The second-seeded Tri-Town Trojans knocked off the top-seeded Terryville Black Sox, 8-5, in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Tri-State Baseball League World Series at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury on Friday night.
The sentimental favorites from Tri-Town celebrated a season-long goal of winning one for their late teammate, Joe Bunnell, 35, who was killed in a work accident in March 2020. The Trojans and their fans were basking in the championship glow, and dealing with all the other emotions that come from playing a season for a fallen brother and friend, well after the three-hour plus game ended.
Terryville came in the favorite to win the series after dominating the league to the tune of a 22-0 record through the regular season and postseason. The Black Sox, however, were flat in a 5-0 Game 1 loss to the Trojans on Wednesday night. Terryville was ready to roll Thursday in Game 2 and took advantage of an uncharacteristically poor defensive effort from Tri-Town in a 5-1 victory. It helped that Kody Kerski tossed a complete game gem with 13 strikeouts.
In Game 3, the Trojans were the ones who erupted early. Tri-Town scored three runs apiece in the first and second innings, and its lead got as large as 8-0 in the fifth. Fittingly, Coleby Bunnell had a two-run single in the first to drive in the second and third runs of the inning.
Terryville responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to its deficit to 8-4. The Black Sox got to within 8-5 in the sixth on Mike Vaccarelli’s RBI single. With runners on first and second, Tri-Town turned a big double play that looked like it would squelch the rally, but Kody Kerski worked a walk off complete-game winner Miles Scribner to keep the inning going. With Kerski at first and Gavin Lavallee on third, Vaccarelli singled to make the score 8-5. Scribner got a grounder back to himself to end the threat.
As Terryville rallied, reliever Ken Kerski battled through an injury to keep his team in the game. Kerski pitched 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball (11 strikeouts) in relief of starter Kyle Dube. The Black Sox were down Andrew Hinckley and Tony Patane due to prior commitments, and there were plenty of pitchers feeling exhausted after they played four games in two days at the AABC Stan Musial Northeast World Series the prior weekend. Still, Terryville battled back.
The Black Sox appeared to have something going again in the seventh. With one out, Billy Armstrong walked and stole second base. Conor McEvoy walked, putting runners on first and second for Alex Rauso. Rauso grounded toward Trojan third baseman Austin Patenaude. The ball skipped off Patenaude’s glove and was gathered in by shortstop Mike Fabiaschi. Fabiaschi saw Armstrong heading for the plate, faked a throw to first, then chased Armstrong toward home. Fabiaschi tossed the ball to catcher Landon Gardella, who put the tag on Armstrong.
But wait, there’s more to that play. Terryville contended that Patenaude didn’t get out of Armstrong’s way when he went to touch the third base bag, which would have constituted interference. After an earlier balk by Scribner that wasn’t called, the Black Sox erupted. Vehement arguments led to two Terryville players getting thrown out of the game, and the commissioner of the league even went into the Black Sox dugout to confront them. The shouting continued, but order was restored and the game continued. With runners on first and third, Lavallee grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning. For some photos of the play at third base, go to Gerry deSimas’ Collinsville Press website, collinsvillepress.com, and click on more photos in the championship story.
Kody Kerski reached on a two-out hit by pitch in the eighth, but he was the final baserunner of the night for Terryville. Scribner got a foul pop to end the eighth inning, then retired the Black Sox in order in the final inning. When Scribner struck out Tyler Wenz, he and Gardella met quick at the mound before joining the rest of the Trojans in the celebration at first base with Coleby Bunnell, brother of the late Joe Bunnell. (With what Tri-Town went through following Joe Bunnell’s tragic death, it deserved to celebrate, and doing it at first base with Coleby in the middle of it gave this writer goosebumps.) The Trojans finished with a 22-4 record and their third Tri-State championship, with the others coming in 2013 and 2018.
Terryville finished a terrific season at 25-4, but one win short of its championship goal.
PHOTO CAPTION: Ken Kerski put up a valiant effort in relief for Terryville, but it wasn’t enough to knock off Tri-Town, which captured the 2021 Tri-State World Series championship. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)
GALLERY
Here are my photos from Friday night’s Game 3 of the Tri-State World Series.
