Two-Out Rally Sends Rockville by Tolland

Two outs, a runner on first, and 0-2 count hardly seem the ideal circumstances for a game-changing rally.

But that proved to be the case for Rockville Wednesday at Tolland, as the Rams turned a seemingly harmless first inning into a six run outburst that propelled them to a 15-5 win over the Eagles.

“They helped us out a little bit, but we were right on the ball from the first batter,” Rockville head coach Art Wheelock said. “Do you expect to score that many runs at once? No, sometimes it takes a little bit of luck and you’ve got to get a couple of bounces.”

Cleanup hitter Kamyno Royal worked a walk after being down two strikes, putting runners on first and second for Patrick Witham, who lofted a soft single to right field to score Kevin Babcock. Right fielder Jameson Boucher booted the ball, allowing Royal to score from first. A passed ball, error, and three additional walks by Tolland starter Corey Keane put Rockville up 6-0.

“That definitely changed the game,” Rockville right fielder Tyler Glidden said. “We’ve had a lot of two-out rallies this season.”

The Rams then added another run in the third. Glidden (3-for-5) led off with a ringing double just off the base of the left field fence, and scored on an error by first baseman Alex Clifford.

“I thought for a second it was going out, but you’re not supposed to think, you’re supposed to run,” he said with a laugh.

Tolland scored four times in the third to pull to within three, highlighted by Troy Ciesco’s two run single that came after fighting off several pitches.

Rockville added two in the fourth and four in the fifth to pull away from the Eagles, who finished with more errors (six) then runs (five).

“I’m embarrassed by the way that we played today, top to bottom,” Tolland head coach Scott Czerwinski said. “Frankly it looked like we never practiced and I’ll take credit for that. We had some lapses on plays that won’t be scored errors, but we weren’t where should have been. It’s pretty discouraging.”

Brett Ackerly accounted for Tolland’s final run with a home run to left center in the sixth.

Despite being staked to an early lead, Rockville starter Rami Jadallah struggled with his control, walking five and hitting a batter in three innings of work before giving way to Bryan Leonard, who allowed one run over the final four innings.

“Jami pitched a 1-0 shutout last week against Conard. That’s just the nature of the game,” Wheelock said. Especially with high school kids, you don’t know who’s going to show up from day-to-day.”

Rockville’s Alex Mann finished 3-for-5 with a double and three runs, while Ackerly and David Ferris were each 2-for- 4 for Tolland.

The win marked the fifth in a row for Rockville (6-3), while it was the third loss in a row for Tolland (3-5).

Both teams are in action Friday, as Rockville travels to RHAM at 3:45 and Tolland hosts Bloomfield at 3:45 as well.