The top-seeded St. Paul baseball team trailed by a run entering the bottom of the eighth inning of their Class S second round home game against No. 16 Hale Ray on Wednesday.
The Falcons needed a rally, and they got it, claiming a 5-4 comeback victory over the Little Noises. The rally began when Mario Izzo led off with a single. Shaun Remillard ripped a double to put runners on second and third base, then was lifted for pinch runner Chase Mendela. Owen Davis drew a walk to load the bases. After a strikeout, Steve Morelli’s sacrifice fly to left field scored Izzo to tie the game. When Devin Kulas singled to center field, Mendela scored and completed the St. Paul comeback.
Davis had a solo home run and scored twice while Casey Cerruto went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jamie Leggett picked up the win in relief. St. Paul will host upstart No. 24 seed Shepaug on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Holy Cross 4, East Granby 1: The Falcons weren’t the only team to win dramatically Wednesday.
In a matchup of Crusaders, No. 11 Holy Cross and No. 6 East Granby were tied, 1-1, entering the top of the seventh inning. Holy Cross scored three runs in that frame to claim the victory. Tommy Galusha reached on an error to lead off the inning. Pinch runner Tom Ligi went from first to third on a sacrifice bunt by Luke Daddona. Rob Rosko grounded to third base, but Ligi was able to score to give his team a 2-1 lead. Daddona moved up to third base on the grounder. Grant Mowad came on to run for Rosko and stole second base while Pat Giancarli was at the plate. After Daddona scored on a wild pitch and Mowad moved up to third, Pat Giancarli’s squeeze bunt scored Mowad for a 4-1 advantage.
Galusha worked around a single in the bottom of the seventh inning to finish his complete game. He gave up one run on three hits, struck out five and walked four. Giancarli (double) and Zak Morales each had two hits while Daddona scored two runs. Holy Cross will face third-seeded Coginchaug on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Durham.
Bristol Central was eliminated from Class L competition by top-seeded Daniel Hand.
Softball
Wolcott 4, Griswold 1: The eighth-seeded Eagles picked up a second straight Class M victory over an Eastern Connecticut Conference foe after beating Stonington in the first round.
Wolcott won behind another strong effort in the circle by Sofia Gugliotti. She struck out 15 in another complete-game effort. Jordan Chamberlain doubled, singled and drove in a run while Kaitlyn Ouellette added two hits. The Eagles play top-seeded Woodland, an NVL foe, on Friday at 4 p.m. in Beacon Falls.
Bristol Central, Bristol Eastern and Kaynor Tech were all eliminated from the state tournament. The Rams and Lancers lost in Class L while the Panthers fell in Class M.
Boys lacrosse
St. Paul 15, Lewis Mills 3: The fourth-seeded Falcons had no trouble with their old rival, blowing out the No. 13 Spartans in a Class S first round game.
St. Paul takes on No. 12 Somers on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a quarterfinal matchup.
PHOTO CREDIT: Devin Kulas, shown during a regular season game at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, had a walk-off hit for St. Paul on Wednesday in its Class S second round game.
