East Lyme scores big win over Montville

The way Montville tossed around East Lyme starting pitcher Kevin Bartlett in the first two innings Thursday afternoon, there was no reason to believe that he would still be on the mound in the seventh inning.
But the tall, lanky left-hander proved to be resilient against a Montville team that has been one of the better hitting squads to start the season. Bartlett survived the early barrage, settled down and his teammates rallied behind him as the Vikings handed the Indians their first loss, 13-6.
“This is my first start of the year, so I haven’t thrown in a while, and I still have to get my groove back,” Bartlett said. “I just kept fighting and battling. (The Montville) guys are good hitters, and I surprised myself and went a lot further than I thought.”
Bartlett got some early support when the Vikings scored three runs in the top of the first on a double by Caleb Gulovsen, singles by Alec Christian and Bryan Rowe, a pair of walks and an error.
Montville starting pitcher Jesse Sutherland (0-1) got one of those runs back quickly for the Indians. He was the first batter of the season that Bartlett faced, and Sutherland took him over the fence in right-center.
Bartlett escaped further damage in the first inning, but ran into much more trouble in the second. Ray Ingram had a one-out double and Sutherland almost went yard again an out later. He took a pitch that was just inches off the dirt and muscled it to centerfield where it bounced off the fence on one hop for an RBI triple.
“He’s a great player; probably the toughest hitter I’ve pitched against in awhile,” Bartlett said.
Sutherland didn’t stay at third for long. After Tyler Contillo was hit by a pitch, Montville coach Phil Orbe called for a delayed steal at second, which worked to perfection as an attempt to get Contillo — who was goading East Lyme into throwing — sailed into centerfield to allow Sutherland to score and Contillo to move to third. He came home on a single by Tyler Seeley (3-for-4 and a run scored) after Alec Brown had also been hit by a pitch. Brown came around on another delayed steal.
East Lyme got those runs back in the fifth off Sutherland as Jon Nazarko and Christian singled and Al Lloyd reached on an error to bring up junior first baseman Eric Morse. “Moose,” as coach Jack Biggs affectionately refers to him, was coming off bicep tendinitis and has struggled at the plate early as a result.
“I went up there thinking that we needed to get back in this game and I wanted to do something that would bring the momentum back to our side,” Morse said.
He delivered as he drilled a ball over the head of John Wasilko in left field for a bases-clearing double that put East Lyme ahead for good, 7-5. Morse added to his excitement in the sixth inning — after Montville had cut the lead to one — with a tailing two-run double to right field.
“I was feeling even better — I was on cloud nine,” Morse said.
The Vikings posted only their second win in five games.
“It may gain us some confidence, but everyone has to know also that it’s a long season ahead of us, especially with all the rain outs and the games backed up,” Biggs said.
While East Lyme was looking for a boost, Montville coach Phil Orbe said a little humble pie was probably good for his club after a 4-0 start.
“We have a lot of stuff to work on and sometimes winning becomes a big deodorant for things that you’re not doing well,” the Montville coach said. “When you give up 13 runs, it will help us focus and really come out and work (Friday).”