Pair of Ryans propels Blue Dragons

MIDDLETOWN — A double helping of Ryans — starting pitcher Hurlbert and reliever Conklin — plus a bases-clearing triple from pinch-hitter Chris Fritz helped launch Middletown’s baseball team to the .500 mark Monday.

Hurlbert, a junior righthander, went five-plus innings for the win, Conklin got the final six outs — four on strikeouts — for the save and the Blue Dragons beat Bristol Eastern 5-2 in a CCC South game at John Denunzio Field.

Middletown has won four of its last five to get to 7-7 and just one win from CIAC Class L tournament qualification. When you take into account the pitching, the cashing in on opportunities at the plate and pretty good defense, the Blue Dragons looked much better than a .500 team.

“When it was time for us to get a hit or move runners over, we did a heck of a job,” said coach Josh Cofield, who then tossed in his earlyseason mantra. “We’re playing unselfishly and for each other. The kids are buying in and it’s showing.”

Hurlbert held Bristol Eastern (8-7) scoreless through five innings. Cofield liked his fastball, but it was Hurlbert’s curve that shut down the Lancers. He struggled some with his release point, as many of the pitches hit the dirt early on. But all were blocked by his

catcher, senior Jake Radziewicz.

But in the third inning, Hurlbert started to settle in, perhaps the result of focusing in warmup on improving his release. With two outs, he threw a curve on a full count to Eastern’s No. 3 hitter, Josh Nohilly, and caught him looking for one of his six strikeouts.

“Jake did a really good job behind the plate. The curve was dropping so much the way it broke, by the time Jake caught it, it was in the dirt,” Hurlbert said. “On that 3-2 pitch, I painted it perfectly to the left-hander (Nohilly). That’s when I knew it was going to be a really good day.”

Said Radziewicz: “Early on he was choking it a bit, but as he progressed he got a good feel for the ball. He threw it for strikes but he was more effective when he threw it low and they swung and missed.”

Middletown gave Hurlbert a four-run cushion in the fourth. Ben Mrozcka led off with a single, Lucas Radziewicz was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, and Grayson Pizzonia walked to load the bases. Cofield then called on Fritz to bat for Jack Passamano.

Facing a 2-1 count, Fritz was waiting for a fastball and got one from Eastern right-hander Jagger Duquette. His line drive to left field passed over the head of Nohilly for a three-run lead. Fritz later scored on Brandon Godwin’s groundout.

“It was a two-seamer inside and coming in on me, and I just let my hands go,” Fritz said. “I took off running and hoped for the best. It felt good off the bat and I was pretty satisfied with the result.”

Middletown scored its fifth run in the fifth. Kobe Watanabe led off with a single, stole second, went to third on a flyout and scored on Mrozcka’s sacrifice fly.

Eastern’s offense broke through in the sixth inning, but Middletown limited the damage when it seemed the Lancers were poised to score more than twice. It felt like a victory in itself.

Hurlbert walked Matt D’Amato and gave up a double to Nohilly, and that was it for him. Conklin took the ball and found himself up against the Lancers’ cleanup hitter, MacGregor Goulet, who ripped a double toward the 354 sign in rightcenter. Jon Pierce reached on an infield hit, giving the Lancers runners at the corners with no one out and two runs already across.

And that was that, because Conklin struck out the next three batters.

“He is probably one of the toughest baseball players I have ever met,” Cofield said. “He puts a lot on himself. He expects to be excellent. He did an excellent job.”

Fritz said he noticed an air of excitement from his teammates in pre-game, which seemed to be a sign of good things to come.

“I could tell we had a really high level of energy going in,” he said. “Ryan Hurlbert pitched a heck of a game and this win carries a lot of momentum going into a big week. We focused on playing better baseball and we’re seeing good results.”