Torrington's season over

A trying season for the Torrington Twisters came to a rough close Thursday with a 1-0, 10-inning, loss to the North Shore Navigators.
Torrington wasted a good performance by USC's Danny Beck (9 1/3 innings, 1 run, 9 hits, 3 strikeouts, 5 walks), managing just four hits. North Shore won the game on a game-winning single by Kent Graham (Trinity College) with one out in the bottom of the 10th. The teams combined to leave 21 runners on base. The Twisters left eight runners on, including a runner on second with one out in the ninth. Torrington also could not take advantage of two Navigator errors, one in the seventh and one in the ninth that allowed Alejandro Crisostomo (St. Augustine College) to reach second with one out. Crisostomo led the Twisters with two hits while Corey Shimada (Utah) and Jaren Mathews (Rutgers) added one hit apiece.
Graham led North Shore, going 3-for-5, while Nick Belcher (Eastern Tennessee State) and Tyler Kuehl (Point Loma Nazarene) went 2-for-4. Kuehl scored the game-winning run. Joshua Garton (Volunteer State Community College) and Chad Zurcher (Memphis) added a hit apiece for the Navigators (26-15).
The game was played at MacKenzie Field in Holyoke because North Shore was scheduled to play the Holyoke Blue Sox after they had played Torrington. The game did not start for over three hours due to torrential rains. The Twisters finished the season at 14-27.
Torrington lost another opportunity to keep its playoff hopes alive as Manchester was pounded 12-3 at home by Vermont. The Twisters finished 2 games out of the final playoff spot.
After reaching the .500 mark at 9-9 with a 3-2 11-inning triumph over North Adams, Torrington went 5-18 to end the year.

Torrington hurts playoffs chances with doubleheader loss

In another bizarre twist to the regular season, the Torrington Twisters were a game behind the Manchester Silkworms entering a doubleheader Tuesday.
Shaky defense, one swing from Matt Adams (Slippery Rock) and solid pitching from Kyle Vazquez (Franklin Pierce) helped put Torrington’s playoff hopes behind the eight-ball as the Twisters dropped a pair of games, 3-2 and 7-0, to the Pittsfield Dukes at Fuessenich Park. Adams’ solo shot off of hard-luck complete game loser Josh Smith (Lipscomb) gave Pittsfield a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth. The Dukes were the home team in the first game as the teams finished making up a July 18 doubleheader that had been postponed.
"Even if we got a split today, we’ve got life," Torrington coach Gregg Hunt said. "We got to help ourselves and we need a lot of help."
Manchester split its own doubleheader with Danbury Tuesday, meaning the Silkworms gained a game on Torrington. Manchester now has a two-game lead on the Twisters with opportunities to gain ground fading fast. Torrington’s doubleheader loss means that this year’s team (13-25) will have the worst record in the team’s history (the previous worst record was 19-23, done twice).
The Twisters scored two runs in the first inning and got out to an early lead, something that had not happened in the two previous doubleheaders, where Torrington lost three of four games. Corey Shimada (Utah) led off with a walk, but Joe De Pinto (USC) grounded into a double play. Catcher Jimmy Rivas (New Haven) started up a new rally when he was hit by a pitch. Right fielder Jaren Mathews (Rutgers) scalded a grounder to first that ricocheted off of Adams for a double, putting runners on second and third. Pittsfield starter Jake Sabol (Central Michigan) appeared to be out of the inning when Chase Austin (Elon) lifted a fly ball to left, but Jason Krizan (Dallas Baptiste) lost it in the sun and dropped the ball, allowing Rivas and Mathews to score.
Smith made that margin hold up through the first four innings, striking out five while yielding three hits.
The problem was, Smith was snake bitten in the fifth inning. After Smith struck out the first batter, Jason Martin (San Jose State) lifted a fly ball to left. De Pinto went out after the ball on a play normally made by a left fielder and dropped the ball and Martin hustled into second. Leadoff batter Craig Hertler (San Jose State) grounded the next pitch he saw through the right side for single. Martin scored easily, but Mathews threw home from right. His throw got away from Rivas, allowing Hertler to take second. Hertler advanced to third on a fly out to center by Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky) and scored the tying run when Chris Edmondson (Le Moyne) singled on a 2-2 pitch from Smith.
In the fifth, Austin Christiansen (Chandler Gilbert) led off with an infield single for Torrington, but Shimada fouled off two bunts before striking out. Making matters worse, Christiansen was picked off of first with De Pinto at the plate and one down in the inning.
In the sixth, Adams, one of the league’s most dangerous batters, got a 2-1 pitch he liked and hammered it over the right field wall to give the Dukes a 3-2 lead.
The Twisters had a chance in the top of the seventh against Pittsfield closer Zack Anderson (Buffalo). After a strikeout for the first out, Alejandro Crisostomo (St. Augustine College) reached on an infield single. Josh Chasse (San Diego State) came in to run for Crisostomo, but the Dukes called a pitch out on a 1-1 count to Christiansen, leaving Chasse dead to rights at second base for the second out. Christiansen, however, worked a walk and Shimada reached first when Hertler’s throw from second pulled Adams off the base. Anderson killed the rally, getting De Pinto to fly out to right to end the game.
The second game was anticlimatic for Torrington. The Twisters managed just three hits off of Vazquez (6 innings, 0 runs, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks). Even three straight walks from reliever Jack Bender (Georgetown) with two outs in the seventh could not get Torrington going as Bryson Rahier (San Jose State) struck out to end the game.
The Dukes moved back into a tie for first with Newport, who also won Tuesday. Pittsfield was a half-game out entering Tuesday’s action.
On defense, the Twisters made five errors, leading to three unearned runs for the Dukes. Starter Andrew Triggs (USC) gave up four runs in five innings to take the loss while reliever Josh Zeid (Tulane) gave up three runs—one earned—as his defense made three errors behind him in the final two innings.
Torrington has three scheduled games left while the Silkworms have one scheduled game left. If the Twisters are a game behind Manchester after those games have been played, Torrington and Manchester would make up Sunday’s rainout on Friday’s league-wide makeup date.

Torrington splits with Danbury

In an evening that featured the good, the bad, the ugly and even the bizarre, the Torrington Twisters split a doubleheader with the Danbury Westerners Friday night at Fuessenich Park.
Joe De Pinto (USC) sent a jolt through the home fans in the 10th inning of Game 1, launching a solo homer into the river beyond the left field walls to win the game for Torrington 4-3. In Game 2, Danbury took advantage of seven walks, several bunts and a bizarre play in the third inning to win 5-1.
Torrington got a great pitching performance in the opener from Eric Jokisch (Northwestern), who gave a depleted bullpen relief by pitching nine solid innings. Jokisch was hurt by two costly errors, but still managed to keep the Twisters in it until the seventh, when his team tied the game.
Instead of being predictable and coming in with the heat on every first pitch, Jokisch mixed in offspeed, including a nasty changeup. Jokisch’s changeup had some sink to it, which allowed him to induce 12 ground ball outs, including five comebackers to himself.
"Not that many," Jokisch said when asked if he ever had that many balls hit back to him. "I didn’t think that was possible."
In the rare instances when Jokisch fell behind, he relied on his changeup to regain control of the situation. Twice during the game, defensive miscues cost Jokisch.
In the fifth inning with runners at second and third and two outs in the inning, shortstop Chase Austin (Elon) fielded a slowly hit groundball that was closer to third than short. Austin threw off balance to first and his throw was wide, allowing two runs to score instead of one. The play gave the Westerners a 2-1 lead. The throw may not have gotten away had first baseman Rick Wilson (Chandler Gilbert) come off of the bag to block it.
"We made a bad play in the field," Hunt said. "It almost cost us the game. It wasn’t a good decision by (third baseman Corey Huffine) not to field it. It was not a good decision to throw it (by Austin). It was not a good decision to not step off the bag (by Wilson)."
Danbury tallied another run in the next inning thanks to an error that began the rally. On a little roller in front of the plate by Kevin Jackson (Maine), catcher Alejandro Crisostomo (St. Augustine College) threw too high to first, allowing Jackson to reach base. Jackson moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Paul Battigliero’s (Monmouth) double to make it 3-1.
Torrington rallied to tie the game in the seventh. De Pinto singled to left. Corey Shimada (Utah) walked on four pitches, bringing an end to starter Dennis Accomando’s (UConn) day after a good performance. Austin atoned for his earlier error by laying down a bunt single to load the bases.
After leaving the bases loaded in the sixth, the Twisters finally came through in a big spot. Jimmy Rivas (New Haven), after spoiling two 0-2 pitches with foul balls, looped a single to right to make it 3-2. After Jaren Mathews (Rutgers) struck out, Brian Baudinet (UMass-Amherst) hit a sacrifice fly to deep right to tie the game. Reliever Brian Craig (Dominican College) got Josh Chasse (San Diego State) to fly to center to end the inning. Torrington would leave a runner on in the eighth and would also leave the bases loaded again in the ninth.
After a groundout to begin the Twister half of the 10th, De Pinto got a first pitch he liked from reliever Ryan Hagan (Franklin Pierce) and deposited it into the river to win the game.
De Pinto had just missed a homer in the eighth when he flied to left.
The second game was not pleasant for Torrington. Danbury jumped on starter Danny Beck (USC) in the first. Shane Kingsley (Marist) walked to lead off and was followed by Michael Olt (UConn), who was hit by a pitch. A one-out single by Battigliero loaded the bases and Beck gave the Westerners their first run when he walked Kyle Mahoney (High Point) on four pitches.
After a sacrifice fly in the second made it 2-0, Danbury took advantage of a weird play to score two more runs. With runners on first (Melvin Castillo) and second (Mahoney), Jackson grounded softly toward third. Austin Christiansen made a low throw to first, which Chase Austin could not handle with a scoop. The ball rolled a short distance behind Austin, and Mahoney took advantage, scoring from second base. Jackson got into a rundown between first and second. The Twisters got Jackson in the rundown, but Castillo (Eastern Connecticut) was able to score from first. After advancing to third on the error, Castillo inched down the third base line, waiting for his chance. Castillo saw his chance and took off for the plate, beating an off balance throw from Austin to make it 4-0.
Torrington got another sacrifice fly from Baudinet in the bottom of the third to make it 4-1, but the Westerners added another run and Danbury starter Teddy Hurvul (UConn) shackled the Twisters for the rest of the game.
Next up for Torrington is a doubleheader beginning today at 5 p.m. against division rival Newport. Looking ahead, a major game at fourth-place Manchester (14-22) looms Sunday. The Silkworms lost 6-0 at Pittsfield Friday night.

Torrington loses to Pittsfield

Pitching and a lack of timely hits continued to haunt the Torrington Twisters Friday night as they lost 8-2 to the Pittsfield Dukes at Fuessenich Park.
Pittsfield (13-11) got four runs in the first inning off of USC's Andrew Triggs (6 IP, 10 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned runs, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts) and did not look back behind the strong pitching of Kyle Vazquez (Franklin Pierce). Vazquez went seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on eight hits, striking out five while walking one.
The Twisters had their chances to get back into the game, but could not put runs across. Torrington left 11 runners on base, including three innings where they left two runners on base, including big chances in the seventh and eighth..
In the seventh, second baseman Corey Shimada (Utah) served a double down the left field line with one out. Shortstop Joe De Pinto (USC) was hit by a pitch, setting up runners at first and second with one out. Vazquez got out of the jam, though he could have been in trouble thanks to his own defense. Chase Austin (Elon) grounded to Craig Hertler (San Jose State) at second base. Hertler, thinking there were two outs, threw to first, bypassing a chance at an inning-ending double play. Vazquez persevered, striking out first baseman Jaren Mathews (Rutgers) with runners on second and third to end the threat.
In the eighth, Torrington got another chance, this time against reliever Adam Knight (Georgia State). After back-to-back strikeouts by Josh Chasse (San Diego State) and Jonathan Cluff (BYU), Brian Baudinet wakled (UMass-Amherst) and Corey Huffine (Post University) singled to put runners on first and second with two outs. Knight wiggled his way out of the jam by striking out Alejandro Crisostomo (St. Augustine) looking. It was the third time in the inning that a Twister batter struck out looking.
With a limited pitching staff due to injuries, Torrington must score runs when the chances present themselves.
Twisters coach Gregg Hunt said the Twisters will look to add a couple arms to the staff before the rosters are frozen Tuesday. The rosters are frozen for the playoffs, meaning players can play after the deadline, but they will not be eligible for the postseason.
The Dukes struck first in the top of the opening inning on a run-scoring triple by Chris Edmondson (Le Moyne). Pittsfield scored its next three runs in the inning with two outs on a single by Matt Adams (Slippery Rock) and a two-run double by Kevin Clements (Manchester Community College).
Torrington got to within 4-1 on a bizarre play in the third. Mathews singled to right with Austin on first. Austin went to third, and the throw from Hertler was wild, going into the dugout, allowing Austin to score and Mathews to take third. Vazquez got out of the inning by getting Chasse to pop up to second on a 3-1 pitch.
The Dukes again added to their lead with two outs, this time in the fourth. With Hertler on first with two outs, Edmondson ripped a hit-and-run single to center. Chasse overran the ball, allowing Hertler to score to make it 5-1. A single by Jason Krizan (Dallas Baptiste) made it 6-1.
Chasse got one back in the sixth when he blasted a solo homer off of a light tower in left field to make it 6-2. After the Twisters could not take advantage of their opportunities in the seventh and eighth innings, the Dukes added two in the ninth off of reliever Craig Schneider (Alderson-Broaddus) on run-scoring singles by Jake Rosenbeck (Buffalo) and Hertler.
Pittsfield is a half game back of Southern Division-leading Newport (14-11), which lost 3-1 to Sanford Friday. Torrington hosts the Gulls tonight at 7. The Twisters trail Newport by 3.5 games.

Torrington loses slugfest to Sanford 17-16

The Torrington Twister offense finally broke out, but 16 runs on 21 hits were not enough as Torrington lost 17-16 to the Sanford Mainers Thursday night.
The Twisters nearly came back from a 17-10 deficit in the final three innings, but fell a run short after scoring 2 in the eighth and 4 in the ninth.
In a back and forth game, Torrington led 4-2 after 3 innings. Sanford scored 8 runs in the fourth to take a 10-4 lead. The Twisters responded with 6 of their own in the fifth to make it 10-10 after five. The Mainers scored five in the sixth to take a 15-10 lead. Two more runs in the seventh made it 17-10 Sanford.
In the eighth, Jaren Mathews (Rutgers) and Brian Baudinet (UMass-Amherst) had RBI doubles to make it 17-12. In the ninth, Joe De Pinto (Southern California) doubled to make it 17-13. A Chase Austin (Elon) single made it 17-14. After Ryan Cole (St. John's) was brought in to pitch for the Mainers, Josh Chasse (San Diego State) ripped a two-run double to make it 17-16. Chasse got to third on a wild pitch, but Cole struck out Baudinet to end the game.
De Pinto went 3-for-6 with a homer, double, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Austin went 2-for-5 with a homer, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Corey Shimada (Utah) went 3-for-6 with an RBI and 2 runs scored while Chasse went 3-for-6 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Baudinet went 4-for-6 with 2 RBIs and a run scored. Jonathan Cluff (Brigham Young) was 2-for-5 with a double, RBI and 2 runs scored. Corey Huffine (Post University) went 2-for-5 with a double, 2 RBIs and a run scored.
In his first game with the Twisters, catcher Alejandro Crisostomo went 1-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and 2 walks.
Will Greenberg (Maryland) had a big day for Sanford, going 2-for-5 with a grand slam, 5 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Corey Hunt (Virginia) and Branson Joseph (Canisius) each went 3-for-6. Hunt drove in 2 runs and scored twice while Joseph had a double, drove in one and scored 3 times. Steve Brooks (2-for-5, double, 2 runs scored), Michael Murray (2-for-4, RBI, 3 runs scored) and Matthew Nandin (2-for-4, 2 RBIs, run scored) all big days for the Mainers.

Twisters welcome Crisostomo

Catcher Alejandro Crisostomo (St. Augustine College), formerly of the Dominican All-Stars, is the newest member of the Torrington Twisters.
Crisostomo will be eligible to play Thursday against the Sanford Mainers. He had one at-bat in Tuesday's exhibition against Torrington and was hit by a pitch.