A fast start
Montville-NL topples Rocky Hill in opener of Section 3 tourney
— Orlando Gonzalez has
Montville a (somewhat) secret strategy when it comes to the coin flip which decides who will be the home or visiting team.
He likes to go against the grain a little bit and have his Montville-New London Little League all-star team bat first.
"One of the things our coaching staff has talked about is set the tempo early," Gonzalez said. "We take visitors because we like to get the motivation and the momentum early. I feel good about our kids ... they're good hitters."
Montville-New London won the opening game of the Connecticut Section 3 tournament Saturday, 6-2 over Rocky Hill. They did so by scoring two runs on two hits in the top of the first inning against Rocky Hill ace Paulie Crisatlli, a hard-throwing right-hander who dwarfed many of the Montville-New London players.
With one out, Jack Treat drew a walk. Eddie Torres singled, sending Treat to third, and took second on defensive indifference. Desmond Powers then hit a ground ball to shortstop which he beat out for a single, scoring Treat, and Torres raced home on an error.
Montville-New London added one in the second on a single by Luke Chapman, a two-base error and an RBI groundout by Eric Richmond, and one in the third on a double by Treat and an RBI single chopped up the middle by PJ Evans. That gave the team a 4-1 lead.
Treat, Powers and Bradley Strickland had two hits each and Chapman pitched 3.2 innings of relief for the victory, combining with starter Andrew McElwee to allow just five hits.
Chapman came on with two on and one out in the third and got the final two outs on two pitches. He allowed a run on two hits in the fourth, but got a pickoff from catcher Luis Anaya to end the inning. In the fifth, with two on once again, Chapman picked up a chopper in front of the mound with his bare hand and threw to first for the third out.
Torres, the shortstop, scooped up a sharply hit ball up the middle and threw to first for the game's final out.
Montville-New London, the District 10 champion in the 11-12-yearold age bracket, will play District 9 champion Guilford at 3 p.m. Sunday, also in Montville. Guilford will play Rocky Hill on Saturday, Sept. 26. The two teams with the best record in the round-robin tournament will play for the sectional title on Sunday, Sept. 27.
"We've been working on hitting faster pitching," said Treat, whose team took batting practice a few times during the district tournament off Ledyard High School coach and former major league pitcher Scott Chiasson. "It's just about confidence ... go up there and not be scared.
"Today went great. Everyone did their part. Luke did a good job pitching ... Andrew. We're excited (to play again Sunday). We're probably going to face their best pitcher again. We just need to be ready."
Gonzalez said he presented Chapman with the game ball. There were other options on a deep pitching staff should Chapman have faltered.
"When you've got somebody riding like Luke was, (you just let him finish)," Gonzalez said. "I couldn't be more proud of Luke. Luke held it down for four innings, 3.2 innings . ... Just to see him evolve."
Gonzalez said that from the time the district tournament ended until now, Montville-New London, which combined this year due to a shortage of players as a result of COVID-19, has worked a lot on its already solid defense. Treat and Torres, as they did in the district championship game, turned a double play Saturday.
"You're going to beat us," Gonzalez said. "We're not going to beat ourselves.
"We've come together as a community. It's something great. I'll never forget this." v.fulkerson@theday.com