(Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
“All good things must come to an end.”
Go ahead and tell that to any baseball or softball state tournament team who had their season ended in the semifinal round on Wednesday. The end of the run is not easy to take when it comes up short of the ultimate goal, and that’s what happened to Holy Cross baseball.
The second-seeded Crusaders ran into a red-hot Notre Dame-Fairfield, which beat third-seeded St. Paul 7-1 in its previous game. The sixth-seeded Lancers were able to put up plenty of offense in a 7-5 victory in a Class S semifinal game at Muzzy Field in Bristol. Holy Cross finished the season with a record of 24-3, one game short of a second straight state final.
The Lancers were able to do what no one else could in over 20 games, and that was beat Fran Phelan, Jr. Phelan had gone 22 straight decisions without a defeat, but Notre Dame hacked away at him for seven runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Phelan was the guy Holy Cross turned to, and they were going down with him on the mound. The disappointing end can’t take away from what Phelan did in the past two seasons, and his career. Phelan finished with a career record of 29-6 and was a phenomenal pitcher for the Crusaders.
The loss also can’t take away from what Holy Cross did this season. The Crusaders had to replace a plethora of starters from the 2017 Class S state championship team, then had to deal with injuries and illness along the way in 2018. Different players stepped up throughout the season, and Holy Cross rode the momentum all the way to the state semifinal. Along the way, the Crusaders won a second straight NVL Tournament title as its top seed. They also had two separate eight-game winning streaks.
The Notre Dame game was the last in a Holy Cross uniform for seniors Phelan, Will Marshall and Justin Alamo. Phelan and Marshall each had a hit in their final game, and Phelan added a run scored.
Junior Connor Goggin led Holy Cross with two hits, including a two-run double. Fellow junior Austin Brown had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Juniors Tim Zupkus and Brian Parzyck each drove in a run, Zupkus with a walk and Parzyck with a ground out.
Holy Cross returns seven players who saw significant playing time as juniors, and they are Goggin, Brown, Zupkus, Parzyck, Corey Fappiano, Will Greene and Zach Lerner. John Greene also saw time at catcher as a sophomore, and he had some big hits at the plate. The Crusaders always aim to be good, and don’t expect anything different in 2019.
