Torrington v. Pittsfield - July 29 (doubleheader)

The Twisters have a golden opportunity to make a move for the final playoff spot as they trail fourth-place Manchester by just a game with both teams scheduled for doubleheaders today.
Torrington will have to get past second place Pittsfield (first game scheduled for 5 p.m.), which has plenty to play for in its own right after losing 2 Monday to fall a half a game behind Newport for first place in the Southern Division. The Silkworms host Danbury in a doubleheader today.
The Twisters defeated the Dukes 1-0 in a game continued from July 18. The win was Torrington's first against Pittsfield this season (1-3). The Dukes are slated to start Jake Sabol (Central Michigan) and Kyle Vazquez (Franklin Pierce) of Berlin, Conn. Vazquez was dominant in his first start against the Twisters on July 11, an 8-2 win. Vazquez went 7 innings, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 8 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1.
Sabol has made just 1 start this season, but has been effective for the Dukes, going 2-1 in 12 appearances with a 2.66 ERA, according to the NECBL's Web site. In 20.1 innings this season, Sabol has allowed 9 runs (6 earned) on 25 hits, striking out 16 while walking just 2. Opponents, however, are batting .298 against him this season.

Torrington v. Newport - July 26

The Twisters play the second of four doubleheaders when they host Newport today, starting at 5 p.m.
Torrington is scheduled to start Miles Morton (Auburn) and Craig Schneider (Alderson-Broaddus). Morton is 0-2 with a 14.54 ERA in 3 games this season, according to the NECBL's Web site. In 4.1 innings pitched, Morton has given up 7 runs (all earned) on 8 hits, striking out 3 while walking 1. Opponents are batting .400 against him this season.
Schneider is 1-0 with a 2.29 ERA in 10 appearances this season. In 19.2 innings pitched, he has given up 8 runs (5 earned) on 18 hits, striking out 22 while walking 11. Opponents are hitting .234 against Schneider this season.
Newport is projected to pitch Stephen Peterson (Marist) in Game 1. Peterson is 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in 11 appearances (2 starts). In 28 innings pitched, he has given up 16 runs (10 earned) on 33 hits, striking out 32 while walking 9. Opponents are batting .306 against Peterson this season.
Game 2's starter is scheduled to be Geoff Brown (University of Washington). Brown is 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games (0 starts) this season. In 21.1 innings pitched, Brown gave up 12 runs (8 earned) on 20 hits, striking out 22 while walking 11. Opponents are hitting .241 against him this season.

Unlucky No. 13

The Torrington Twisters were once again rained out Thursday night as they were set to host Southern Division rival Newport.
The rainout is the 13th on the season for Torrington, adding to an already unpleasant record. The game against the Gulls will be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday scheduled to start at 5 p.m at Fuessenich Park.
Torrington takes on Danbury in a doubleheader tonight starting at 5 at Fuessenich.

Torrington v. Newport - July 24

Torrington hosts Newport tonight--weather permitting--at 7.
The Twisters are scheduled to pitch Eric Jokisch (Northwestern). Jokisch is 1-3 in 6 games (5 starts) this season with a 5.23 ERA, according to the NECBL's Web site. In 31 innings this season, Jokisch has given up 22 runs (18 earned) on 34 hits, striking out 28 while walking 15. Opponents are hitting .279 against him this season.
The Gulls are 20-15, 1.5 games behind Pittsfield (20-12) in the Southern Division. Newport was rained out Wednesday night. Since losing 4 of 5, the Gulls have won 4 in a row, including a 9-7 win over Torrington where the Twisters held a 7-0 lead after 2 innings.
Torrington is 0-4 against Newport this season.

Twisters take early 7-0 lead, but fall to Newport

The Torrington Twisters would cross the plate seven times in the first two innings, just to see their seven-run lead slip away to the Newport Gulls, who prevailed 9-7 on Monday night in New England Collegiate Baseball League play at Cardines Field.
The Twisters (10-19) plated two runs in the first inning and five more in the second, chasing Gulls starter Kevin Moran. Newport (19-15) would peck away at the seven-run deficit the rest of the game, scoring a run in the third, three in the fifth, one in the sixth and four in the seventh when the Gulls went ahead for good. Torrington starting pitcher Josh Smith (Lipscomb) lasted four innings, allowing four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and five walks. Reliever Danny Beck (USC) didn't fare much better, going 2 2-3 innings. He surrendered five runs on eight hits, while fanning three and walking one, to take the loss. Chase Austin (Elon) had a big day at the plate for the Twisters, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Jaren Mathews (Rutgers) had two hits and an RBI and Jimmy Rivas (New Haven) drove in two runs.
Torrington is eight games back of the first-place Pittsfield Dukes (19-12) in the Southern Division. Torrington is 11/2 games behind the fourth-place Manchester Silkworms (14-20). The top four teams in each division make the NECBL playoffs.
The Twisters host North Adams tonight at 7.

Torrington at Newport - July 21

Torrington (10-18) begins the home stretch of the 2008 regular season tonight in Newport against the Gulls.
The Twisters have played Newport three times this season, losing each time. On June 9, Torrington lost an 11-inning heartbreaker 7-6 to the Gulls on a single by Cody Grisham.
On July 4, the Twisters lost 6-1 in Newport as Chase Reid struck out 19 Torrington batters.
On July 12, the Gulls hammered the Twisters 12-4, scoring 11 runs in the first three innings.
Tonight's game is the first of three between the two teams this week.

Torrington still in it

Despite an abysmal stretch in which they have dropped nine of the last 10 games, the Torrington Twisters (10-18) are still in the hunt for the NECBL playoffs.
Eight teams make it, and Torrington is in fifth behind Manchester (13-20), who is just a half game ahead. To make the playoffs, the Twisters will need to take care of business over a busy two week stretch that includes two scheduled doubleheaders.
Torrington travels to Newport tonight to play the second-place Gulls (18-15), who are 5.5 games ahead of the Twisters in the Southern Division. Tonight's game is the first of three this week between the Southern Division foes.
Tuesday brings a home game against North Adams (15-18), who are 2.5 games ahead of Torrington. On Wednesday, the Twisters host Holyoke (15-15). Thursday will bring Newport into town. Torrington is scheduled to play a doubleheader against Danbury (10-23) Friday. The Westerners are in last in the Southern Division. The week ends Saturday with another game against the Gulls at home.

Chalk up two more rainouts

A doubleheader scheduled to be played against the Danbury Westerners was completely washed out by steady rain, with several downpours.
The Twisters have been rained out 10 times this season. Those rainouts include the same game twice, which was opening night on June 6 against the North Adams SteepleCats.
The rainout comes after a tough loss Friday night in Newport, where Chase Reid set a league record by striking out 19 Torrington batters in a 6-1 win by the Gulls. The large amount of rainouts will put a strain on the schedule later in the season, as several makeup games or doubleheaders will need to scheduled.

Updated league standings - as of July 2

Here are the NECBL's Southern Division standings as of July 2:


Team W L Pct GB
Newport Gulls 8 8 .500 -
Torrington Twisters 8 8 .500 -
Pittsfield Dukes 9 10 .474 0.5
Manchester Silkworms 8 10 .444 1
North Adams SteepleCats 6 12 .333 3
Danbury Westerners 4 13 .235 4.5

Torrington travels to Pittsfield Thursday to play the Dukes.

Despite so-so start, Twisters are in first

Despite being just 8-8, the Torrington Twisters are in a tie for first in the NECBL's Southern Division with the rival Newport Gulls before play began Wednesday.
Pittsfield is a game behind at 8-10, with Manchester 1.5 games back at 7-10, North Adams 2.5 back at 6-11 and Danbury 4 back at 4-12. Even the rough start by the Westerners has not knocked them out of the playoff hunt. The top four teams in each division make the postseason.

Update on rescheduled games

The Torrington Twisters have rescheduled 2 games that were rained out earlier this season. The season opener on the road at North Adams, which has been postponed twice, has been rescheduled for Monday, July 7 at 7 p.m., according to the NECBL's Web site. The Torrington home game against Newport -- which was supposed to be the team's home opener on June 8 -- has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 24 at 7 p.m.

Twisters have busy weekend

The Torrington Twisters (3-4) will play three home games this weekend, starting tonight at 7 against the Lowell All-Americans (4-5 as of June 19).
Torrington plays Team China in an exhibition game at 7 Saturday and closes out its four-game homestand against the North Shore Navigators at 6 p.m.
Barring rainouts -- which have been frequent for the Twisters this season -- Torrington will not have another day off until Wednesday, July 2, meaning the Twisters will play 12 straight games.
As of June 19, the Keene Swamp Bats hold the NECBL's best record at 8-1. The Newport Gulls lead the Southern Division with a 6-2 mark. Torrington is in fifth place out of six teams in the Southern Division, though the Twisters are only 2.5 games out of first place.

Rainouts plague Twisters

Mother Nature has been an issue for the Torrington Twisters this season.
So far, Torrington has had five games rained out, including last night's tilt with the Danbury Westerners in Danbury. The rainouts began on opening night (June 6), when the Twisters were scheduled to play in North Adams against the SteepleCats. That game was postponed. On June 8, Torrington was supposed to open its home schedule against Newport, complete with a parade. That got rained out.
The Twisters have yet to make up the opening night game against North Adams. Torrington and North Adams were scheduled to make up that game Monday night, but it was again rained out. All told, the Twisters have played seven (one exhibition game included) out of a possible 12 games.

Twisters open home season with Pittsfield tonight

The Torrington Twisters will kick off the home schedule for the 2008 season tonight against the 4-1 Pittsfield Dukes at 7 at Fuessenich Park.
Getting the start for Torrington is Andrew Triggs from the University of Southern California. Going for Pittsfield is Michael Ness of Duke University. The Dukes got off to a 4-0 start on the season with two wins against the Danbury Westerners and one win apiece over the Newport Gulls and Manchester Silkworms. Pittsfield dropped its first of the year last night 5-4 to Manchester in Pittsfield. The Dukes bring in a potent offense that has scored 43 runs in five games, including a pair of 12's in wins against Newport and Danbury.
The Twisters have also received good production from their offense, scoring 23 runs in the first three games. Torrington pounded Danbury, scoring 10 runs in a win over the Westerners. Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) led the way with a 3-for-3 night that included a home run, 4 RBIs and 2 walks. Josh Chasse was also strong for the Twisters, going 2-for-4 with a walk, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Josh Smith of Lipscomb picked up the win for Torrington, going the first 7 innings.

Schneider on Torrington roster

Craig Schneider, a junior left-handed pitcher from Alderson-Broaddus College (Philippi, W.V.) has been added to the Torrington roster. Schneider made an appearance in the game against Newport Monday, going 2 innings (2 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk).
Schneider is from Marcy, N.Y.

Twisters lose heartbreaker in Newport

The Twisters dropped their second straight game Monday, a 7-6 heartbreaker to the Newport Gulls in Newport.
Jack Murphy (Princeton) led off the Newport 11th with a single, according to the NECBL online play-by-play. He was sacrificed to second by Joey Manning (Vanderbilt). After an intentional walk to Taylor Meehan (Havard), Cody Grisham (Tennessee) singled to drive in Murphy with the winning run.
The walk-off single spoiled a great comeback by Torrington in the top of the ninth. With Robert Morey (Virginia) on to close the game for the Gulls, pinch hitter Jonathan Cluff (Brigham Young) singled. After Cluff advanced to second on a wild pitch, Josh Chasse (San Diego State) drew a walk. After Corey Shimada (Utah) struck out looking for the first out, Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) reached on an error to load the bases for Brian Baudinet (UMass-Amherst). Baudinet walked, forcing in Cluff to make the score 6-4.
The Gulls changed pitchers, bringing in Dan Mahoney (UConn). Blake Silguero (Cisco Junior College) greeted him with a sacrifice fly to score Chasse to cut the Newport lead to 6-5.
With the Twisters down to their final out, Aaron Barrows ( singled to score Matthews and tie the game at 6. Torrington had its chances to win the game in the 10th and the 11th. In the tenth, Chasse walked with two outs and stole second, but was stranded.
The Twisters had an even better chance in the 11th. With one out, Baudinet walked and stole second. Things got even better for Torrington when Mahoney uncorked a wild pitch, moving Baudinet to third. Mahoney stranded Baudinet at third by striking out Silguero and Corey Huffine (Post University) to end the jam.
The Gulls also had chances to end the game before the 11th. Newport had runners on first and second with two out in the ninth, but Steve Geltz (Buffalo) got Jeff Butler (Mississippi State) to line out to Chase Austin (Elon) at short to end the jam. In the tenth, the Gulls had a runner on first with one out. Alex Gregory (Radford) ripped a liner to center that was caught by Chasse. Chasse threw to first to double off pinch runner Pete Mastors (Rhode Island) and end the inning.
The Twisters are 0-2 on the season while Newport is 2-1. Torrington takes the road again Wednesday when they play at Danbury.

Opening Night rained out

Tonight's game between the Torrington Twisters and the Newport Gulls at Fuessenich Park has been postponed due to rain. No makeup date had been announced as of 6:40 p.m. Sunday.
Torrington is scheduled to play at Newport Monday at 6:35 p.m. The next scheduled home game is Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Pittsfield Dukes.

Let the home games begin

On Sunday, the time will arrive for the Torrington Twisters to begin its 2008 home schedule. Torrington will host the Newport Gulls at 6 p.m. after a parade to Fuessenich Park.
The parade begins at 4:30 p.m. and will feature around 500 people, including 350 little leaguers from Thomaston. The Twisters were scheduled to open the season in North Adams, but the game was postponed until Monday, June 16.