Berlin Baseball Blows Lead Then Blows It Open In Tourney Win

By Rick Volk

The 2013 season almost got away from the Berlin Redcoats. The Wilcox Tech Indians staged a five-run uprising in the bottom of the 7th to knot the game at 8-8, Wednesday at Platt High School, Meriden. Wilcox put the winning run on third with one out. Starter Mike Veronesi got Ricardo Vargas to bounce out. Two outs. Then Dan Daly crushed a liner up the middle which was snared by diving Redcoat second baseman Alec Norton to preserve the tie.

Granted new life in extra innings, Berlin loaded the bases for Dante Vasi. The junior first baseman’s blast to deep left center plated the first two of eight Berlin runs in the inning. Jordan Zima’s two-run single which followed led to a parade of hits – by Norton, Matt Rocco, Greg Konowski and Daren Grabowski – for a 16-8 margin. Sophomore reliever Dan Garofalo shut the door on Wilcox in the 8th, sending the Redcoats to a meeting this Saturday with Waterford in the CIAC Class L quarterfinals.

Berlin erased an early 3-0 Wilcox lead with a five-run 3rd, helped by a fielding error and featuring hits by Rocco, Konowski and Jeff Sylvester.

The Redcoats pounded out 16 hits, three each from Norton and Konowski, with Zima and Vasi driving in four runs apiece.

Veronesi(4-3) entered the 7th having retired six straight, with only five hits and three unearned recorded against him, but the Wilcox lineup unleashed a furious barrage with six of seven hitters delivering singles. When Tyler Crann doubled to tie the game, Wilcox was within 90 feet of walking off with the victory. It was Crann’s third hit on the afternoon.

It will be another road game for Berlin(15-7) at the home of Saturday’s opponent number two seed, Waterford, now 18-4 on the season. The Eastern Connecticut Conference team defeated Torrington 1-0 and Guilford 9-1 this week to join the Class L elite eight.

BERLIN (15-7)

• Greg Konowski rf 5-2-3
  
• Daren Grabowski cf 4-1-1
  
• Mitch Williams 3b 6-2-1
  
• Jeff Sylvester dh 4-3-1
  
• Dante Vasi lb 2-2-2
  
• Jordan Zima c 2-1-2
  
• Mike Baroni pr 0-0-0
  
• Alec Norton 2b 4-1-3
  
• Anthony Sisti lf 4-1-0
  
• Matt Rocco ss 4-3-2
  
• Logan Taricani ph 1-0-1
  
• 2B: Konowski, Vasi 2, Norton, Rocco
  
• RBI: Konowski 3, Grabowski 2, Vasi 4, Zima 4, Norton, Rocco
  
• BB: Konowski, Grabowski, Sylvester, Vasi 2, Zima, Sisti
  
• SF: Grabowski, Zima
  
• SB: Rocco
  
• P Mike Veronesi (W, 4-3) 7IP, 12H, 8R, 5ER, 0BB, 3K
  
• Dan Garafalo 1 IP, OH, 1BB
  

• Kris Hurst ss 5-0-0
  
• Raul Alvarado p 4-1-1
  
• Josh Edick c 4-1-1
  
• Tyler Crann lb 4-0-3
  
• Ricardo Vargas 2b 4-1-1
  
• Dan Daly dh 4-1-2
  
• Jason Sullivan 3b 3-0-2
  
• Nick Blais pr 0-1-0
  
• Tevin Robles cf 4-1-1
  
• Derek Madrid lf 4-1-1
  
• Zach Golebiewski rf 0-0-0
  
• 2b: Crann
  
• 3b: Sullivan
  
• RBI: Alvarado, Edick 2, Crann, Daly, Robles
  
• BB: Sullivan
  
• P: Raul Alvarado(L) 7.2 IP, 16H, 16R, 14ER, 6BB
  
• Angelo Calandra .1 IP, 1H, 0R