Centaurs get the big hits
Getting the big hit when it matters. The Woodstock Academy baseball team did that against New London. It wasn’t there against Fitch.
“Rising to the occasion is what I have talked to them about. We just have to get better at being aggressive at the plate when we have the opportunities,” said Woodstock Academy coach Brian Murphy.
The Centaurs came into the week with an 8-5 mark, 3-2 in Division II of the ECC after a 4-2 win over the Whalers April 30 and a 3-0 loss to Fitch May 3.
The Centaurs had to show a little resiliency against New London. The Whalers held the 2-0 lead through the first 3 ½ innings.
That was until Woodstock Academy freshman Jonathan Smith came up with the big hit.
Luke Mathewson, Nathan John and Luis Miranda all singled to open the fourth inning for the Centaurs with Miranda’s single knocking home a run to cut the Whaler’s lead in half, 2-1.
Doug Newton tied it with a ground out before Smith ripped a shot to deep center for a two-run triple.
Smith almost wasn’t in the lineup for the Centaurs. He had been shut down for a couple of games due to arm soreness.
But Murphy pitched batting practice prior to the New London game and liked what he saw from Smith. “He was ripping the ball and |I took a gamble on him and the hunch paid off. That was a bomb he hit to center, probably 400-to-410 feet. It broke the game open and was really the dagger,” Murphy said.
He went the distance on the mound to raise his record to 5-1, struck out nine, walked one and gave up just five hits.
For the season, Mathewson sports a 0.71 earned run average with 45 strikeouts and only three walks. He has given up only 29 hits 39 1/3 innings.
It was a good win for the Centaurs who were coming off close losses to Waterford and Bacon Academy.
The Centaurs loaded the bases with two outs in the first on singles by Preston, Mathewson and John but a strikeout ended the threat.
Another threat loomed in the second on singles by Miranda and Tommy Li, but a pop out ended the opportunity.
In both the fifth and sixth innings, the Centaurs put runners on second and third with no outs, but four strikeouts, two in each inning, prevented the Centaurs from pushing a run across.
Li, Preston and Mathewson had two hits each for the Centaurs who had 10 hits, but struck out 12 times in the loss.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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2 wins shy
of tourney
Running the gauntlet.
It’s what the Woodstock Academy softball team did last week.
Waterford April 29, Stonington April 30 and Norwich Free Academy May 2.
Fortunately for the Centaurs, there was a game against Lyman Memorial May 4.
It helped the Centaurs’ spirits a bit as they handed the Bulldogs an 8-5 loss.
“I think it’s good to get back on track,” said Woodstock Academy coach Jason Gerum. “We had one of those weeks where you just happen to play some of the top teams all in a row.”
The Centaurs were certainly in the game against the Bears, losing in Stonington 8-7 on a walk-off home run.
The other two games – not so much.
The Lancers handed the Centaurs a 16-6 loss April 29 and the Wildcats showed no mercy in a 28-2 win May 2.
Those losses dropped Woodstock Academy to 6-7 and 0-4 in Division I of the ECC.
The Centaurs wasted no time against Lyman.  Heather Converse scored Julianna Nuttall with a sacrifice fly to give the Centaurs a 1-0 first inning lead.
Woodstock Academy made it 5-0 in the second inning when Megan Preston singled, Cami Corrado walked and Hannah Burgess, who came into the game hitting .658, knocked in a run with her fifth double of the season.
Nuttall followed with a two-run single and Converse drove in her team-best 17th run of the season with a single to make it 5-0.
The Centaurs went up by a half-dozen when Maria Scandalito singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitched and scored on a double steal.
Woodstock Academy finished off its scoring when Converse (2-for-2) singled and scored on a Mackenzie Leveille homer in the fifth.
The Centaurs did have to weather a bit of a storm in the bottom of the fifth inning when Lyman put up a five-spot.
The bumps and bruises had mounted earlier in the week.
The Centaurs only other pitcher, Preston, pulled herself out of the game against Waterford because of arm soreness.
Woodstock Academy, at the time, was only trailing the Lancers, 10-6, going into the top of the seventh.
Waterford scored six runs off Converse who was pressed into service in the circle.
Converse had a good day at the plate for the Centaurs, knocking in three runs against Waterford with her second triple of the season.
Nuttall, who now has 11 RBIs, drove in a pair and Burgess went 2-for-2 at the plate.
The game with Stonington was a pitcher’s duel through the first 5 ½ innings.
Two RBI singles by Nuttall and a Converse sacrifice fly had the Woodstock Academy up, 3-2, going into the bottom of the sixth.
That’s when all heck broke loose. The Bears put three runs up on the board in their half of the sixth. The Centaurs responded with four in the top of the seventh on an RBI double by Maia Corrado, a run-scoring triple by Scandalito and an Amanda Bond sacrifice fly.
The 7-5 lead did not hold up as Stonington drew a walk which was followed by a single and Maddy Stepski had the game-winning, inside-the-park, three-run homer.
The Centaurs just ran out of pitching against NFA and the Wildcats, one of the best offensive teams in the state, took advantage.
In total, it leaves the Centaurs two wins shy of the state tournament.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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Sports Minded
Lucy Gustafson, 6, of Putnam, throws the baseball around at First Fridays May 3. The theme was sports. More photos on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.

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