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| Freshman Julian Thayer was a big reason for St. Paul’s success in 2017. The future is bright with Thayer on the mound and at the plate. |
St. Paul baseball started the season knowing it didn’t have one of its best pitching arms available at all.
Senior Andrew Owsianko wasn’t allowed to pitch due to an injury. Combine that with a slew of new players filling in holes left by graduations from the 2016 Class S state championship team, and the level of success for the 2017 Falcon season was unknown.
St. Paul turned in a 16-4 regular season, thanks to strong pitching and contributions from several freshmen. Senior Wes Lahey was at the top of the pitching staff, but he had plenty of help. Fellow senior Jack Bator turned in a strong season, and so did freshman Ethan Rembish. Freshmen Julian Thayer and David Strager also spent time on the mound, and both performed well.
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| Wes Lahey, left, and Andrew Owsianko, right, were key seniors for St. Paul. |
St. Paul finished second in its division, thanks to two losses to champion Oxford. Errors killed the Falcons in both losses to the Wolverines, and unfortunately errors bit them hard in other losses.
St. Paul earned a No. 3 seed in the NVL Tournament and downed No. 6 Woodland in the first round. The Falcons were eliminated in a 12-2 loss to No. 7 upstart Seymour in the semifinal round, but the strong regular season put them at a No. 4 seed in Class S.
St. Paul shut out No. 29 St. Bernard-Uncasville 5-0 behind a complete game from Lahey.
Errors nearly doomed St. Paul in a 6-5 second round win over No. 20 Immaculate of Danbury. It foreshadowed what was coming in the quarterfinal on Saturday.
An error and a two-base wild pitch allowed No. 5 Housatonic Regional-Falls Village to claim a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
St. Paul scored twice in the bottom of the second to claim a 2-1 lead. Ryan Greene led off with a single, then reached second on an errant pickoff throw. Thayer, one of the best Falcon hitters all season, smashed a single to left field. Head coach Vic Rinaldi put Thayer in motion with Bator at the plate. Bator grounded to short, but Greene scored and the Mountaineers were able to secure just one out instead of a possible double play. Lahey followed with a single up the middle to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
Mistakes, both physical and mental, cost St. Paul in the very next inning. Lahey surrendered a single and walk to start the inning, but got the next two batters out. With two outs, a grounder was misplayed for an error, bringing in the tying run. Housatonic stole a 3-2 lead when St. Paul got caught in a double steal. Lahey ran toward the runner caught between first and second after a pickoff move, but the runner from third scored.
Bator had a second RBI grounder in the fourth to tie the game.
In the fifth, St. Paul appeared to gain control of the game. Chris Mills led off with a single and reached second when the ball got past the Housatonic right fielder. A bloop infield single from Tommy Houle put runners at first and second. A sacrifice bunt attempt resulted in a pop up for the first out, but Owsianko more than made up for it. He blasted a 1-2 fastball into the bushes in left field for a three-run home run and a 6-3 St. Paul lead.
The Falcons were sitting pretty, then the roof caved in. Three walks, an error and one Mountaineer hit led to four runs and a stunning 7-6 lead for the visitors. Three of those runs came in on the error, a misjudged fly ball to left field.
St. Paul’s boisterous fans fell silent, and so did the home side’s bats. Housatonic complete-game winner Jacob Shpur produced a pair of 1-2-3 innings to close the game out.
It was a disappointing end to a strong season for the Falcons. St. Paul finished the season with a record of 19-6. Lahey, Owsianko, Bator, Houle and Zach Parent leave the program due to graduation.
What happened Saturday, and what could have been, may serve to be motivation for the 2018 St. Paul squad.
