Fifth-Inning Uprising Sends Simsbury Legion Past Unionville

FARMINGTON – The urgency generally singular to playoff baseball permeated the Unionville and Simsbury American Legion teams with a week to go in the regular season.

Both Zone 1 teams have qualified for the Legion’s summer showcase that begins July 19 at Bristol’s Muzzy Field and Palmer Field in Middletown. The task at hand is to avoid multiple games in the tournament’s play-in portion, but that scenario is looking bleak for Unionville Post 32.

Simsbury Post 84 bunched six hits together in the fifth inning Monday to erase a one-run deficit with a four-run rally that proved decisive in a 4-2 verdict at Tunxis Mead’s John P. Grocki Field.

Simsbury (18-5) still has designs on wrestling the Zone 1 pennant from Bristol while Unionville (17-8) will likely have to play two extra games to have a chance at cracking the state’s top 16. That doesn't faze Unionville head coach Walt Nakonechny.

"I think we have an advantage going into the play-ins because we have a very deep pitching staff," he said. "We have eight guys that can legitimately throw the baseball."

Nakonechny has others reasons for optimism. Post 32 played airtight, alert baseball and held a 1-0 lead when the Simsbury hitters began measuring starter Dave Wiegard in the fifth.

“We’re playing better and better baseball,” Nakonechny said. “What’s more important than a winning streak is how we’re playing on the field and [we had] some great examples.”

Case-in-point: Brian Schweighoffer started the second against Post 84 right-hander Mike Gibbons with a single to center. Jimmy Mulpeter forced third baseman Kyle Decker to field his sacrifice bunt and with nobody covering third, Schweighoffer didn’t stop at second.

Mulpeter was retired at first but first baseman Alex Wichmann made a hurried throw home that eluded catcher Tyler Plourd and enabled Schweighoffer to score.

Case No. 2: Simsbury’s Josh Gowdy led off the game-winning fifth with a double to the gap in right center.

Brian Magna followed with a grounder into the hole. Third baseman Jeff Schweighoffer faked once to first and Gowdy took a step toward third. Instead of firing to first for the out, Jeff Schweighoffer made a second fake and Gowdy was trapped.

“These are the things that are going to make us go a long way in the playoffs,” Nakonechny said. “We’re playing good baseball … now.”

But as good teams are prone to do, Simsbury did not allow Unionville to seize the momentum.

With a hit-and-run on, Plourd grounded into the hole. Magna eased into second and left Mulpeter with no play at short. Alex Mortillaro rapped a single to left and Magna scored the tying run. Josh Holihan, Simsbury’s ninth hitter, drove a pitch over the head of right fielder Pat Wollenberg to clear the bases with an opposite-field triple.

Nick Quattro collected Simsbury’s fourth consecutive safety with an RBI single to put Post 32 in a deep hole with just two innings remaining.

Wiegard relied heavily on his offspeed pitches over the first four frames, allowing just one hit. He allowed just one hit over the final two innings but the fifth inning was his undoing.

“The first time around he had to go his breaking ball more so they saw a lot of his pitches in their first round of at-bats,” Nakonechny said. “In the second round of at-bats, it’s not like he changed his game. They saw a lot of pitches and they knew what was coming. He got behind them and it cost him.”

Simsbury head coach Tom Vincent praised his hitters for their mid-game adjustments.

“As the game got further on, we had a little better approach at the plate,” he said. “We were able to get better swings. There were more line drives and ground balls hit.”

Simsbury made two game-saving defensive gems.

With two outs in the third, Unionville got successive singles from Matt deVaux and Jeff Schweighoffer. David Kerlejza rifled a line drive that was destined to kick up turf in left field when Quattro went horizontal at shortstop and grabbed it for the third out.

In the home fifth, Unionville made its bid for a comeback.

Gibbons hit Wollenberg with a pitch and plunked deVaux one out later. Jeff Schweighoffer rapped a sinking line drive headed for the left field alley but Magna made a desperation dive in center and got a glove on it.

Two runs would have scored had the ball squirted through but the runners stopped and Unionville had to settle for a bases-loaded situation. Kerlejza launched a sacrifice fly but that was all Unionville would get.

“That’s the kind of effort we love seeing,” Vincent said. “Those guys just made two terrific plays leaving it all on the field. That’s what it’s all about.”

Gibbons left with a runner on first and one out in the sixth. East Granby southpaw Jason Byers recorded the last five outs to notch a save.

The bottom third of the Simsbury order – Plourd, Mortillaro and Holihan – combined for three hits, three RBI and three runs.

Simsbury 4, Unionville 1

(At John P. Grocki Field)

Simsbury                                      Unionville

                           ab  r  h  bi                                    ab  r  h  bi

Quattro ss            3  0  1  1           Crispino cf           4  0  1  0

Decker 3b            3  0  1  0           deVaux 2b           3  0  1  0

Gibbons p            3  0  0  0           JSchwghfr 3b       4  0  3  0

Byers p                0  0  0  0           Kerlejza dh          2  0  0  1

Wichmann 1b       3  0  1  0           Wiegard p            0  0  0  0

Gowdy lf              3  0  2  0           BSchwghfr 1b      3  1  2  0

Magna cf              2  1  0  0           Mulpeter ss         1  0  0  0

Plourd c               3  1  1  0           Spracklin lf          3  0  1  0

Mortillaro 2b         3  1  1  1           Callahan c           2  0  0  0

Holihan rf             3  1  1  2           Garger c              1  0  0  0

                                                    Wollenberg cf       2  1  0  0

Totals                  26  4  8  4          Totals                 25  2  8  1

Simsbury            000 040 0 – 4  8  1

Unionville            010 010 0 – 2  8  0

E – Wichmann. LOB – Simsbury 3, Unionville 7. DP – Simsbury 1, Unionville 2. 2B – Gowdy. 3B – Holihan. S – Mulpeter 2. SF – Kerlejza. SB – Gowdy, Quattro, Wichmann. CS – Quattro.

Simsbury

                                 ip    h    r  er  bb  so

Gibbons W                 5.1   7   2   1   0   4

Byers Sv                    1.2   1   0   0   0   2

Unionville

Wiegard L                   7     8    4   4   2   4

WP – Wiegard 2. HBP – by Gibbons (Wollenberg, deVaux). T – 2:00. Records – Simsbury 18-5; Unionville 17-8.