Norwich on the brink of elimination in state tourney

It was an instant American Legion baseball classic that took two days to complete. It also left Norwich on the brink of elimination.

South Windsor edged Norwich , 1-0, in 12 innings in the opening round of state tournament pod play Wednesday at Dickenman Field.

The game was a continuation of Tuesday’s night’s scoreless battle that was suspended due to darkness.

“It was an amazing game,” Norwich manager Becker Bordeau said. “The kids played their hearts out and everyone was in the game the entire time. It was good to see.”

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With Norwich’s Derrel Mitchell and South Windsor’s Sean Habeeb locked in a scoreless pitcher’s duel, the setting sun came into play in the late innings.

“Mitchell and Habeeb pitched a phenomenal game,” Bordeau said. “We just had to make stuff happen and we weren’t able to. We left way too many guys in scoring position. We couldn’t find ways to get guys in so that kind of hurt us in the end.”

Norwich nearly won the game on the final play in Tuesday’s darkness. With two outs in the bottom of the 10th and Chris Tonucci on base, David Reischerl doubled to the fence in right field. Tonucci, however, was thrown out at home plate.

“It was a perfect relay throw,” Bordeau said.

The teams returned to Dickenamn on Wednesday with the game resuming in the top of the 11th.

After Norwich right hander Yeremi Garcia set South Windsor down in order, Norwich threatened to score in the bottom of the 11th. Mitchell drew a leadoff walk against South Windsor righty Sam Balducci. Connor Doyle drew a one out walk to put runners on first and second but South Windsor turned an inning ending 6-4-3 double play.

South Wundsor scored the winning run in the top of the 12th. With one out, Andrew Goulet struck out but reached first base on a third strike passed ball. Garcia got the second out on a fly ball but Habeeb laced a two-out single to center. Brian Garvey followed with another base hit to center and Goulet raced home for a 1-0 lead.

Balducci got two quick outs in the bottom of the 12th. Kolby Quinn then kept Norwich’s hopes alive with a line drive single to left. Quinn, however, was thrown out at second base to end the game.

Tournament outlook

Besides South Windsor ((14-8), which finished in third place in Zone 3, Norwich’s four team pod includes Zone 3 champion Enfield (22-1) and RCP (Rocky Hill-Cromwell-Portland). RCP was seventh in Zone 3.

Two teams from each of the state’s four pods move on to the semifinals and finals in Middletown and South Windsor on Saturday.

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Norwich (13-10), the Zone 6 runner ups, will meet RCP (7-16) in an elimination game on Thursday at Dickenman Field. Enfield and South Windsor also play on Thursday, with the winner advancing out of the pod.

If Norwich defeats RCP,  Norwich will play the loser of Enfield-South Windsor at Dickenman Field to determine the second team that will advance to Saturday’s semifinals.

“South Windsor is a heck of a team,” Bordeau said. “They knocked us out of the state quarterfinals in 2019 and we tried to get a little redemption but hopefully we’ll see them again on Friday.”

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich on the brink of elimination in state tourney