Eastern baseball wins thriller while St. Paul baseball and boys lacrosse cruise to victories

I decided to take in some baseball, and first up was Bristol Eastern, which hosted Northwest Catholic. The Lancers kept the visiting Eagles close behind junior right-hander Trevor Mays. Mays did what he needed to do on the mound and wound up pitching 6.2 innings. Cory Fradette threw the final third of an inning and wound up with the win.

Eastern trailed 1-0 into the bottom of the fourth, and that’s where Josh Nohilly tied the game with a single to right field. 
Northwest gave Eastern some chances with three errors, but the Lancers couldn’t take advantage. The Eagles went ahead 2-1 in the top of the sixth inning, only to see the host Lancers bounce back and tie the game in the bottom frame when Nohilly again came up big, this time with a RBI triple.

St. Paul baseball was all smiles after Monday’s 6-1 home win over Woodland. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)

That set the stage for the bottom of the seventh, where Mac Goulet singled to give Eastern a 3-2 walkoff win. It was a good early-season win for the Lancers.

My next stop on a tight schedule before work — I didn’t get to see the Eastern ending — was St. Paul baseball, which was hosting Woodland. The Falcons were ahead 6-1 on the Hawks when I got there for the final innings. The damage was done on two swings in two different innings.

In the first, Josh Cofrancesco doubled, then reached third on a Julian Thayer single. Ryan Greene brought them and himself home with the first big swing, a three-run home run to left to give St. Paul a 3-1 lead.

The score was still 3-1 entering the bottom of the third, but not for long. Again, Cofrancesco started the rally, this time with a single. Cofrancesco went to third when Nick Morrell doubled, setting up second and third. Given Greene’s power display earlier in the game, he was intentionally walked.

Ryan Parent made Woodland pay with St. Paul’s second big swing, a double the other way into the left centerfield gap to clear the bases and put the Falcons up 6-1.

St. Paul boys lacrosse had its offense humming in a 18-3 hammering of Lewis Mills at home on Monday. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)

That was beyond enough for Thayer, who pitched the first five innings and took the victory. Scott Winters went two scoreless innings in relief to close the game out.
Cofrancesco added a sweet diving catch in the outfield in the middle innings. Shaun Remillard joined Cofrancesco in the great catch club in the seventh inning when he chased down a ball in the left center field gap. Remillard ran toward left field, made an all-out dive, and caught the ball.

It had already cooled off a bit when St. Paul boys lacrosse got ready for its Monday evening matchup with Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference foe Lewis Mills. I was on my way out for the night, but figured I’d stop and take a few photos. 
Head coach Chris Kennedy and his staff put the Falcons through pregame drills and weren’t letting anything get by. The visiting Spartans had no idea what the home team was about to unleash on them.
Led by seven goals and four assists from freshman Brycen Kennedy, St. Paul hammered Mills 18-3. The Falcons put on an offensive fireworks display and delighted those who sat on cold bleachers and braved the cool temperatures to watch.

I look forward to getting out to more local events this spring, and hopefully on warmer days that are due to come soon (please!)

Here are links to my photos from Monday:
Bristol Eastern baseball
St. Paul baseball
St. Paul boys lacrosse