Wellington Rallies 5-3 Over South Fork

Wellington’s Dylan Tosto lays down a bunt in the first inning.

The sport’s well-worn adage that, “baseball is a game of inches” turned the tide against the South Fork Bulldogs in the Wellington Wolverines’ 5-3 comeback victory Tuesday night in Wellington. The game turned on a series of plays following one strike of the ball in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Trailing 3-1, the Wolverines’ Matt Brewster dropped down a bunt for a lead-off hit. Designated hitter Mike Doscher singled and a wild pitch put both Wolverines in scoring position. An infield error off the bat of Angelo Bruneles scored Brewster, while also placing runners on the corners. Domonic Paolo laced an RBI single to center, driving in Doscher and taking second on the throw home.

With runners on second and third and the game tied at 3-3, what followed was excruciating for the Bulldogs. Christian Vasquez lined a shot towards the right field gap. Bulldogs’ right fielder Jacob Winger made a sensational diving attempt only to have the ball tick off the end of his glove. Center fielder Dalton Deakins, backing up the play, fired towards home with the relay arriving ahead of the trailing runner, Paolo. Again, the ball ticked of the catcher’s mitt, allowing Paolo to score.

Catcher Marcus Mastellone picked up the ball and threw out Vasquez at third to end that threat. With the Wolverines now ahead by two, that was the end of the scoring.

Brewster is normally slotted as a “P.O.”, or “pitcher only”. Because of a flu bug and some stiff backs, Brewster was pressed into service to play third base on this day for the Wolverines. His bunt single ignited his team’s comeback, earning him an immediate nickname from his teammates: “The Bambino”, because he hits as well as pitches.

South Fork’s Marcus Mastellone jumps on a bunt as Jacob Travis charges the play.

“When I was a freshman, I was just labeled as a ‘P.O.’ It was frustrating at first but I just put hitting aside,” Brewster said. “It feels good doing everything I can to get on base and do it in a game rather than just in practice.”

Wellington manager Scott Riddle zeroed in on Brewster’s contribution.

“He’s our closer. His first start at third, he’s as cool as a cucumber,” said Riddle. “His bunt for a base hit was basically the catalyst for our big inning. A good hustle play and it seemed to spark our team a little bit.”

The Bulldogs struck early. Andrew Carson walked with one out in the top of the first inning and scored on a double to right by Sheldon Carroll.

The Wolverines answered back in the bottom half of the inning. Bruneles and Paolo singled, and Dylan Tosto’s bunt ended in a 1-5 fielder’s choice. Vasquez, who finished with two RBIs, picked up his first with a single to right, scoring Bruneles.

The Bulldogs took a two-run lead in the third inning. With two out, Carson reached on an infield error. Polk singled to right. Carroll picked up his second RBI on a single to right, with Polk also scoring following an errant throw to second base.

Acknowledging that most high school pitchers will target the outside corner, Riddle was happy with the Wolverines’ ability to adapt.

The Wolverines’ Morgan Mendez threw three scoreless innings to pick up the save.

“We hit the ball well to the right side which we’ve really been working harder to do,” noted Riddle. “When we see a guy who’s starting to work away early, we change our approach. We weren’t ‘pull-happy’ tonight. That was nice.”

South Fork manager, Tony Malizia summed up what was mostly a solid game from his team and his starting pitcher.

“We’ve been up-and-down all year. We played six good innings tonight,” said Malizia. “Tyler O’Neal did a nice job. He battled there. We should have made some plays to help him out and we didn’t so he ended up making a lot of extra pitches.”

The trip from Stuart qualifies as a long road trip for South Fork and Wellington is getting used to welcoming travelers to horse country. Wednesday night, the Wolverines play host to the Brighton Bengals from Salt Lake City, Utah.

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