The Bristol Post 2 American Legion 19U baseball team got off to a great start in the state tournament.
Bristol shut out Northeast on July 16 at Muzzy Field in the first game of Pod C play in the Northern Division bracket. Zone 6 champion Waterford Post 161 halted the good vibes temporarily with a walk-off home run in the second game on July 17, but Post 2 edged out Enfield on July 19 in an elimination game to earn a rematch against Waterford. Bristol’s time in the state tournament ran out after another close loss. Post 2 ended the season with a second place finish in Zone 1 and an overall record of 12-9.
Here’s a recap of what happened:
Bristol 6, Northeast (Zone 3) 0: Matthew Beaucar gave Post 2 a terrific effort on the mound in a complete game win.
Beaucar surrendered two hits and struck out four. The right-hander did walk two batters and hit two more, but was able to work around those issues in his 100-pitch performance. On offense, Bristol took advantage of free passes and a hit by Dylan Woodsome for a 3-0 lead. Elliott Norris provided two hits and two runs scored, according to the story from Michael Letendre of The Bristol Edition.
Waterford (Zone 6 #1) 1, Bristol 0, 8 innings: Roberto Cruz was brilliant for seven innings for Post 2 at Waterford High School.
Then again, so was Anthony Jessuck for Post 161. The incoming Waterford senior tossed up a scoreless eighth inning, then Preston Tabor led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk-off homer against Cruz.
Bristol 8, Enfield (Zone 3) 7, 8 innings: Post 2 found itself in its second straight extra-inning game, but this time, the loser was headed home.
The game was about as back-and-forth as it gets. Bristol pulled it out in the bottom of the eighth inning on a bunt by Christopher Osuch, which scored Tyler Stickels. Stickels led off the inning with a walk, stole second, then reached third on a wild pitch, according to a story from Letendre. Enfield walked the bases loaded, which set up Osuch’s winning bunt.
This game was a roller coaster ride for both teams. Bristol scored three times in the bottom of the first inning for a 3-0 lead. Enfield tallied two runs in the third to get to within a run, but Post 2 added a run in the bottom half for a 4-2 advantage. Enfield added a run apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game, then it got whacky in the sixth. Enfield pushed across three runs in the top half for a 7-4 lead, but Bristol scratched out three of its own in the bottom half to tie the game, 7-7. Dylan Woodsome used 29 total pitches to navigate scoreless seventh and eighth innings for Post 2. Woodsome wound up being the winning pitcher.
Waterford 7, Bristol 5: Post 2 fell behind big, got to within two runs and then had the tying run at the plate at Waterford High School.
Unfortunately for Bristol, it couldn’t get the big hit it needed to keep its season alive. Waterford moved on to the Super Regional portion of the state tournament.
Post 161 struck for the game’s opening run in the bottom of the first inning. Post 2 tied the game with a run in the top of the third, but the home team scored one in the third before piling on three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth for a commanding 7-1 lead.
Bristol scored two runs apiece in the sixth and seventh innings. Jayden Churchill had a big game for Post 2 with two walks, two runs scored and four stolen bases, according to a story from Letendre. Adam Caron had two hits in four at bats in the final game of the season for Bristol.
Note: Letendre and company at The Bristol Edition cover just about everything in the Bell City, so go give them a read. They work under the Central Connecticut Online Journalism Project, a nonprofit that’s registered with the state.
