In its June 7 Division 3 first-round matchup against Sutton in the Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association baseball tournament Monday, Bromfield batters blitzed the Sammies late in the game to walk off with an 11-7 win.
Sutton was ahead 2-0 at the top of the sixth inning as Bromfield stepped up to bat, but by the time the last Trojan had been retired, the team had scored nine runs on a blizzard of hits and taken the lead, 9-2.
Lonnie Quirion, coach Lonnie Quirion’s son, led off with a single to left field and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Chase Donahue then doubled to left field, scoring Quirion for Bromfield’s first run of the game. “Being down by one run, I was just trying to get the game tied,” recalled coach Quirion. “So, I had Zack Pelak bunt Donahue to third base. His bunt was perfect and they ended up throwing it away, so Donahue scored and Pelak made it to second base.”
A second bunt, this one by Tommy Nigzus, sent Pelak over to third and Nigzus to first. John Diaconis then hit a dribbler that Sutton couldn’t make a play on, and Pelak scored, giving Bromfield a 3-2 lead, with runners on first and second.
Zach Shipman then drew a walk to load the bases. Eli Labbe hit a little blooper to center field to get Bromfield a 4-2 lead. Ethan Fitzsimmons and Graham Benway both singled to keep the rally going. Quirion came to bat again and doubled to drive in both Benway and Fitzsimmons to make it 8-2. Donahue then singled to drive in Quirion and finish off the rally, giving Bromfield a nine-run inning.
“My guys did a great job executing the small ball stuff early in the inning and then we had some big hits to blow the game open,” said Quirion. “I was happy to see them step up and rise to the occasion in a playoff game.”
Although Bromfield allowed Sutton five more runs, one on an error in the sixth inning and four more at the bottom of the seventh, the Trojans responded with two more runs of their own in the seventh and held their lead.
Bromfield southpaw pitcher Benway took the win, going five innings, allowing three runs, and striking out three batters. Reliever Fitzsimmons pitched for two innings, allowed four runs and struck out two.
Bromfield batters collected 14 hits and allowed Suffolk only four. Benway led Bromfield’s blitz with three hits and three RBIs in five at-bats. Third baseman Donahue had two doubles and two RBIs, while five others in the lineup had multiple hits.
With its win over Sutton, Bromfield advanced to the CMADA quarterfinals and was scheduled to play top-seeded Ayer Shirley Regional High School Wednesday afternoon.
