MCC splits double-header sweeps over weekend; last home game Monday
MANCHESTER, CT – MCC swept a pair of games from Franklin Pierce’s JV team Saturday afternoon by 5-1 and 8-1 scores, then dropped a pair to Division I Monroe College on Sunday 12-1 and 7-6. All four games were played at MCC.
Steve Simon(Middlefield) improved to 6-0 with a seven-inning complete in Saturday’s first game with nine strikeouts and no walks. James McGowan of South Windsor had four RBI in game two.
On Sunday, Monroe scored five times in the first and cruised to a 12-1 victory in game one. The Cougars (24-16-1) made game two interesting, coming back from a 7-0 deficit with a run in the fifth, two in the sixth and three in the seventh. Peter Burgio of Bolton was 3 for 4 with three RBI and Manchester’s Andrew Kravontka had an RBI single.
“We came in a little thin pitching-wise with the long weekend with six games in three days, so we just tried to piece it together,” MCC Head Coach Chris Strahowski said. “We were hoping to swing enough to keep ourselves in it. The first game it didn’t work so much, but in the second game we swung enough to keep ourselves close.”
MCC leadoff hitter Juan Bisono (New Britain) had four hits, scored four runs, walked twice, was hit by a pitch and stole three bases over the four game stretch. MCC has played 41 games in 53 days since opening the season on March 10.
With the Region 21 tournament around the corner, it serves the Cougars well to play against tougher competition. “This is the best team we saw all year,” Strahowski said of Monroe (27-14-1), who will host the Region XV tournament next weekend. “This is good preparation for us.” MCC played Monroe four times this season losing three and tying one.
Holyoke CC travels to Manchester for the final regular season game of 2009 for the Cougars on Monday at 3:30pm. The Region 21 Division game is a make-up of an April 23rd rainout. The Region 21 tournament begins Friday afternoon in Brockton, MA. Pairings and schedule will be announced Tuesday (May 5th) evening.
