Cheshire tops Naugatuck in super regional opener
“That’s typically what these guys have been doing all year long. The core of this group has been together since they were 7 years old and they are a gritty group and they battle. ( Godfrey) did a good job in a tough spot.” — Cheshire coach John Escoto
MERIDEN — The recipe for success for the Cheshire Senior American Legion team is no secret.
Quality pitching, immaculate defense and timely hitting.
No. 1 Cheshire checked off all three boxes Saturday, beating No. 4 Naugatuck 4- 0 in second game of the Southern Super Regional at Ceppa Field.
Cheshire will face fellow Zone 3 foe Southington at 4 p. m. Sunday while Naugatuck will take on Oakville in an elimination game.
Cheshire only collected four hits in the game but made them count, scoring twice in the fourth and twice in the fifth.
That was more than enough for Cheshire pitcher Aidan Godfrey, who threw a complete game, striking out four and allowing four hits.
“That’s typically what these guys have been doing all year long. The core of this group has been together since they were 7 years old and they are a gritty group and they battle,” Cheshire coach John Escoto said. “( Godfrey) did a good job in a tough spot. He’s a young kid, our least experienced pitcher on the mound and I think he earned a lot of respect from his teammates today.”
In the bottom of the fourth, Cheshire shortstop Ben Schena lead off the inning with an infield single and Ben Shadeck followed with a walk.
Two batters later, Cole Escoto singled to left but the ball got past the left fielder, allowing both runs to come home.
“All year we have been able to get base runners on and do our job,” Cheshire catcher Cole Escoto said. “( Godfrey) was throwing strikes and mowing them down. His two- seamer was working good and he was mixing in his curveball to the better hitters they had.”
In the fifth, Ryan Cyr delivered the big hit in the form of a two- out single down the left- field line scoring Escoto and Ian Battapaglia.
Naugatuck starting pitcher Nathan Deptula was sharp, only allowing the four hits while otherwise shutting down the vaunted Cheshire offense.
“The bottom line is, if you go out and give an effort like ( Deptula) did and we can’t put a zero on the board and expect to win,” Naugatuck coach Paul D’Agnone said. “They took advantage of our mistakes and that’s what good teams do. At this level, you have to play clean. Our pitchers give us a chance every single game but we need to clean up behind him.”
SOUTHINGTON 3, OAKVILLE 1
Returning from a back injury, Southington pitcher Nick Borkowski was not sharp in the two innings he pitched against Trumbull in the Pod D finals.
While he was off his game against Trumbull, that trip to the mound was apparently enough for Borkowski to regain his sharpness.
Borkowski took to the mound in the opening game of the Senior American Legion Southern Super Regional at Ceppa Field in Meriden, throwing just 76 pitches in tossing a complete game and leading No. 3 Southington to a 3- 1 win over No. 2 Oakville Saturday.
“I definitely had everything working today, especially the slider and changeup. In the first inning, I wanted to see what their top guys could do and they were some good hitters and I knew I needed to mix it up and start throwing firstpitch off- speed,” Borkowski said. “Those innings against Trumbull were very beneficial because coming off the injury, it was hard to get back in rhythm.”
Southington will play the winner of Cheshire vs Naugatuck Sunday while Oakville will play the loser.
Southington grabbed a 2- 0 lead in the top of the fourth with Jeremy Mercier walking and stealing second, coming in to score on a single to right by Tyler Cyr.
Cyr would score later in the inning on a single to leftfield by Dan Topper.
Oakville would get one back in the sixth on a double by Cam Defo and a single by Justin Guerra, bringing him home.
Southington got an insurance run in the seventh with Dylan Chiaro driving in Cyr with a single after Cyr reached on an infield error.
Southington stole five bases in the game.
“I thought Nick Borkowsi came out and pitched a great game. Nick struggled the other day in that loss to Trumbull and he came back today and pitched the best I have seen him,” Southington coach Marc Verderame said. “That’s our style, we had 100 stolen bases this year. It’s all about execution. The guys got steals and the guys behind them drove them in.”