https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/MHS-season-ends-in-second-round-but-still-a-11896516.php
MHS season ends in second round, but still a success
JIM BRANSFIELD
Published 12:00 am EDT, Tuesday, June 2, 2009
MIDDLETOWN -- It was the Stu Munro show at Palmer Field Tuesday night.
The Hand of Madison pitcher fired a one-hitter and got three hits himself, including a solo home run, to lead the Tigers to a 6-1 win over Middletown and knock the Blue Dragons out of the Class L state tournament in front of 500 fans.
"Munro was outstanding," said MHS coach Jason Serra. "He spotted his fastball, changed speeds and had a great breaking ball. He kept us off-balance all night. He just shut us down."
The only hit he allowed was a triple by Bud Phillips in the fourth inning. He struck out six, walked two and the run was unearned.
While Munro was dominant, Middletown starter Austin Brassaw matched him through three innings of a scoreless game. But things came apart in the fourth inning when Hand struck for five runs and did it in a blink of an eye.
Munro (3-for-4) opened the inning with a single on a 1-2 pitch and after Brassaw got a strikeout, Flynn Donovan singled moving Munro to second. Jeff Buck then singled on a 1-2 pitch back through the box for the first run of the game. Then came a turning point play.
The Middletown defense, clearly one of the team's strengths, made a mistake and it cost four runs.
Alex Shaw hit a made-to-order, one-hop double play ball to Kevin Sinagra at short. But Sinagra bobbled the ball for an instant. He got the out at second, but the relay throw to first was a step late. It wasn't an error, but by missing the DP, the Dragons left the door open a crack and the Tigers kicked it down.
Barrett Telford -- on a 1-2 pitch -- singled for a run to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead, then Brendan Maghini applied the hammer, a long three-run homer into the bleachers in right center. At 5-0, it was game, set, match.
"No question that missed double play was huge," said Serra. "If we get out of that with one run, who knows?"
But Serra also knew that Brassaw was unable to pick up his shortstop.
"Austin didn't have his best stuff tonight," said Serra. "I had confidence that he could get out of the jams in the fourth, because he had shown that ability this year. But he couldn't do it tonight. I thought maybe he'd get this hitter, then the next hitter ... but he didn't. He'd get two strikes, but couldn't put guys away."
Middletown got one run back in the home fourth and truth is, the Dragons were lucky to get that. With one out, Phillips got the only hit for MHS when he shot a ball to the wall in right center.
But he made a base-running blunder. With the play in front of him, for some reason he looked for help from Serra who was coaching third and slowed down while Serra frantically waved him on. The throw had him beat, but it bounced away and he slid in with a triple.
Phillips scored when James Aronne's two-out ground ball was kicked at short.
Hand got the run right back in its next at bat when Munro, after hitting a drive over the fence that was just foul, deposited the next pitch over the wall in left center. That earned Brassaw the rest of the night off in favor of Jason Woods.
After Woods walked the first batter, the junior retired the final nine hitters he faced, but the horse had long since left the barn.
"This year is a big stepping stone for us," said Serra. "I'm very proud of the kids. But this is a year to build on. The younger guys now see what has to be done to play at this level. Now we have a taste of what tournament play is like. We need to keep building on what we did this year."
Hand (11-11) will play Sheehan of Wallingford (14-8) at Quiqley Stadium in West Haven Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.