Coginchaug baseball was off to a great start at the beginning of their season, going 4-0 in their first four games. Following this great start, the boys dropped four of their next five games, each game well contested coming down to the final innings. No game was lost by more than one run. The Devils tallied up a 6-4 overall record at the time. Not ready to finish the season with a losing record, the boys went on to win four of the following five games against the likes of East Hampton, Portland, Haddam-Killingworth and North Branford. Each team had a similar if not better record than the Devils at the time, so each win was very hard to come upon.
On Friday, April 28, the boys traveled to East Hampton to take on the 6-5 Bell Ringers. East Hampton got off to an early lead and led by 3-4 entering the sixth inning. The Devils were able to get the tying run to even the game out at 4-4. Neither team was able to get a run in for the remainder of the sixth and the entire seventh inning. The Devils soon took the lead at the top of the eighth inning and went up 7-4. The Bell Ringers were unable to come back, and the Devils won 7-4.
Following this momentum-building victory, the Devils hosted the 7-4 Highlanders of Portland on Sunday, April 30. The Highlanders proved to be no match in this meeting, as the Devils took the early lead and didn’t look back. Coginchaug completely shut down Portland on the offensive end and came out with the 6-0 victory.
After dropping a competitive matchup against Cromwell at home by a score of 2-1, the Devils returned home to take on the 11-3, and No. 2 in Shorelines, Haddam-Killingworth. When these teams last faced each other, it was H-K who came out with the win following a walkoff in the bottom of the seventh inning that broke the 0-0 tie. In the first inning, the Devils went up 3-0 over the Cougars and were able to hold onto the lead for the majority of the game. In the sixth and seventh innings, the Cougars clawed their way back into the game and tied it 3-3 after two RBI’s. The Devils shut down the comeback effort at the top of the seventh, and the game went to extra innings. In the eighth inning, the Devils again shut down any attempted score by the Cougars and were presented with the chance to win the game. MacGuire O’Sullivan was the winning run on base for Coginchaug. He advanced to third base, and Cal Pitruzzello was up for the Devils with two outs. An error by the first baseman allowed O’Sullivan to score, and the Devils won 4-3.
In the final game in this five-game span, the boys traveled to North Branford on Thursday, May 4. The Devils once again came out victorious (4-1 final) and moved to No. 9 in Class S.
Looking at the remainder of the season, four of the Devils’ last six games are at home against very tough teams such as Morgan, Valley Regional, Old Lyme and East Haven (out of conference). These games will prove to be very important for the Devils who are trying to improve their Shoreline and state record before the playoffs for each respective tournament. Check our website for details of the boys’ next big matchup on Monday, May 8 against the top team in Shorelines, Morgan, who just recently lost their first game of the season by a score of 10-1 to Valley Regional. This game gives the Devils a lot to prove against the team that was previously ranked No. 6 in the state before their first loss.
