Michaud Three-Hits Old Lyme [Video]

Having lost three of its last four games, including a 5-0 loss to North Branford on Tuesday, East Hampton needed someone to step up. Someone to steady the ship.

That someone was Adam Michaud.

Michaud pitched a complete game three-hitter to lift East Hampton over visiting Shoreline Conference rival Old Lyme 2-1 on Wednesday, the winning run scoring on a wild pitch in the sixth inning.

Make no mistake, this was an important game.

“It was huge,” East Hampton coach Scott Wosleger said. “Might be the biggest win so far. [Tuesday] was debacle defensively. We gave up probably seven or eight outs. The way we responded today was gigantic. We bounced back defensively, had a good pitching performance and we did what we needed to do against a good team, a well-coached team.”

The defense committed no errors and Michaud was dominant, striking out nine, walking two and hitting a batter. With the Bellringers’ bats slumping a bit, it was the performance they needed.

“I’m a little concerned,” Wosleger said of the offense. “We keep shaking up the lineup a little bit. I think it will come. In some big spots, we’re giving up at-bats. We’re taking too many pitches. We have to be aggressive on pitches we like.”

Among the changes in the batting order, Wosleger moved Marvin Gorgas to the leadoff spot.

“The more times I can get him to the plate the better,” Wosleger said.

Michaud got out of minor jams in the first and third innings while the Bellringers consistently put pressure on Old Lyme starter Erik Nicholson. East Hampton (7-3) had runners in scoring position each inning before finally breaking through in the fourth.

Ryan Massie led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Joe Tuxbury. With two out, freshman Jake Vickery delivered an RBI single to put East Hampton up, 2-1.

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Old Lyme (4-5) immediately threatened in the top of the fifth. After Mike Mann walked leading off, Dave Pech attempted a sacrifice bunt, but catcher Spencer Daly pounced on the ball and fired a perfect throw to second base to get Mann.

“That’s a senior captain being aggressive, not afraid, with a gun,” Wosleger said. “A lot of guys don’t want to make that play.”

After Michaud struck out the next batter, it appeared East Hampton might get out of the inning. Pech, however, stole second, and Nick Bellas (2-for-3) doubled down the third-base line, the ball glancing off the glove of third baseman Matt Sevigny, for a double to tie the score, 1-1.

Nicholson quickly got himself into trouble in the fifth by hitting Gorgas and with one out, hitting Michaud. Daly was intentionally walked to load the bases for Massie, who struck out looking, leaving it to Tuxbury.

If only for a moment.

Early in the count, Gorgas was sent sprinting for home, but apparently indecision got in his way.

“It’s supposed to be a straight steal,” Wosleger said. “I don’t know why he stopped, but he stopped. It was a botched steal of home.”

However brief his hesitation, it was enough to get Gorgas tagged out at the plate.

Having Tuxbury to lead off the sixth inning did, however, work to East Hampton’s advantage. The senior walked leading off and with two out was standing on third with Alex Meeker at-bat.

With the count 1-and-1, Nicholson delivered the game’s biggest pitch, a wild one, sending Tuxbury home with what proved to be the winning run.

With a chilly rain now falling, Michaud seemed to get stronger, retiring the last seven batters he faced.

“His location was really good,” Wosleger said. “He was keeping the ball down for the most part and his velocity again was really good. The middle part of their order could not catch up on fastballs.”

As big a victory as this was and with the regular season half over, Friday presents another challenge. East Hampton will play at Haddam-Killingworth at 3:45 p.m. H-K (7-3) defeated Portland 5-0 on Wednesday.

The Cougars (7-2 Shoreline) are ahead of the Bellringers (5-3 Shoreline) in the conference standings and beat East Hampton twice last season.

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