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05/07/2017 12:00 AMThe Valley Regional baseball team dealt Shoreline Conference rival Morgan its first loss of the season by beating the Huskies 10-1 behind an outstanding performance from Colin Sparaco on May 3. Sparaco, a junior captain, contained the strong Huskies’ offense by pitching a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts at the Indian River Complex in Clinton. He also went 3-for-3 with a double, a RBI, and a run scored. Valley stood with a record of 6-9 following last week’s action, while Morgan is now 13-1.
“I was feeling great,” said Sparaco. “My infielders were making plays, and my pitches were all working. I felt great out there.”
The Warriors’ bats came alive versus Morgan as Valley put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in multiple innings, starting with the first inning. Senior captain Fletcher Suedmeier led off with a single against Morgan pitcher Drew Walton and then came around to score on a double to the left-center field gap by third baseman Garrhett Watrous, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Derek Hill (2-for-5, 1 run, 1 RBI) plated Watrous on a double before Walton got out of the inning.
Sparaco’s first inning looked like it might be an adventure as sophomore AJ Fritz stung a single, after which Madden Ward drew a walk and Russ Green reached on an error to load the bases. However, as was the case all night, Sparaco reached back and found what he needed to set down Morgan’s batters. Sparaco ended up striking out the side and looked comfortable even while working around the bases-loaded jam. Sparaco went on to set down the Huskies in order in the second and third innings.
Valley’s sophomore catcher Josh Ross could tell that his battery mate was working with some special stuff in this game.
“He was mixing his pitches,” said Ross, who drew three walks, scored a run, and had a RBI. “We attacked with the fastball early, and they couldn’t catch up to it. Then just bring out the curve and strike them out. He really had his curve working today; the best of the season.”
In the top of the fourth inning, the Warriors got started with back-to-back-to-back singles by Ryan Kelly (1-for-3, 2 walks), Sparaco, and Jeff Sypher (2-for-3, 1 run) to load the bases for Josh Ross, who worked a walk to bring in Valley’s third run. The major damage came later in the frame, when Warriors’ left fielder Brett Camilleri hit a bouncer to third. Morgan went home for the force out, but the throw was errant and bounced into the dugout, scoring three more Warriors for a 6-0 advantage.
After Morgan had played nearly flawless baseball to this point in the season, Huskies’ Head Coach John Litevich saw a squad that was a little rough around the edges on this night.
“Everything that we’ve been doing, we didn’t do tonight,” said Litevich, whose had posted a 2-1, nine-inning win over North Branford on May 1. “That’s the game of baseball. Sometimes that’s going to happen. The big thing is what I asked the kids tonight, ‘What are you going to do next game?’”
Trailing 7-0, the Huskies got on the board by scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth. Sparaco allowed a leadoff walk to center fielder Harry White, who was erased on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Fritz. After Nick Caprio fought for a walk, Ward cranked a double to deep left field that brought home Fritz. After that, Sparaco hunkered down and struck out Green looking to retire the side.
The Warriors added three more runs in the top of the sixth inning to put the final score at 10-1.
Valley Regional’s new Head Coach Brian Drinkard loved what he saw from his team against a previously undefeated Morgan squad.
“That’s the thing about being undefeated; baseball is a funny game. You just have to get on the field and play all 21 outs in high school baseball,” said Drinkard. “Any team can beat any team. We took it on the chin [in a 13-0 loss to Haddam-Killingworth earlier in the week], and we came back here today with our best pitcher on the mound. Every time Colin’s on the mound, we have a chance to win the game. It doesn’t matter who we play.”
The day after defeating Morgan, Valley was back on the road to face Cromwell and lost an 8-2 contest. With their record of 6-9, the Warriors need two wins in their last five games to qualify for postseason play. Coach Drinkard said that he wants his team to just focus just playing the game.
“I tell the players, we don’t have to win any specific game. There are no must-win games, but we can win any game,” Drinkard says. “That’s what we’re going with right now. We’re going to ride it out. Pitch, hit, catch, and just see what happens.”
On the other side of the diamond, Morgan has already punched its playoff ticket with a record of 13-1. As his Huskies enter the home stretch, Coach Litevich wants them to be in peak form when the postseason arrives.
“I talked to them a little bit and said we have to just get back to work,” said Litevich. “We were playing a little loose, too loose for me, but we were winning, so I wasn’t going crazy. Now, we’re going to tighten it up. My guys work, so they’ll be ready to go.”