion baseball. Long-time rivals Southington and Winsted are gone this year. Newington, Naugatuck and Meriden have been added to Zone 1 for 2021.

Rival Simsbury has a team that is heavy on Simsbury players with 16 of the 18 players from Post 84 from Simsbury. In recent years, there have been more players from Canton, Granby and East Granby on the roster.

Berlin, who finished second in Class L to Hand last week, returns in Zone 1 along with West Hartford.

“Our zone is always very competitive,” Lapenta said. “We did lose Southington that dropped out this year and they were always a strong team. But most of the towns still in it are good baseball towns so I expect our zone to be very competitive.

It will be a dogfight. There won’t be any easy games. You will have to play hard every night,” he said.

Bristol manager Jerry Lapenta discusses the situation with his pitcher and infielders in Tuesday’s Zone 1 loss to Avon.

NOTES: Avon returns to action when they travel to Simsbury on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to face Post 84 at Memorial Field. … Avon’s last win over Bristol came on June 30, 2018 …. The victory was Avon’s largest over Bristol since 2014 when Post 201 earned an eight-run win over Bristol, 10-2

Avon 10, Bristol 1
At Avon
Bristol (2-2)                 001  000  0  — 1-6-7
Avon (1-0)                    101  107  x  — 10-5-4
Dylan Woodsome, Ty Martin (6), Zach Rinkavage (6) and Martin, Roberto Negron-Cruz (6); Danny Bae, Ben Angus (6) and Emmett Borenstein; WP: Bae (1-0), LP: Woodsome (0-1); 2B: Emmett Borenstein (A) 2

Tuesday’s results
Avon 10, Bristol 1
Naugatuck at Simsbury, ppd., rain
Thursday’s game
Avon at Simsbury, 5:30 p.m.