After going 10-0 in the first half of the season, Holy Cross baseball lost two of three games to start the second half. The Crusaders were defeated 6-2 by Wolcott on April 25 at home, then were downed 9-6 at St. Paul on May 1.
All Holy Cross has done since that lost to Wolcott is win. The Crusaders closed the regular season with seven straight wins, finished 18-2, and earned the No. 2 seed in the NVL Tournament. Holy Cross hosts No. 7 Watertown on Monday at 3:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal round game.
The Crusaders gave up just four runs in the first six games of the win streak before yielding four in a 9-4 victory at Seymour on Saturday. In that same seven-game stretch, Holy Cross has scored 106 runs.
The Crusaders bested Waterbury Career Academy 15-2 in five innings in their final regular season home game this past Thursday on Oronoke Road. Seniors Connor Goggin (3-for-3, double, three runs scored), Tim Zupkus (double, run scored), Joe Bonvicini (double, two runs scored) and Austin Brown (double, run scored) each had two RBI for Holy Cross. Senior Will Greene singled, walked and scored four runs while senior Brian Parzyck had a single, two walks and two runs scored. Senior Zack Lerner tripled and scored a run while senior Corey Fappiano walked twice and scored a run. Senior Kingsten Zenick was hitless in one at bat, then took over at second base in the top of the fifth inning. Juniors Tom Ayash and John Greene each had a single and RBI.
Lerner started on the mound, pitched 3 2/3 innings and picked up the win. He gave up a run on two hits, struck out two and walked one. Fappiano threw the remaining 1 1/3 innings and yielded a run on one hit. He struck out two and walked one.
In the 9-4 win over Seymour at French Park, Zupkus homered, walked twice, scored twice and drove in a run. John Greene was 3-for-4 with a double, two singles, three runs scored and three RBI. Fappiano doubled twice, walked once and scored a run while Parzyck had two hits and an RBI. Will Greene chipped in two hits, a walk and a run scored, and Goggin added a hit, walk and run scored. Brown and Lerner each scored a run.
Bonvicini pitched the first four innings and was the winner. He gave up two runs (one earned) on no hits, struck out eight, walked three and hit one. Lerner pitched the next two innings, then Fappiano took the final inning.
