Stonington beats East Lyme in eight to win first ECC baseball tournament title
Groton — History rarely comes with a blueprint. Maybe that's why it often looks like this: The kid who wasn't even in the program until this year ... wins the Tournament Most Valuable Player in the league championship game ... for the school that had never won the tournament before.
That would be Josh Georgetti, who didn't merely pitch four innings of brilliant relief Friday night, but ripped the game-winning, two-run single in the top of the eighth, leading Stonington High School to an 11-7 win over East Lyme in the Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament baseball final at Fitch High Schjool.
It was Stonington's first conference tournament championship, evidenced by the way catcher Griffin Crowley kissed the championship plaque.
"I'm excited for how well the team played. No one thought we had a chance, but we came through," Georgetti said, not long after his teammates celebrated the MVP award with him. "We were aware we'd never won this before and we emphasized it. This was going to be our night."
The fifth-seeded Bears (15-9) blew a 5-0 lead, but took a 7-6 lead in the top of the seventh on Kyle Whipple's RBI triple to center. They nearly gave it away in the bottom of the seventh, but Georgetti escaped a bases-loaded jam allowing only one run, forcing extra innings.
Georgetti's two-run single snapped a 7-7 tie in the eighth.
"I couldn't breathe," he said. "I never felt anything like it."
Kevin Ferrer and R.J. Parrilla followed with run-scoring hits to give the Bears room to exhale.
Ben Potenziano's two-out, two-run single in the first helped Stonington to a 5-0 lead.
"I came here two years ago hoping to put this program back on the map," Stonington coach Bob Cahoone said. "I wanted to get these kids interested in the program again. I can't say enough about this senior class and the one we had last year."
The Bears, too, contributed to more frustration for third-seeded East Lyme (21-3). Among all the notable achievements of recent years — gaudy win totals, impressive state rankings, state tournament success — the Vikes have missed one thing from their resume:
The chance to celebrate.
As in: that happy pile of humanity after a championship victory.
And they watched the other team celebrate again Friday night.
Consider what East Lyme, which has been without an ECC tournament title since 2012, has endured in recent years:
• A berth in the 2015 state championship game, during which the Vikings left the population of Flanders on base, resulting in a 3-2 loss to North Haven.
• A berth in the 2016 state championship game, during which the Vikings were the dreaded one strike away, before losing to Notre Dame of West Haven.
Matt Malcom had two hits for the Vikings and Matt Abbey walked four times. East Lyme will enter the Class L state tournament as the top seed.
m.dimauro@theday.com
2017 ECC AWARD WINNERS / BASEBALL
Following is a list of 2017 Eastern Connecticut Conference baseball all-stars and sportsmanship award winners:
Division I
First team – Pitcher: Ryan Kane (East Lyme), Ken Turner (Ledyard); Infield: Michael Williams (Fitch), Trevor Delesdernier (East Lyme), Hendrik Khoury (Fitch), Elijah Martinez (New London); Outfield: Connor McCrea (Fitch), Matt Abbey (East Lyme), Bryan Caisse (NFA); Catcher: Nick Smith (Ledyard); Designated hitter: Matt Malcom (East Lyme).
Honorable mention – Ian Cekala (Fitch), Vinny Gualtieri (NFA), Tyler Briggs (NFA), Jordan Lake (NFA), Owen Wheeler (Ledyard), Cade Walters (Ledyard), Aiden Brennan (New London), Sigfredo Hidaldo (New London), Luke Leonard (East Lyme), Chris Malcom (East Lyme), Jared Hunt (East Lyme).
Sportsmanship award – Jon Keens (East Lyme), Colton St. Louis (Fitch), Ethan Jarry (Ledyard), Noah Smith (New London), Cameron Brodeur (NFA).
Division II
First team – Pitcher: Collin Bakken (Waterford), David Redfield (Woodstock); Infield: Alex Petchark (Waterford), Kevin Rakowski (Bacon), Alex Quidgeon (Montville), Michael Burrows (Waterford); Outfield: Kevin Ferrer (Stonington), Tyler Cournoyer (Killingly), Tyler Yeomans (Waterford); Catcher: Seamus Barry (Montville); Designated hitter: Connor Woodworth (Stonington).
Honorable mention – Bryan Albee (Killingly), Matt Shane (Bacon), Sam Foster (Stonington), Evan Tortorigi (Bacon), Dan Castelpoggi (Waterford), Dylan Bosco (Waterford), Kyle Whipple (Stonington), Griffin Crowley (Stonington), Doug DelaCruz (Montville), Peter Swain (Bacon), Ryan Champagne (Montville).
Sportsmanship award – Matt Tiziani (Bacon), Brett Dexter (Killingly), Rob DelaCruz (Montville), Patrick Gately (Stonington), Matthew Driscoll (Waterford), Pat Houlihan (Woodstock).
Division III
First team – Pitcher: Ryan Skaff (Lyman), Wyatt Sihvonen (Lyman); Infield: Izaiah Thompson (Plainfield), Chris Peasley (Plainfield), Connor Svab (St. Bernard), Bryce Mileski (Griswold); Outfield: Henry Figueroa (Windham), Brendon Wood (Lyman), Chris Munzer (Wheeler); Catcher: Colton Bender (Lyman); Designated hitter: Josh Gurnack (St. Bernard).
Honorable mention – Kory Lazur (Lyman), Jake McAneny (Lyman), Matt Derosier (Plainfield), Kegan Marcoux (Plainfield), Tucker Freeman (St. Bernard), Steve Murphy (Griswold), Max Gregory (Griswold), Dylan Wilkinson (Wheeler), Bowen Baker (Wheeler), Caleb Melinosky (Wheeler), Jack Merrill (Tourtellotte).
Sportsmanship award – Brendon Doyle (Griswold), Joe Pishka (Lyman), Jack Goebel (Plainfield), Austin Malchiodi (St. Bernard), Mike Falco (Tourtellotte), Josh Lapid (Wheeler), Joe Buskey (Windham).
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