Windsor baseball season comes to an end
Published 12:00 am Thursday, June 14, 2007
WINDSOR—In a game that featured nine errors, Essex High School kept its dream alive for a single A regional championship by holding on to beat Windsor High School 9-6 in the quarterfinals of the regional baseball playoffs Tuesday.
Essex took advantage of walks and errors to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Leadoff batter Ryan Lowe doubled down the first base line off Windsor starter Chris Horne. Horne then walked Jonny Thomas. Jordan Wind then hit a groundball to Windsor first baseman Jacob Brown. Brown then hit pinch runner Robert Gardner in the back on the throw to second base, loading the bases. Horne then walked Delvin Hence and Daniel Davis to drive in the first two runs. Essex’s Cameron Williams knocked a grounder to second baseman Justin Clarke, who bobbled the ball and made a late throw to second, scoring another run.
Just when things looked bad for the Dukes (13-5), Windsor tied the game in the bottom of the first. With Mike Opauski and Ryan Acey on base, Clay Oakley crashed a three-run homer over the left field fence.
The tie did not last long. In the bottom of the second, Wind lined a single to right with two outs. Horne then walked Hence and allowed a single to center to Davis to score Wind and give the Trojans a 4-3 lead, which they would not lose.
Essex (14-6) scored three more in the fourth to take a 7-3 lead.
Windsor did not quit. With two outs in the fourth, Michael Moore doubled and later scored on a single to center by Opauski to cut the Essex lead to 7-4. The Dukes got two more in the fifth. Brown opened the frame with a single up the middle. Essex starter Jonny Thomas walked Oakley. Myers grounded out, but Matt Erwin hit a ground ball to third, which Hence tossed over the first baseman’s head, allowing two runs two score and putting Windsor within two runs at 8-6.
Trailing 9-6, Windsor created some drama in the bottom of the seventh. Oakley reached on an error and pinch hitter Joey Frilles lined a single to left center. But Essex hurler Ricky Volante came in to relieve and struck out Erwin and Justin Clarke on curve balls and coaxed Horne to ground out to end the game.
It was the final game for seven Windsor seniors.