East Hampton Headed to Semifinals

Perhaps you heard this before. East Hampton falls behind 2-0 in the first inning of a tournament game, rallies to take the lead and eventually goes on to win.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s happened for three straight games.

The Bellringers scored five runs in the second inning for a 6-2 lead, then held on to defeat Old Lyme 7-4 on Saturday in a Class S tournament quarterfinal baseball game played at West Haven High School.

That East Hampton is living dangerously is an understatement. That they find a way to win, is a testament to how good a team it is.

So, how did they do it?

Not offensively, the Bellringers did have seven hits, but only one for extra bases.  The number 4 through 8 batters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-17.

OK. So, how did they do it?

Pitching, defense and base running.

“Give our kids credit,” Wosleger said. “I thought we had good at-bats and I thought we pitched well enough. We kicked it around a little bit which is uncharacteristic for us, but I thought we hung in there and overcame some of those early errors. I thought the way we answered was big, too.”

Adam Michaud, who started on the mound, bounced back after the first and pitched four scoreless innings, but had to work hard to do it, pitching only one perfect inning. He finally turned the ball and the lead over to Marvin Gorgas with one out in the sixth and the freshman did the rest.

“I probably went a little later with [bringing Gorgas in] than I have been all year and I almost kicked myself and I’m glad we got out of it,” Wosleger said. “I usually go with my gut. My gut told me to bring him in earlier than that. I said ‘Maybe we can squeeze one more out of here’ and Michaud just ran out of gas. That’s the first time I’ve been indecisive like that all year long.”

On defense, a double play in the second got the Bellringers out of a mini jam. With two on and two out in the fourth, Michaud made a great grab of a line drive to end the inning. In the fifth, catcher Spencer Daly threw out Brendan Johnson attempting to steal second after Johnson led off the inning with a base hit. And in the sixth, with the Wild Cats mounting a significant rally. Second baseman Nate Heroux made a diving stop in the hole to rob Charlie Peck of a single which would have at least loaded the bases with no outs.

“[Heroux] gets a big out in an inning that was starting to get away from us,” Wosleger said. “He’s been lights out defensively for us. Smart player. Good player.“

And there was the aggressive base running that has become a huge weapon for East Hampton (20-4).

“Running the bases. Running hard and capitalize when we could,” Wosleger said.

The Bellringers had seven steals, three by Austin Wosleger, who has been a catalyst on offense with his base running of late.

“He’s not afraid of the big game,” coach Wosleger said. “He’s not afraid of the stage. Since he’s been a little kid he thrives in the big spots. That’s what you need to go deep. You need a couple guys like that. You need a couple guys like Ben [Fortin], who move around, play anywhere.”

Two of East Hampton’s steals came in the critical second inning.

In the second, Austin Shumbo reached on an error and stole second. Heroux then laced a double to right field to score Shumbo, With two out, Wosleger reached on an error and Heroux scored on a wild pitch. With Wosleger on second, he stole third, then scored on a single by Michaud, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Gorgas followed with a single and he and Michaud scored when Al Iannone also reached on an error.

Errors. They are how five-run innings are born and why title aspirations are laid to rest.

“We made seven errors the first two innings,” said Old Lyme coach Randy St. Germain, though the scorebook showed five errors and a wild pitch. “That’s the ballgame. What else can you say? We didn’t catch the ball. You can’t give a team like this who can hit, four extra outs in the second inning or three extra outs in the first inning. We got out of it in the first inning. The second inning we couldn’t escape. It’s too bad. Once you get Gorgas in the game, he throws well. He’s not someone we see a lot of. No one in the Shoreline throws like that. They’re a good team. They’ll have a good shot against whoever they play Tuesday.”

Gorgas pitched an inning and a third for East Hampton, allowing no hits and striking out three.

Wyatt Stanland started for Old Lyme before being relieved by Nick Carlson, who allowed a run in the fourth but otherwise steadied the Wild Cats and kept them in the game.

“We had a good season, we had a good run,” St. Germain said. “At one point we were 2-5 and it didn’t look too promising, but we battled and worked through some things and we had a good run. Much to be proud about.”

With his RBI double that ignited the second-inning rally to go with his defensive play in the sixth, it was Heroux’s turn to step up in a season where the Bellringers have gotten major contributions from everyone in the lineup.

“He’s struggled with the bat at times, it’s really just a mental thing with him,” Wosleger said. “He swings the bat great at practice and we’ve been just staying on him, staying on him … he’s probably tired of us staying on him, but we know he can hit. I told him to do what he does best and hit the ball the other way. That’s what he does best. When he stays above the ball and looks the other way, he’s as good a hitter as we have.

“We were fortunate we had him on our side tonight. We were fortunate to have No. 5."

No. 2 seed East Hampton will play No. 3 Windsor Locks at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Muzzy Field in Bristol in a semifinal game. No. 1 East Catholic will play No. 4 Wamogo following the East Hampton game. Class S is the only division where more than one of the top four seeds is still playing.