Bristol blasts its way to extra inning Legion win over Wolcott

The Bristol and Wolcott senior American Legion teams combined to score four runs (2-2) in the first seven innings of Wednesday’s game at Wolcott High School.

Bristol put up five runs in the top of the eighth for a 7-2 lead. Wolcott responded with two in the bottom of the inning, but it wasn’t enough as Post 2 claimed a 7-4 victory and improved to 4-0. Post 165 dropped to 1-1.

Bristol, a team often known for pitching, defense and small ball, used the long ball to get past Wolcott. The biggest bang came off the bat of Mac Goulet. Trailing 1-0, Goulet led off the top of the sixth inning and hammered a pitch to left field. The ball cleared the fence easily, and Post 2 tied the game at 1-1.

Bristol again victimized Wolcott with the long ball in the top of the eighth. With two runs in already on an error and a groundout, Cory Fradette stepped to the plate with two more Post 2 runners on base. Fradette smacked a ball over the wall in left center for a 7-2 Bristol lead. Those insurance runs turned out to be huge as Wolcott scored twice in the bottom half of the eighth.

The game started out as a pitchers’ duel between Bristol’s Zach Marquis and Wolcott’s Brett Adams. Post 165 did score a run in the bottom of the first inning on Trey Nastri’s RBI double, but they would get no more until the sixth.

Post 2 got runners on base against Adams, but couldn’t bring them home. With runners on second and third in the top of the fourth, Adams got a called strike three to escape danger. After Goulet’s homer in the sixth, Ryan Greene walked and Jake Violette replaced him with a fielder’s choice. The go-ahead run was on first base, but Adams got back-to-back strikeouts to end the sixth.

Wolcott went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth. Urbanski and Nastri singled back-to-back to lead off, then moved up a base. Bristol nipped Urbanski between third and home in a rundown after a grounder off the bat of Ethan Gillotti, but Cesar Vasquez, Jr., singled to put Post 165 ahead 2-1.

Wolcott was three outs away from a big win, but Bristol had other ideas. Alec DiLoreto led off with a walk, then was sacrificed to second base. Fradette whacked a double into the left center gap to tie the game at 2-2. Fradette was thrown out at third on a great play by Post 165 reliever Dane Hassan. Hassan fielded a slow grounder back to the mound and fired to Nastri at third, who put the tag on Fradette for the out. A Goulet flyout to center ended the inning, but Post 2’s offense broke the game open in the eighth.

GALLERY

Check out my photos from Wednesday’s game.

HIGHLIGHTS

Check out my video clips from Wednesday’s game.