The Army West Point, Central Connecticut State University and UConn baseball teams will take part in the upcoming NCAA tournament, and there are local players on each roster.
Army West Point made it to the Texas Tech (Lubbock) regional in part because of some strong pitching from senior Ray Bartoli from Wolcott. Bartoli was a standout at Wolcott and hit the famous walk-off home run that delivered the Eagles their lone state championship. For the season, Bartoli is 3-1 with a 3.05 ERA in 12 games, including six starts. He has two saves and has struck out 49 batters while walking 14 in 56 innings pitched. Batters are hitting .218 against him.
Texas Tech is the No. 8 national seed and plays Army West Point in its first game Friday at noon.
CCSU will play in the University of Oregon (Eugene) regional and has three locals on its roster. There’s junior pitcher/outfielder Peyton Stephens from Sacred Heart High School, freshman catcher Jeff Nicol from Wolcott, and freshman pitcher Joe Bonvicini from Holy Cross (Torrington native).
Both Stephens and Nicol played in the Northeast Conference tournament. Stephens played left field in one game and pitched two innings in another while Nicol had a pinch-hit appearance in one game. For the season, Stephens has four home runs, two doubles, 12 RBI and nine runs scored. On the mound, Stephens is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. He has pitched in four games (two starts) and has struck out eight in seven innings. Stephens has yielded four runs (three earned) on three hits. Nicols has appeared in 18 games and is hitting .298 in 47 at bats. He has a home run, triple and 14 RBI.
CCSU plays No. 14 Oregon in its first game on Friday at 5 p.m. on ESPN3.
UConn will play in the Notre Dame (South Bend) regional and has one local on its roster, freshman pitcher Hector Alejandro, who played for Sacred Heart. He transferred to Naugatuck High for his senior season, but it wasn’t played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UConn takes on Michigan on Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN3. Notre Dame is the No. 10 national seed.
