Berry One-Hits Newtown, Bobcats Remain Undefeated; Plus: Softball

Baseball (5-0, 3-0):

Not only did the threatening thunderstorms hold off, but the clouds lifted and the sun came out warming things up at Brookfield High School Wednesday afternoon.  The Bobcats took advantage of the break in the weather to stay red-hot, winning their fifth straight game to start the season.  The latest win, a 2-0 decision, was their second straight over Newtown (4-3) in just three days.

Brookfield was led by senior pitcher Ryan Berry, making his first start of the year.  Berry held the Nighthawks to one-hit in the complete game shutout.  Over the course of the two games played against Newtown, Brookfield pitchers held Newtown hitters to a combined three hits and only one run.

"Ryan Berry is back," Brookfield head coach Dan McKee said of his starting pitcher, who had been held out early in the season as he recovered from an off-season injury.  "He came out today and threw a one-hitter, couldn't ask for more."

"It was good to get back on the mound," Berry said of his return.

Berry didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning, at which point the Bobcats held a 2-0 lead.  Following a one out single by Evan Noonan, Newtown put runners on the corners following an error with two outs.  R.J. Roman then drilled a ball to deep center field that senior captain Janco Cornelius was able to run down to keep Newtown off the board.

"Our center fielder saved the game," Berry said of the catch.

Cornelius had helped Brookfield take the lead the inning before, leading off the bottom of the fifth with a double.  Left fielder Dave Long continued his hot start to the the season with an RBI single an out later to give Brookfield the lead.  Berry and sophomore Matt Gernert would follow Long's single with back-to-back singles to load the bases.  Catcher Evan Mozingo then drove in Long with a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Bobcats the 2-0 lead.

Mozingo was behind the plate on Monday calling a great game for pitcher Harlan Zeerip.  Mozingo called another great game on Wednesday, helping Berry keep the Newtown hitters off balance.

"We were on the same page all day," Berry said of working with Mozingo.  "I maybe shook him off once the whole game, he made great calls."

"You got to give credit to the catcher for calling that game," McKee said of Mozingo.  "He called the game the other day with Harlan, he knew what these guys (Newtown) could do and he did the same thing with Ryan.  It was a beautiful thing to watch."

NEWTOWN     000 000 0—0 1 0

BROOKFIELD 000 020 X—2 7 1

BATTERIES: B—Ryan Berry (W, 1-0) and Evan Mozingo; N—Kyle Wilcox (L, 1-1), Brian Reed (6) and Mike Alwein. SO: Berry 5; Wilcox 6; Reed. BB: Berry 2; Wilcox 4.

2B: B—Janco Cornelius. 3B: B—Tre' Gause. RBI: B—Long, Mozingo.

Softball (3-3, 1-2):

The Lady Bobcats lost their second straight on Wednesday, dropping another decision to a top SWC team, this time at home.  In a rematch of last years SWC semi-final, Lauralton Hall (4-0) was again able to come up with a shutout win, defeating Brookfield 6-0.

Brittany Fusek took her first loss of the season after running into trouble in the sixth inning.  Fusek kept the opposition off balance for the first five innings as the two teams were locked up in a scoreless tie.  Lauralton Hall was able to break through against Fusek in the sixth, rallying for six runs to take control of the game.

The Lady Crusaders were led by pitcher Hayley Sprauge, who was the winner in last season's playoff game.  Sprague allowed only three hits this time around to pick up the win.

LAURALTON HALL 000 006 0—6 6 0

BROOKFIELD             000 000 0—0 3 0

BATTERIES: LH—Hayley Sprauge (W) and Mariel Schleaffer; B—Brittany Fusek (L, 3-1) and Ashley Lamparelli. SO: Sprauge 7, Fusek. BB: Sprauge, Fusek 4.

RBI: LH—Schlaeffer, Abby Casey 2, Jess DePolitano, Maureen Connelly.