East Hampton Gets Back to Winning

The schedule said this was a big week for East Hampton. Though its season can already be characterized a success, these three games against top teams in the Shoreline Conference would further define it.

Following a difficult and controversial loss at North Branford on Monday which cost them their share of first in the conference, the pressure was on the Bellringers at home on Wednesday against Cromwell, a team that had soundly beaten East Hampton 8-1 in the second game of the season.

This was no time for a slump.

As they have done all season, East Hampton (12-3) followed adversity with victory, using a four-run third inning to pull away and win, 7-4.

“Answering is very important and answering after a crushing defeat the other day was even more important,” East Hampton coach Scott Wosleger said. “To come back today positively the way we did and not let it affect us. I’m thrilled. I couldn’t be happier.”

Al Iannone started and picked up the win, his seventh on the season. The senior lefthander, however, was not as dominant as he had been in his previous two starts, striking out five, allowing seven hits, walking three and hitting a batter over five innings.

“Al did what Al does, grinded it out,” Wosleger said. “We were a little deeper in counts then we would have liked to be, but …  he battled and he knows how to win. He knows how to get us to where we want to be.”

Where East Hampton wants to be is in the late innings with the lead so Marvin Gorgas can be brought in.

The freshman righthander entered in the sixth inning and retired all six batters he faced for his eighth save.

Cromwell used three straight hits in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but East Hampton had an answer. Thanks to consecutive errors allowing the first two batters to reach base and an RBI single by Adam Michaud, the Bellringers took a 2-1 lead. Cromwell came back with an RBI single by Pat Sirois in the third to tie the score.

Then East Hampton took control, with the bottom of the order coming through.

Spencer Daley began the bottom half of the inning by reaching first on an infield error and Michaud (3-for-3) followed with a single. With one out, Iannone singled to load the bases. After the second out, Cromwell starter John McMahon looked like he might get out of the inning, but Nate Heroux, batting eighth in the order, smacked a single to drive in two runs and Joe Tuxbury followed that with a two-run double to make the score, 6-2.

East Hampton tacked on another run in the fourth on an RBI single by Michaud.

Mike Mancuso had three hits for Cromwell.

“This is a very difficult week for us,” Wosleger said. “We had a rough game the other day which we were hoping wouldn’t affect them adversely. I thought we played well pretty much top to bottom. I think it was important because it’s a week of really tough games and to beat Cromwell, who is well-coached, they’re a good team and it’s an important game from a record standpoint in the division. It really couldn’t get any bigger for us and I felt they stepped up.”

Next up for East Hampton is the defending Shoreline champion Haddam-Killingworth (10-5), which beat Ellington on Wednesday, 14-3.

“This was big for us. Regardless of what happens Friday, we’re going on the road to H-K, we feel really good about it,” Wosleger said. “We feel we’re ready for them. Regardless of what happens, this was a good win. They did a nice job and I was proud of them today.”