Bobcats reach final
Brookfield to face Guilford in championship game
MIDDLETOWN — It has been a postseason of firsts for Brookfield.
The Bobcats were already playing in their first state semifinal on Tuesday. Now, they’re going to play in their first state final.
Behind the combined 2hit pitching of Matt McDowell and Casey Katz, No. 5-seeded Brookfield topped No. 9 Notre DameWest Haven 3-1 in a Class L semifinal contest at Palmer
Field in Middletown on Tuesday,
Brookfield advances to the program’s first title game and will face No. 3 Guilford on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Palmer Field in Middletown.
“It’s awesome,” said Brookfield coach Matt Hart, whose team improved to 21-6. “It’s the first time in program history. I couldn’t have asked for more from this group. We have a lot of young guys and a few older guys that lead by example, and they have led us the whole year. I couldn’t be happier for a better group this year, but we keep saying we are not finished yet.”
McDowell went five innings for the Bobcats, dancing out of three jams, before Katz retired the last four batters by strikeout to clinch Brookfield’s first state title appearance.
Katz came up big in the sixth when he allowed a two-out double by Notre Dame’s Connor Martinello, then struck out Matthew Piechota to end the threat. Katz then retired the side in order in the seventh to end Notre Dame’s hopes of returning to the state title game for the first time since 2016.
“I felt really good today,” Katz said. “I was a little nervous. I haven’t pitched in a couple of weeks. My mindset was just to throw strikes and let my teammates make the plays. I think we have one of, if not the best defense in the state, so that was just my mindset to just throw strikes.”
The Bobcats, who lost in the South-West Conference championship game, never trailed and took a 2-0 lead after three innings.
In the second inning, Tanner Wall scored from second on a wild pitch and when Notre Dame catcher Kevin Milewski’s throw sailed into left field.
Brookfield then turned to its defense to get out of a second inning jam as Notre Dame had two runners on with no one out. A fly ball to center by Nick Hunkele was caught by Sam Consalvo, and Notre Dame pinchrunner Justin DeJesus was called out for leaving second early while attempting to tag up.
“I am really proud of
these boys,” Consalvo said. “Getting on the board first was huge. We had Matt (McDowell) out there throwing great.
“Me and my coach have been working on that at practice. We have a play where the guy is tagging up, we kind of let it (ball) drop into place to try to get the guy to do exactly what he did. That’s what happened. I let it drop into place, he left early, and we doubled him up.”
The Bobcats increased the lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the inning when McDowell walked, moved to second on a sacrifice by Consalvo, and scored on a two-out single to center by Garrett McGovern.
Notre Dame scored its only run of the contest in the fourth inning when Milewski led off with a walk, moved to third on a one-out single by Martinello, who had both Notre Dame hits, and scored on a passed ball.
“We didn’t get the timely hit,” Notre Dame coach Don Martone said after his team closed the season with an 18-8 record. “I was afraid we were going to have one of these games where the at bats were going to be off. Today was that day. We had two hits. No team is going to be able to win, especially with the kid they threw.
“You can’t make three errors and get only two hits and expect to advance. They outplayed us. They pitched better, they hit the ball better today, and they played better defense. They played better baseball today.”
Brookfield got the run back in the bottom of the inning when Connor Jordan led off with a walk, and two-out singles by McDowell and Consalvo produced the third run of the game.
“Energy and absolutely our pitching,” Hart said when asked about the keys to getting to the title game. “We have what we feel are two of the best pitchers in the state. You are talking about a guy (Katz) who just comes in and nothing bothers him. We just get it done. At the
plate, we battle. Two outs, two strikes, we find a way to get it done.”
The Green Knights had two more scoring opportunities, but they stranded a runner on second in each of the fifth and sixth innings.
McDowell went five innings for Brookfield, allowing one hit, while striking out six and walking five. Katz allowed one hit and struck out four in two innings of relief.
Hunkele went the distance for Notre Dame, allowing six hits, while striking out three and walking four.
PLAYER OF THE GAME Consalvo —
Sam
Brookfield junior had two hits and drove in a run, and also had a key defensive play, resulting in a double play to end a Notre dame threat.
QUOTABLE
“It’s just chemistry. We all love each other. We root for each other.” — Brookfield’s Sam Consalvo on advancing to the state title game.
GUILFORD BLANKS BERLIN
Two years ago, Guilford finished 2-16 for thenrookie head coach Nick Merullo.
Oh, how times have changed.
The Grizzlies defeated Berlin, 1-0, in the CIAC Class L semifinals at Palmer Field for their 18th consecutive victory. Guilford, now ranked No. 2 in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll, hasn’t lost since being beaten by Notre DameWest Haven, 11-9, on April 19.
Third-seeded Guilford (24-3) will play fifth-seeded Brookfield (21-6) in the finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Palmer Field in Middletown. The Grizzlies won their last state title in Class L in 2007 when they defeated Pomperaug.
“It’s been a product of hard work and a long look in the mirror from our players and coaching staff,” Merullo said. “Two years ago, there were some talented young kids we knew would have a good chance a year or two later. Everyone bought in and trusted the process that we knew would help make us successful. We started to see little steps last year when we went from two wins to 12.”
And the turnaround is almost complete.
“This has been a special group and no matter how it turns out, we’re proud of our players,” Merullo said. “It’s one game at a game and, fortunately for us, we have the big one left.”
It didn’t take very long for Guilford to get on the board. Lucas Ametrano, the second batter of the game, hit a 0-1 hanging curve off the scoreboard in left center to make it 1-0.
“It was a hanging curve and I was ready for it,” Ametrano said. “I’ve been trying to work opposite field, but it hung inside and I just crushed it.”
“Lucas is a guy taking good at bats of late,” Merullo said. “He’s been a great player and put as good of a swing as he could.”
After that, Guilford was held hitless by Berlin sophomore righthander Jonah Shackford, who issued four walks, didn’t allow another runner past second base and retired the final 10 batters he faced.
“We lost on a one-hitter and it happened to go out the park,” Berlin coach Leo Veleas said. “It stinks when you lose, and Shack made one bad mistake.”
But it was Guilford senior righthander Andrew Shosho who stole the show on the mound. He allowed just three hits and one walk and only allowed one runner past first base, with that coming in the third inning when John O’Brien singled down the left field line and stole second.