Jared Burrows gets to pitch in
Helps No. 2 Lancers earn spot in baseball final vs. rival Vikings
Groton — Jared Burrows hadn't pitched in about two weeks, making it somewhat inauspicious for Waterford High School coach Art Peluso to summon him Thursday amid the pressure of the league tournament semifinals.
Or maybe not inauspicious at all.
"He's unfazed," Peluso said of his customary starting shortstop, whose 2.2 innings of near perfect relief sent the second-seeded Lancers to the Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament championship game, after a 10-3 win over Griswold.
Waterford will play No. 5 East Lyme, a 3-2 winner of No. 8 Ledyard, for the title on Friday night at 7 at Fitch High School. The game will be livestreamed on theday.com
Burrows, who entered in the fourth inning after starter Walker Sutman reached a pitch count, struck out six and allowed one baserunner.
"No moment is too big for him," Peluso said. "An easy going kid. But he has an intensity about him. When I went to take him out (in the sixth), he's looking around and sees a hawk flying. He goes out of the blue, 'I've never seen a hawk fly that low to the ground before.' He's just matter of fact."
Burrows said, "My teammates call me a robot. I think staying calm helps you throw strikes."
Burrows entered the game with the Lancers leading 3-1. Sutman allowed an unearned run and struck out five.
"It's not easy for (Burrows) not having pitched in a while," Sutman said. "But we have all the confidence in the world in him when he's out there."
Nick Porazzi doubled three times and scored three runs for the Lancers, while Matt Driscoll had three hits and three RBI. Sutman had two hits, was on base four times and has only failed to reach
2018 ECC AWARD WINNERS / BASEBALL base once in the ECC tournament thus far.
"My approach doesn't really change," Sutman said. "Just try to see the ball and crush it."
Burrows' emergence gives the Lancers (17-4) another arm heading to next week's state tournament. They have Mike Burrows, who nearly threw his third no-hitter of the season in Wednesday's quarterfinals and Sutman, who is Fairfield-bound next year.
Now there's a strike-thrower who may be used to start a tournament game, provided the Lancers hang around long enough. "I'll be ready," Jared Burrows said. "As long as I'm hitting my spots, I know I'll be OK."
• Chris Malcom's double to rightfield in the bottom on the seventh scored Luke Leonard from first base and broke a 2-2 tie as East Lyme advanced. Leonard led off the inning by drawing a walk. Blake Bragaw and Malcom had two hits each and Eric Patterson homered for East Lyme (13-10). Trystan Levesque was the winning pitcher, throwing a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and one walk. Bradley Kent and Ken Turner scored runs for Ledyard.