The Wolcott baseball team had a tough task in front of it Saturday morning against undefeated Woodland in Beacon Falls.
The Eagles tied the game in the top of the sixth inning, then stormed ahead in the eighth to claim a big 7-4 win over the Hawks (4-1). Chase Belisle drew the game-tying walk with the bases loaded in the sixth, then gave Wolcott (4-2) a cushion in the eighth with a two-run home run. The Eagles took the lead in the eighth when Ryan Santopietro doubled home Joseph Dunne.
Santopietro finished with three hits, including two doubles and scored three runs. Belisle tallied two runs scored and three RBI, Nick Sconziano added three hits (double) and a run scored while A.J. Martinez doubled and drove in two runs.
Martinez claimed the win in relief. He tossed three innings and gave up only one hit and one walk against two strikeouts. Joe Ferrucci gave up four runs, only one of them earned, on two hits over the first five innings in a no-decision. Ferrucci struck out six, walked four and hit a batter.
Wolcott got out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning. Santopietro led off with a double and Belisle reached on an error, then Martinez doubled them both home. Woodland scored three times in the bottom of the second inning to claim a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the fifth, Santopietro led off with a single and Martinez reached on a one-out error. Devin Fuegen beat a throw to first base on a fielder’s choice, which allowed Santopietro to score and tie the game, 3-3. The Hawks regained the lead, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth on an error.
In the top of the sixth, Sconziano led off with a single and Nate Yachtis reached on an error. With one out, Santopietro walked to load the bases. Belisle, who made the error in the fifth inning that allowed the go-ahead run, fouled off a pair of 3-2 pitches, then drew ball four to bring home Sconziano and tie the game, 4-4. Martinez worked around a two-out walk in the sixth and a one-out error in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
The top of the eighth wasn’t promising for Wolcott as its first two batters struck out. Dunne, called on to pinch hit for Tommy DeRosa, fought back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk. Santopietro doubled home Dunne on an 0-1 pitch, then Belisle worked a 2-1 count before launching his two-run home run. Woodland got a one-out single, but Martinez got a 6-4-3 double play, Santopietro to Sconziano to Fuegen, to end the game.
PHOTO CAPTION: Ryan Santopietro, at bat, and Chase Belisle (5), on deck, came up big for Wolcott baseball on Saturday in its 7-4, eight-inning win at Woodland. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
