Three Area Baseball Teams Look To Take The Next Step

By Gavin Keefe, Day Sports Writer

Published on 6/05/2007 by The Day

One Eastern Connecticut Conference baseball team dodged a “nuclear bomb” in Saturday's state tournament quarterfinal. Two others set off their own brand of fireworks while advancing.

Waterford, Montville and St. Bernard play today in the semifinals for a berth in the state championship game.

Of the three survivors, the Class M top seeded Lancers (24-1) are the most fortunate to be still playing, completing a stunning comeback by scoring four runs in the seventh inning to beat Plainville, 5-4.

When asked if his team dodged a bullet, coach Jack O'Keefe said, “We dodged a nuclear bomb. We survived, that's the best way to say it. It got us to the next step. It was amazing.”

The next step is a meeting with No. 5 Woodland Regional-Beacon Falls (20-3) at 7 tonight at Eastern Connecticut State University. No. 11 Montville (19-6) plays No. 7 Seymour (19-4) at 3:30 in the first game of the Class M semifinal doubleheader.

St. Bernard (21-2), the Class S top seed, faces No. 12 Trinity Catholic-Stamford (15-8) at 7 tonight at Muzzy Field in Bristol.

There was no quarterfinal drama for Montville and St. Bernard.

Playing perhaps their best game of the season, the defending state champion Indians rolled past No. 3 Avon, 9-1, Saturday at McKenna Field.

“I'm just trying to stay out of their way,” Montville coach Phil Orbe said. “They're handling themselves as well as we could expect them to. ... I'm very much wowed by what they've been doing. And I'm typically very difficult to wow.”

Senior Chris Nott (5-2, 1.37 ERA) gets the start today. He pitched 5 1/3 innings in a 6-5 first round win in 12 innings over St. Joseph of Trumbull Tuesday.

St. Bernard also is riding a nice wave of momentum, coming off a 7-1 win over Career of New Haven in the quarterfinals. The Saints are looking to return to the semifinals for the second straight year.

“The kids are very upbeat,” St. Bernard coach Mike Garvie said. “We're feeling very good going into the game.”

Junior Patrick Lowery takes the mound today for the Saints. He's been the team's big game pitcher throughout the season and threw the ball well in an 8-4 second round win over Ansonia on Wednesday.

As the top seed, the Saints are confident but not overlooking any opponent at this late stage of the tournament. Seven seniors, including Dan Eagan, Michael Aldrich, Tyler Turgeon and Jeff Daley, form the heart of the team.

“We need to play well every inning of every game,” Garvie said. “And they've done that so far. ... Those four seniors have really kind of inspired the team and led the team.”

Waterford, which last won a state title in 2005, is loaded with talent. Pitching-wise, the Lancers are set up well, too. Senior Pat Epps is the starter tonight.

“We're set up a lot better now than we were...,” O'Keefe said of his pitching staff. “(Jake) Simon giving us four innings (Saturday) was huge. People lose sight of how important that was.”

Woodland also won in its last at-bat Saturday, beating Bacon Academy, 2-1, with a run in the seventh. The Hawks rely on strong pitching and defense, out-scoring opponents, 11-2, in three tournament games.

Saturday's comeback showed Waterford that anything can happen in state tournament play.

“They know they were close to going home the other night,” O'Keefe said. “They know the importance of playing seven innings. ... We're coming off a win that we did some things in the last inning that showed us how good we are and who we are.

“They're chomping at the bit to play again.”

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