Baseball Holds Off Hopkins for FAA Title

Brunswick turned back a late Hopkins rally in the FAA Baseball Championship on Monday, as the host Bruins edged the Hilltoppers by a 4-3 margin for the victory. Brunswick senior pitcher Trystan Sarcone went the distance for the Bruins, as the lefty hurler struck out a career-high 14 batters in seven innings.

 

The 2018 title was the third league championship in four years (2015, 2016) for the second-seeded Bruins.

 

Brunswick (17-5) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a one-out RBI single to centerfield by Aidan Redahan. The Brunswick second-baseman drove in James Sassi from second, as Sassi earlier reached base with a single and moved to second after a walk to Thomas Doster.

 

The Bruins had a chance to widen their lead in the fifth inning after putting the first two runners on base. However, with runners on first and second, a 1-6 pick-off by Hopkins got the lead runner out. The Hopkins pitcher later enticed the next Brunswick batter into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double-play.

 

Trailing 1-0, the fourth-seeded Hilltoppers (10-8) opened the sixth inning with consecutive singles off of Sarcone. The next Hopkins batter reached base on a fielder’s choice on a sacrifice bunt, beating out the throw to first base after the fielder considered throwing out the lead runner at third base on the bunt.

 

With the bases loaded and no outs, Sarcone whiffed the next two batters. Hopkins, though, tied the game on a two-out single to right. On the play, Brunswick’s right fielder, JD Sparks, grabbed the ball quickly and kept the potential go-ahead runner on third with a strong throw home. Sarcone refocused and K’d the next batter on three pitches to get out of the jam.

 

In the bottom of the sixth of a 1-1 game, Hopkins carefully pitched around leadoff hitter Aaron Sabato, as the slugger drew his team-leading 19^th walk on his final plate appearance for Brunswick. Sabato reached third base on a Jake Hyde infield single, as an errant and late throw to first allowed Sabato to advance to third. Sassi drove in Sabato on a sac-fly to center to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

 

After Hyde stole second during Doster’s at-bat, Doster drove Hyde in with an RBI double with one out. A walk to Redahan and a single by pinch-hitter Jack Griffin loaded the bases for the Bruins. During a pick-off attempt at first base by Hopkins, Doster sprinted home and beat the throw to the dish to give the Bruins a 4-1 advantage.

 

Down to their final three outs, the visitors would not return to New Haven without a fight. In the top of the seventh, Hopkins opened the frame with a single up the middle. Following a pair of fly-outs, the Hilltoppers mounted a two-out rally with back-to-back RBI doubles off of Sarcone to cut the Brunswick lead to 4-3.

 

With the tying run on second base, Sarcone reared back and struck out his 14^th batter to seal the FAA Championship for the Bruins.

 

Sarcone (2-0) picked up the win with the complete game performance. The co-captain struck out 14, walked one batter, and allowed three earned runs. Doster went 2-2 from the plate, collecting the Bruins lone extra-base hit with an RBI double. Sassi and Redahan each had RBI singles, while Hyde, Griffin, and Sparks all added singles.

Watch the replay of the game here: https://locallive.tv/archives/27687

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