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Sports

Post 96 Juniors Settle for 2nd Place in Zone 7 Race

Vogel-Freedman tosses a two-hitter in first game but RCP scores a decisive victory in the nightcap to win the zone title by a game.

The offerings of a savvy southpaw and two crushing extra-base hits had West Hartford Post 96 on the verge of something special in the Junior American Legion Zone 7 pennant race.

The novice Legionnaires came into Saturday’s doubleheader against Rocky Hill-Cromwell-Portland Post 105 a game behind and in need of a sweep to clinch the top spot.

They put themselves in position with a crisp 3-0 win in the opener, but RCP claimed its first title with a 4-0 decision in the nightcap at Mandell Field on the campus of Kingswood-Oxford.

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RCP finishes the regular season with a 15-5 record having won three of four from West Hartford (14-6). With the title, RCP gains a slot among the top eight seeds while Post 96 likely will have to survive at least one play-in game to qualify for the sweet 16.

RCP celebrated by dousing coach Jim Nursick with a cooler full of ice water while West Hartford could only hope a rematch is in the cards.

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“They’re disappointed. We had a shot at it,” West Hartford coach Dennis Hannigan said. “They knew we were right in it until the end and with one key base hit we might have pulled it off.

“They battled right to the end and we told them we’re proud of them. We told them to hold their heads up and be ready for the state playoffs.”

The opener belonged to West Hartford left-hander Max Vogel-Freedman.

The Conard High hurler used his breaking stuff to keep RCP hitters off-balance, yielding just two hits and two walks in a route-going effort. He struck out seven, allowing just two base runners to get as far as second base. He retired the first hitter in every frame.

“If I can get ahead in the count, I can throw the breaking pitch, and that’s when I know I can be effective,” Vogel-Freedman said.

West Hartford took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. John DiNucci reached on an error and scored on a triple by Brendan Fox that soared over the head of centerfielder John Scovill.

Vogel-Freedman set down the first seven batters before issuing a walk. RCP’s first hit came with one out in the fourth when Kevin Francis stroked a clean single to center. The other safety came with two out in the seventh when Cole Ogorzalek lashed the first pitch into left.

West Hartford added two insurance runs in the sixth on DiNucci’s titanic two-run double off a concrete retaining wall in right field about 350 feet from home plate.

The shot had fans chattering about the blast by Mo Vaughn back in the mid-80s that cleared a house on Outlook Avenue. The former Red Sox slugger, playing for Trinity-Pawling at the time, was considerably bigger than DiNucci and used an aluminum bat.

“I haven’t been hitting that well lately,” said DiNucci, who also logs reserve time with the senior Legion squad. “I was hot earlier in the year and sort of died down a little, but I guess this game it came out. It was a pitch inside and I liked it.”

The snow fence that defines a home run ball in left and center was rolled up. Had it been extended, DiNucci’s shot would have been a no-doubter, but grounds rules designate the 15-foot-high retaining wall as the home run barrier.

“I was rounding second and thought maybe it had the distance. I slowed up a little then saw it hit the wall,” he said. “I don’t mind. Hopefully one will come in the playoffs.”

In the second game, West Hartford bats were numbed by B.J. McNaughton. The Cromwell High right-hander scattered four hits and two walks while fanning five.

“He’s our horse,” Nursick said. “We’ve used him in all our tough situations. … He knows what’s got to be done on the field.”

RCP used aggressive baserunning to score a run off Drew Leach in the first inning. A double by Francis and single by Nick Stokke set the table for a two-run double by Logan Lessard in the sixth. A sacrifice fly by Christian Budzik salted the contest away in the seventh.

RCP stole six bases and collected nine hits, two by Francis and three by Scovill.

West Hartford went 2-for-17 on the day with runners in scoring position, but the shortcoming in no way maligned a successful campaign.

“We could have had a couple more wins but we’ve done a very good job,” Hannigan said. “But we’re a young team with only two returning players (DiNucci and Leach) who stepped up big for us. You can’t complain.”

 

Game 1

West Hartford 3, RCP 0

(at Mandell Field, Kingswood Oxford)

 

RCP                                        West Hartford

                           ab  r  h  bi                                ab  r  h  bi

Budzik ss-p       3  0  0  0       Robinson rf        4  1  0  0

Ryan 2b             3  0  0  0       DiNucci cf          4  1  1  2

Francis lf            3  0  1  0       Leach 1b             3  0  1  0

Stokke 1b           3  0  0  0       Fox ss                 2  0  1  1

LoBello 3b         3  0  0  0       Nunes dh            2  0  0  0

Lessard rf           2  0  0  0       VogelFrmn p      0  0  0  0

Davenport p-ss  3  0  0  0       Coursey 2b        3  0  0  0

Ogorzalek c        2  0  1  0       Laffin lf              3  0  0  0

Scovill cf            2  0  0  0       Dobbins 3b        1  0  0  0

                                                Rossmeisl c        3  1  1  0

 

Totals                 24  0  2  0     Totals                 25  3  4  3

 

RCP                   000 000 0 – 0  2  2

West Hartford    100 002 x – 3  4  1

 

E – Ryan, LoBello, Fox. LOB – RCP 6, West Hartford 10.

2B – DiNucci. S – Dobbins. SB – Nunes, Fox, Rossmeisl.

 

RCP

                                 ip     h   r  er  bb  so

Davenport L            5.2   4   3   0   5   5

Budzik                     0.1   0   0   0   0   1

 

West Hartford

Vogel-Frmn W         7      2   0   0   2   7

 

WP – Davenport 2. HBP – by Vogel-Freedman (Scovill). T – 1:38.

 

Game 2

RCP 4, West Hartford 0

 

RCP                                        West Hartford

                           ab  r  h  bi                                ab  r  h  bi

Budzik ss           2  1  1  1       Robinson rf        4  0  1  0

LoBello eh          3  0  1  0       DiNucci cf          3  0  1  0

Francis lf            3  1  2  1       Leach p-1b         3  0  1  0

Stokke 1b           3  1  1  0       Fox ss                 2  0  0  0

McNaughton p  2  0  0  0       Cook 1b             1  0  0  0

Lessard rf           2  0  1  2       Fisher p              2  0  0  0

Davenport 3b     3  0  0  0       Coursey 2b        2  0  1  0

Ryan 2b             2  0  0  0       Dobbins 3b        3  0  0  0

Jylkka ph           1  0  0  0       McGoldrick lf    1  0  0  0

Ogorzalek c        2  1  0  0       Nunes lf             2  0  0  0

Scovill cf            3  0  3  0       Rossmeisl c        3  0  0  0

 

Totals              26  4  9  4        Totals              26  0  4  0

 

RCP                   100 002 1 – 4  9  2

West Hartford    000 000 0 – 0  4  1

 

E – Davenport, Ryan, DiNucci. DP – West Hartford 2.

LOB – RCP 7, West Hartford 7. 2B – Scovill, Francis, Lessard.

SF – Budzik. SB – Nunes, Fox, Budzik 2, LoBello, Francis,

Scovill, McNaughton. CS – McNaughton, Robinson.

 

RCP

                                 ip     h   r  er  bb  so

McNaughton W       7     4   0   0   2   5

 

West Hartford

Leach L                    3     4   1   1   3   4

Fisher                       4     5   3   3   1   3

(Leach faced 2 batters in 4th)

 

WP – McNaughton, Fisher. PB – Rossmeisl. HBP – by Leach

(LoBello). T – 1:36. A – 40.

Records – RCP 15-5; WH 14-6.

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