 |
| Bristol Central’s Austin Brown went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in a 9-1 win over Plainville on Monday at Muzzy Field. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69) |
Bristol Central baseball is fighting for its state tournament life in the final games of the 2018 regular season.
It has been a trying year full of injuries and illness, but the Rams moved closer to state qualification after a 9-1 win over Plainville on Monday at Muzzy Field. Central improved to 7-9 with the victory and sits at No. 31 in the Class L state rankings.
 |
| Jake Santiago also went 3-for-4 for the Rams on Monday. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69) |
A team needs to win 40 percent of its games for automatic qualification, but there’s a caveat. If 32 teams — a full bracket — don’t win 40 percent of their games, the bracket will be filled until there are 32 teams. There are several teams that can still reach 40 percent in Class, Central included, but the Rams would love to not only qualify for the tournament, but avoid a dreaded play-in game.
On Monday, Central rode its offense to a big win.
Austin Brown had a great day, going 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. Jake Santiago, who was one of the injured players for Central, was also 3-for-4. Big first baseman Ryan Rodriguez went 2-for-3, including a two-run double the other way down the left field line to put the Rams ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning. Noah Plantamuro provided a pair of sacrifice flies, a single, a walk and two RBI.
Steve Warkoski pitched the first six innings and gave up a single run on his way to the win. Alex Balfour closed out with a scoreless seventh.
Central plays Avon at Muzzy on Wednesday, followed by three straight road games to close the regular season. The Rams are at Platt Thursday, then they are the visiting team in next Monday’s game at Muzzy against Eastern. The regular season is slated to end with a road game against Avon on May 23.
GALLERY: My photos from Monday’s game.
