Prospect native and former Holy Cross High School baseball player Justin Miller had the chance to play for a championship this past Thursday night. Unfortunately for Miller and his M&T Bank teammates, the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League championship didn’t go the way the No. 1 seed would have liked.
Miller went 1 for 3 and drove in M&T’s first run with an RBI bloop single, but they lost, 6-2, to the No. 2 seed Vernon Orioles at Middletown’s Palmer Field. Vernon scored all six of its home runs via the long ball. Four came on a grand slam by Nick Roy while the other two scored on a two-run shot by Jimmy Titus.
Miller was far from the only former area standout to have an impact in the GHTBL playoffs. Jon Remillard, who suited up for St. Paul, hit .500 (3 for 6) in two games for the Record-Journal Expos.
A team that had a big impact on the GHTBL playoffs was the surprising Bristol Greeners. Bristol was the No. 8 seed, but began playoff action with a 7-2 upset of No. 1 M&T Bank. The Greeners made it all the way to the loser’s bracket final, where they lost to M&T, 4-1.
A.J. Lorenzetti played in three of the four games and had a tremendous impact. The former St. Paul backstop hit .556 (5 for 9) with three doubles, five RBI, three walks and a run scored. Lorenzetti’s average was the same as Weston Ulbrich of the Middletown Mets (5 for 9, 2 doubles, 4 runs).
Lorenzetti had an on-base percentage of .667 and slugged .889. Bristol teammate Sean Borden hit .357 (5 for 14) in four games with an RBI and three runs scored. Eric Corhouse and Matt Fusco each batted .308 while Elliot Norris checked in at .300. Corhouse and Norris each drove in a run, and Norris added four runs scored. Norris played for Bristol Eastern and Post 2 American Legion.
Kenny Knox pitched in two games and sported a 2.00 ERA while Trevor Mays won his lone start and posted a 2.33 ERA. Knox played for Bristol Central while Mays suited up for Bristol Eastern.
After defeating M&T, Bristol took down the No. 5 South Windsor Phillies, 7-4. The Greeners reached the winner’s bracket final, where they fell to the Orioles, 5-1. Bristol dropped into the loser’s bracket, where M&T ended its season, 4-1.
Jon Pierce led the way for the Greeners in the regular season, hitting .375 (18 for 48) with a double, seven RBI, four walks and five runs scored. Mays was Bristol’s best pitcher, going 4-1 with three complete games (one shutout), a 1.24 ERA and 29 strikeouts to just four walks.
