By Michael Letendre

MERIDEN – Every time the Bristol American Legion baseball team plays a Zone 1 game at Simsbury, it’s not unusual to see a helicopter or two in the sky as Bradley International Airport isn’t that far down the road from Memorial Field.

The more mature Bristol fans remember the show M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), a comedy drama about the Korean War.

And maybe one of those helicopters should have made a landing at Ceppa Field in Meriden on Sunday as Bristol lost a couple players that afternoon.

It started in the first game as pitching stud Roberto Cruz pulled his troublesome hamstring attempting to round third base late in the showdown.

He threw 103 pitches the day but was saddled with a tough no decision.

After Bristol won first game, 10-7, Post 2 was back at it again in the immediate rematch.

In the third frame, first baseman Tyler Stickels smashed his finger making a putout and also had to leave the game.

‘Now, we’re kind of a MASH unit,” said Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta. “Roberto’s got the bad hamstring. Stickels’ got a bad finger. He was bleeding all over the place. Now we’re down to ten healthy guys.” 

That means there’s little margin for error over Bristol’s final two regular season games.

Post 2 squares off against West Hartford on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.) and Simsbury on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.), both from Muzzy Field. 

“We’ve got to go with who’s here and suck it up,” said LaPenta. 

Scheduled to pitch for Bristol against West Hartford is Alex Canzellarini – looking for a little pay back against the undefeated Zone 1 program (14-0).

And the chucker is due for a big game. 

Why not against the top rank program in all the state?

“Alex is going to start on Tuesday against West Hartford,” said LaPenta. “Hopefully, he can give us a good outing and save the pen because we don’t have much left in the pitching department.”  

In terms of arms, Tyler Martin, Roberto Cruz, and Matt Beaucar are out due to the pitch count rules.

Woodsome could be used in a pinch while a combination of Elliot Norris and Jayden Churchill could spell Canzellarini as well.

Churchill on fire from the dish

Since the month of July arrived, the Bristol squad has stitched together a 4-1 record – winners of three straight.

And over that stretch, which helped Post 2 lock in second place in Zone 1, Churchill has been nearly unstoppable at the plate.

Over those five contests, Churchill – who has been tremendous in the second slot in the batting order – has hit .667 (12-of-18) over that stretch.

He also scored eight runs, tallied three RBI, and walked numerous times.

Three of those 12 hits were doubles while stealing four bases to help Bristol get to the pay window multiple times.  

He was a beast at Bristol Eastern as well this past spring, posting a batting average of .328 over 67 at-bats that included 22 hits, 12 walks, 14 RBI, and nine stolen bases. 

It’s painfully obvious that his outstanding play at Bristol Eastern carried over to the summer months for Bristol American Legion baseball.

Tired but ready for more

Sunday’s twin bill saw Bristol battle Meriden over a combined 16 grueling innings with limited shade, heat, and the like.

But after two huge triumphs, LaPenta was certainly ready for a little R & R.

“I’ll sleep good tonight,” said LaPenta with a bit of a grin.