TORRINGTON >> A little over two weeks ago, Torrington (12-4) routed Woodland (10-6) in Beacon Falls.
Monday, at Fuessenich Park, the Hawks got revenge, 10-2.
“It was 15-0 at Woodland,” said Woodland coach Mike Kingsley. “That sour taste doesn’t go away.”
When Torrington bats are cranking, their lineup is fearsome. Monday, Kobe Covington (3-for-3, 2 doubles) was the only Raider with a big day as Woodland’s Matt Spofford held Torrington to just five hits.
“We’ve got to realize we just can’t turn it on when we want to,” said Torrington coach Pat Richardson.
Torrington’s problems chalk up on the mental side. Here’s a team they clobbered in Beacon Falls, kicking it around with two errors for two Torrington runs in the second inning after a leadoff double by Covington and a single by Nate Manchester.
At 2-0, why worry?
Richardson worried; Kingsley plotted.
“We lacked concentration at times today,” said Richardson.
“Our plan was to play small ball and hope for timely hits,” said Kingsley.
Down 2-0, the Hawks got their first hit in the third inning, by their own 3-for-3 guy, senior Joe Poeta – all singles.
Torrington batters hit Spofford hard – right at his fielders.
A big guy with a slow windup, Spofford’s pitches don’t look hard to hit.
“With that windup, he’s deceptively fast,” said Kingsley.
More often, the Raiders went after bad pitches or tried to put them out of the park.
“I focus more on location than speed,” said Spofford (7 innings, 0 earned runs, 5 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks).
It works. He’s had three straight complete-game wins for Woodland.
After three quick innings, with Torrington starter Nate Manchester’s impressive stuff downing all but two Woodland batters, the Hawks made their move in the top of the fourth.
Manchester (5.2 innings, 8 earned runs, 7 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks, 4 hit batters) walked the leadoff batter. Then Tyler Boisvert (2-for-4, double, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored), Spofford (2-for-4, RBI, run scored), Dylan Cummings (2-for-3, walk, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored) Poeta and Mike Kenney scattered singles all over the field to go with a walk and a hit batter for five runs.
Manchester faced just three batters in the fifth while Spofford’s defense kept mowing down Raiders.
Then small ball won another battle in the sixth. A leadoff hit by Woodland’s Cummings and three hit batters by Manchester brought Torrington reliever Jason Vinisko (1.1 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk) to the mound.
The Hawks were still spitting out payback.
With two outs and two runs already in for the inning, Boisvert lined a two-run double to left. Spofford followed with an RBI grounder through the hole, 10-2.
Torrington managed two hits in their last two chances – singles by Covington and P.J. Kilmartin – before calling it a bad day for them, a good one for the Hawks.
The Raiders go against 7-8 Sacred Heart at Fulton Park in Waterbury on Wednesday.
Woodland hosts 7-7 Naugatuck.
Woodland 10, Torrington 2
At Fuessenich Park, Torrington
Woodland 000 505 0 – 10 10 2
Torrington 020 000 0 – 2 5 0
WP: Matt Spofford. LP: Nate Manchester. 2B: W – Tyler Boisvert. T – Kobe Covington 2.
Records: Woodland 10-6; Torrington 12-4.