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08/12/2018 12:00 AMThe Shoreline Cougars 18-U AAU baseball team’s season came to an end last week after Head Coach Dennis Annicelli’s club lost in the opening round of the East Shore Travel League Playoffs. In last week’s action, the Cougars closed out their regular season by sweeping a doubleheader from New Haven, after which they took a 5-3 loss against Connecticut Hank’s Yanks to finish the summer with an overall record of 14-11-3.
On Aug. 8, the Cougars took both ends of a doubleheader against New Haven at Haddam-Killingworth High School. Shoreline picked up a 5-4 walk-off win in the first matchup behind a late-inning push. New Haven got on the board with a run in the first inning and added another in third to take a 2-0 advantage. The Cougars scored a run in the bottom of the third, when Alec Erskine hit a line drive to left that scored Joe McGoey to make it 2-1.
New Haven scored two more runs in the top of the fourth to extend the lead 4-1, but the Cougars struck back in the bottom half of the frame to get back within one run. The Cougars put together back-to-back singles, and then Sam Erskine drove in two runs with a hot shot to left field to make it 4-3. Shoreline tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Darren Hiller stole home on a gutsy play. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Mike O’Toole worked a bases-loaded walk to force home the winning run and give Shoreline the 5-4 victory.
Hiller had a pair of hits and two runs scored, while Sam Erskine drove in two runs on two hits for the Cougars. McGoey also scored a pair of runs to go with a hit and a walk. Ian Danaher earned the win on the mound by pitching the top of the seventh inning, recording a pair of strikeouts.
In the nightcap, the Cougars claimed an 8-1 victory over New Haven. The game came down to the fifth inning, where Shoreline broke it open by scoring five runs in the frame. The Cougars grabbed an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning, when Ben Alonzo drove in Alec Erskine with a line-drive base hit.
The Cougars later had a big outburst in the fifth inning as they sent 10 men to the plate, doing much of their damage with two outs. McGoey got the inning started with a single, and then Noah Snyder dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Danaher got on base with a walk and, after a fielder’s choice put runners at first and third, Chris Garrelts drove in McGoey and Snyder with a single. O’Toole then laced a double that put two runners in scoring position against, after which Erskine singled home two more runs. Finally, Alonzo doubled home Erskine to make it 6-0.
New Haven put its first run across the plate in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-1. Shoreline added two more runs in the top of the seventh with a double from O’Toole that scored Griffin Izzo, followed by a single from Alonzo that scored O’Toole.
Snyder pitched a complete game for the win, notching notched six K’s in his performance. Alonzo had three hits and drove in three runs, while O’Toole notched two hits, two runs, and an RBI. Garrelts had a hit, scored a run, and drove in a pair of runs to go with a walk.
On Aug. 9, the Cougars faced Connecticut Hank’s Yanks in the East Shore Playoffs and were eliminated from the bracket by dropping a 5-3 decision.