By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – Caleb Molinsky, one of the many multi-talented members of the Bristol American Legion Baseball program, has recently shown Zone 3 exactly why he’s one of the up-and-coming players in the Senior division.

And the pitcher, after a great defensive showing the previous night against South Windsor, threw a five-hit shutout against Glastonbury on Sunday – leading to a satisfying 4-0 victory from Muzzy Field in Bristol.

Bristol bounced back over .500 (3-2-1) while Glastonbury fell to 1-6 overall.

Molinsky, winning his first ever 19U game, allowed just five hits, walked four while striking out six over a tremendous effort on Sunday.

“He pitched really well,” said Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta of Molinsky. “The first time he pitched last Sunday, a week ago, he was nervous. I could tell. But [today], he just threw great. He threw strikes and his breaking ball was good at the end. He kept his pitch count down.”

The top of the first inning was as bizarre as any seen in Bristol in quite some time as the first five Glastonbury batters made it to first base safely but none of the players ended up scoring.

Glastonbury pitcher Dylan Connaughton led off with a double near the foul line in right to open the game and ended up at third base via an error.

Colin Martin then hit a grounder, but Connaughton was dancing away from third base and the runner was caught off the bag.

Suddenly in a rundown, Connaughton charged home as Bristol catcher Joe Dunne was in position with the ball.

Dunne tagged the runner out but Connaughton, about five feet from the plate, bumped into the Bristol catcher – causing a collision.

Due to that accident at the dish, Martin – who made it safely to second base – was called out due to the interference at the plate.

From there, Connor Cantafi singled on and both Ben Jean and Anthony Alibrio walked to load the bases up.

But Jackson Hall flew out to left as Glastonbury came away with nothing and Molinsky showed some poise on the mound.

“Really, the only hits they got, they had five hits, but I think four of them were” bleeders said LaPenta. “They started the game [with a hit] off the foul line.”

On the flip side, Post 2 flipped in two runs as the strange first inning continued.

Bristol’s Nick Sconziano dropped in an infield hit to shortstop and later stole second base.

Elliot Norris advanced the lead runner to third and Jayden Churchill, off a tremendous at-bat, dropped a single down the line in left to score Sconziano to make it a 1-0 game.

Cole Caccamo sliced a grounder that the Glastonbury pitcher touched going down the right field line, keeping it fair, as two runners were on.

The duo made a double steal and when Connor Cyr lofted a short fly ball to center, Churchill scooted home from third as Bristol nabbed a 2-0 lead through one frame of play.

Molinsky allowed a two-out walk to William Curry in the second stanza but never advanced while Bristol was put down in order. 

In the top of the third, three Glastonbury groundouts – the last two expertly handled by Norris at shortstop – kept the visiting aggression from scoring.

“They played really good defense,” said LaPenta of his squad. “Elliot, he’s like a security blanket at shortstop. He just gets everything. He’s probably the best shortstop we’ve had in the last seven or eight years because he’s just so aggressive and he comes and gets the ball.”

“He’s just very aggressive.”

In the bottom of the third, Bristol was at it again, adding two runs to the till for a 4-0 edge.

Sconziano opened the tilt with a slick ball to the gap in left center that just fell in while advancing to third on a Norris groundout.

But in trying to get Sconziano at third, the ball was thrown all the way to the third base fence.

Off the miscue, the runner was awarded home plate, making the game a 3-0 contest.

From there, Churchill roped a double to center, took third on a botched pickoff attempt while Caccamo walked on four consecutive pitches – establishing runners on first and third.

And then, it was ‘Bristol pickle’ time.

Caccamo sprinted off first base, heading toward second, but stopped midway between the bases, baiting a throw.

With Connaughton attempting to physically chase down Caccamo, Churchill easily scored from third as the pickle led to Post 2’s fourth run of the showdown.

Molinsky continued to keep Glastonbury baserunners to a minimum through four while the Bristol chucker slammed a deep-dish double to center to start another rally.

Pinch hitter Isaac Roberge was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners with two outs, but no additional offense was posted by Bristol.

Post 2 put two on in the bottom of the fifth, which included a single by Caccamo, but the home team didn’t score – still leading 4-0 going into the sixth.

Glastonbury had something brewing in the sixth as Cantafi and Jean each singled without the benefit of an out.

Alibrio advanced the duo into scoring position, but Molinsky fanned both Hall and Jameson Barry as the shutout continued.

And in the top of the seventh, not even a two-out hit from Connaughton could spoil the shutout as Molinsky scooped up the final out, going the distance over the 4-0 triumph. 

“It’s nice to get another win, this one on Father’s Day,” said LaPenta. “That’s pretty nice. We’ve got one more game [on Monday] at Torrington. Torrington is going to be a tough game. They can swing the bat a little bit. And then we have three days off.”

“We’ll need it. We’ve got some guys arms are hanging a little bit.”

Bristol American Legion Baseball – Zone 3, Senior Division

BRISTOL 4, GLASTONBURY 0

from Muzzy Field, Bristol

Glastonbury (1-6)      000 000 0 – 0 5 4 

Bristol (3-2-1)            202 000 0 – 4 7 1

WP – Caleb Molinsky (Bristol); LP – Dylan Connaughton (Glastonbury).

Glastonbury Batting

2B – Dylan Connaughton

3B – None

HR – None

Bristol Batting

2B – Nick Sconziano, Jayden Churchill, Caleb Molinsky

3B – None

HR – None

LOB – Glastonbury 8; Bristol 6

Records: Bristol 3-2-1; Glastonbury 1-6