By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – When Bristol Senior American Legion baseball shortstop Elliot Norris gets on base, opponents better find some way to pick him off first. 

And I mean immediately.

The same goes when opponents hit the ball over to him at shortstop because the athlete has a little Derek Jeter in him as his makes all the spectacular plays look relatively routine. 

On the flip side, when he takes a pitch or two at the plate, that’s when Norris really begins to produce.

And after a tough 1-for-9 stretch against Meriden in a doubleheader last Sunday, Norris buckled down and got back to hitting, running, and stealing bases on offense this past week. 

“He had a stretch of about ten days where he was swinging at the first pitch and got himself out for a week it seemed like,” said Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta of Norris. “He was just swinging at the first pitch [and it was] pop up, pop up, pop up. And [against] Simsbury [last Wednesday], he did a better job.”  

A model game for him came in Bristol’s final regular season battle against Simsbury, an 8-4 triumph for the locals. 

In that game, Norris managed to get on base four times, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a walk and an RBI. 

That was just a typical day in the office for Norris. 

However, he augmented that play with some crazy base stealing.

Overall, he swiped six bases (he stole three bases alone in the first inning) and might have tied the Bristol American Legion team record for steals in a game.  

“When he gets on base, he puts the pressure on,” said LaPenta of Norris. “He can steal and do some many good things.”  

There is no one faster on the team than Norris and along with teammate Jayden Churchill – batting second in the Bristol order – it’s a great 1-2 punch that can wreak havoc on the base paths. 

Norris belongs in the same vein as other speedsters from Post 2 baseball days gone by including Bunty Ray, Pito Alamo, and David Casanova – to name a few. 

All three of those players were outfielders while Norris, who could probably chase everything down himself behind the infield, is a star at shortstop. 

Plus, current centerfielder Ryan Fradette is a human vacuum cleaner out there and there’s not too much that gets hit over his head. 

Speed doesn’t kill but it can overwhelm hapless opponents in quick order in Connecticut American Legion baseball.

Here’s what happens when Norris decides he’s going to steal a base (in pictures):

In picture one, Norris starts to sprint away from the first base bag with relative ease. The first baseman has a “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” look on his face without the Fabio haircut…

In this next picture, Norris is already sliding into second base. Note the ball is still in the air as the runner could not be gunned down. Also note by the time I got a second picture in, Norris was nearly at second base!

The play wasn’t even close as Norris stole his first of six bases that evening (look at the dust he caused!).

Finish above .500 is a lock 

Bristol expects to win a couple games in Pod C of the state tournament this year but even with two losses and quick elimination, the locals will finish no worse than 10-9 in 2022. 

But the goal is much higher as the postseason is what several of the veteran players on the Bristol squad have been craving. 

Now, the bright lights are shining over the 2022 19U Connecticut State Tournament and the boys from Bristol are ready for the challenge.  

“Our guys have played hard all year,” said LaPenta. “Now at least, we’re guaranteed a winning season.”  

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