Chase Doyle slides home safely following his two-run double in the Chargers’ half of the third inning.
By Rich Bevensee
By all player accounts it was only a matter of time before Housatonic Chargers Columbia 15U ballclub exploded on offense.
The team from Newtown, Connecticut, scored seven runs in a tie with Rams Baseball Club Keaney, and in an 8 a.m. game the next day scored just four in a loss to MVP New England Marucci.
The Chargers feel their true identity was revealed in their next game, one in which they didn’t have to rise out of bed at the crack of dawn.
Led by Christian Civitano, the Chargers offense enjoyed a colossal outburst at the plate and ran roughshod over MVP East End Espo, 17-3, in the 15U Northeast Championship on Wednesday at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
The Chargers (7-3-1) improved to 1-1-1 in the tournament while MVP (7-9-1) dropped to 1-2.
Playoffs begin Friday with 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. semifinals. The top four teams in the 30-team, 15U field qualify for the championship bracket and the next four teams play in the Silver Bracket playoffs on Friday. The championship game for both brackets is slated for 12:15 p.m.
The Charger probably most pleased with the offensive outburst was starting pitcher Peter Farquharson. A monster 13-run rally in the second inning allowed the rising sophomore at New Milford High to aggressively attack hitters with all four of his pitches – a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball and changeup.
Farquharson, a 5-10, 145-pound righty, allowed three runs on five hits with no walks over four innings. He also helped himself by going 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI.
“Yeah that was pretty nice. A little less stress on the arm,” he said of the game-busting rally. “I relied on my slider because I can really reach over the plate and get guys off-balance. I came out of the bullpen feeling really hot.”
As a freshman this past spring Farquharson pitched primarily in relief for New Milford and posted a 1.70 ERA.
Civitano, the Chargers’ No. 3 hitter, went 3-for-4, drove in runs with all three hits and scored twice. He’s a rising, 5-8, 175-pound junior at Immaculate High in Danbury, Conn., who uses a noticeably open stance while in the box.
“I’ve been doing that since I was a kid,” Civitano said. “I turn my head all the way and I make sure I can see the pitcher with two eyes. Pre-setting myself like that, I can really launch the ball.”
Civitano is primarily a catcher but played first and third base for Immaculate last spring. He started a third for the Chargers and was the team’s only player with three hits on Wednesday.
“I’ve been very consistent up at the plate this summer,” Civitano said. “I’ve been looking for balls I can pull, looking for balls I can drive and hit hard. My approach, two strikes or not, I’m looking to hit a ball hard and looking for gaps.”
Charlie Edwards trots home to meet his MVP teammates after hitting a solo homer in the first inning.
Mario Brito-Trinidad, a rising 5-6, 137-pound sophomore at the Kent School in Kent, Conn., was an attention getter from the outset as the Chargers’ leadoff hitter.
He began the game by rifling a shot into right field and legging out a double, then used his speed to score on a shallow single to center by Civitano. Brito-Trinidad finished 2-for-4 and scored three runs.
Notching two hits in the game was a boost of confidence for the Kent native.
“I struggled a little bit in the beginning of the summer but things are going good,” Brito-Trinidad said. “I feel like I broke through today. It’s been a struggle mostly because I’m just trying to figure out the mechanics of my swing, but I’m getting closer. My swing felt great today. I’m focused on thinking more simply because a lot of thoughts get into my head and I know that’s not the proper way to play baseball.”
The Housatonic Chargers get their name from the Housatonic River, a 150-mile waterway which runs through Connecticut and Massachusetts. Like the Housatonic, it seemed the Chargers’ offense would stretch indefinitely in the third inning.
The Chargers sent 20 batters to the plate and scored 13 runs on eight hits, five walks, one hit batsman and one error.
For the game, Chase Doyle doubled, walked, drove in three runs and scored twice. Joseph Anton tripled, walked, was hit by a pitch and drove in two runs. Frankie Pusilico singled, doubled and knocked in three runs. Justin Twitchell had an RBI single.
For MVP, based in Center Moriches, Long Island, N.Y., Chase Edwards launched his first home run of the summer, a solo shot in the first inning. Ben Stuhler accounted for two of MVP’s five hits with a single and double. Brandon Johnson had an RBI single.
Colin Grisch worked 3⅔ innings for MVP, Holden Tenety pitched to three batters in the third and Michael Boyd pitched two-thirds of an inning.