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Shoreline Cougars Finish Regular Season at 12-10-3

The Shoreline Cougars 18-U AAU baseball team played a pair of games last week to wrap up the regular season. Shoreline came away with a win and a tie to finish with a regular-season record of 12-10-3 record as the playoffs approach. The Cougars played the Technique Tigers to a 2-2 tie, before notching a 4-2 win over the TCB Outlaws.

On July 30, the Cougars faced two different opponents at the Connecticut Sportsplex in North Branford. In the first game, Shoreline went up against the Technique Tigers, and the two clubs finished in a 2-2 tie after eight innings of play. The Tigers opened the scoring with a run in the top of the fourth inning. The Cougars answered back in the bottom of the fourth to make it 1-1. Ross Meglin got on base with a line-drive single and moved up to second on a wild pitch. After Mike O’Toole drew a walk, Meglin took third on another wild pitch. The Cougars followed by executing a double steal to perfection with O’Toole safe at second and Meglin scoring by stealing home on the throw.

The game remained tied and went into extra innings, where the Tigers grabbed a run in the top of the eighth for a 2-1 edge. In the bottom of the inning, Shoreline pushed a run across the plate on another double steal to tie the game. Chris Garrelts walked and moved to third base after Alec Erskine singled. Head Coach Dennis Annicelli called for a double steal that saw Erskine swipe second base as Garrelts raced home for Shoreline. At the end of eight innings, the game was called a 2-2 tie, and the Cougars got ready for their next opponent.

In the nightcap, Shoreline squared off against the TCB Outlaws and earned a 4-2 victory. The Cougars went up 2-0 in the top of the second inning. O’Toole got it started by roping a double and then Darren Hiller singled to put runners at the corners. After an errant throw on pickoff, O’Toole scored and Hiller moved to second. Sam Erskine then drove in Hiller on a single to make it 2-0.

Shoreline added two more runs in the top of the fifth. Ryan Luther reached on an error, Noah Snyder dropped down a bunt single, and Garrelts singled to load the bases. Alec Erskine grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Luther, after which Snyder came home on a sacrifice fly by Owen Marica to make it 4-0. The Outlaws scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it was too little, too late.

—Chris Negrini