Boucher Walk-Off Leads Baseball to States

Nick Boucher slugged his team right into the state tournament on Monday afternoon with a 3-for-5 performance, including a two-out, bases-loaded, walk-off single in the seventh inning, in a 5-4 win over Naugatuck Valley League Copper Division rival Torrington in Beacon Falls.

Junior pitcher Kyle Georgia, sporting a 3-2 record with a 1.56 earned run average, ran into a little more trouble than he has been accustomed to at the get-go, allowing a two-out double to Torrington pitcher Conor Bierfeldt followed by an infield single to bring in the first run of the game for the Red Raiders.

Boucher and the Hawks wasted no time in getting even, though. The senior third baseman led off with a hard line-drive off Bierfeldt’s knee and moved around to tag up on a sacrifice fly by senior catcher Jason Skibek to even the score at one.

The scoring continued in the next frame. With two outs and a man on first, Mike Tedesco reached on an error. The next batter, Matt Fabiaschi, reached on an error himself, which allowed both runners to touch the plate to give Torrington a 3-1 lead.

Once again, however, the Hawks were more than ready to post a crooked number of their own. Sophomore right fielder Jack DeBiase led off with a walk and junior center fielder reached on a fielder’s choice with an error to put runners on first and second with one out. Boucher then smashed a double to right to plate DeBiase. Senior left fielder John Merriman served up a single to left to score Genua, and a sac fly by senior second baseman Matt Sherman forced in Boucher to claim a 4-3 advantage for the Black and Gold.

Georgia and Bierfeldt battled through scoreless third and fourth innings. The Raiders threatened to put up a big inning in the fifth, as the first two batters of the inning reached base. Georgia struck out the next batter, but a one-out single by Jimmy Fuchsman tied the game at four. Georgia wiggled himself out of the jam, though, leaving the bases loaded by inducing the final two outs of the frame.

“I think Kyle’s an exceptional pitcher who gets the absolute most out of his talent,” Woodland Head Coach Joe Steele said. “He’s smart, throws to his locations, and has a lot of courage. He worked out of a lot of tough situations today.”

Woodland had one last chance to win the game in regulation. Skibek led off with a walk. After a flyout, DeBiase also walked and sophomore shortstop Ryan Mariotti looped a single to right. With two outs, Boucher came to the plate and lined a 2-and-0 single back up the middle to plate Skibek for a 5-4 win.

“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit,” Boucher said. “I wanted to put it in play and make something happen and hopefully get a hit. I got a good 2-0 pitch and hit it hard back up the middle.”

It was Woodland’s eighth win on the year, qualifying the Hawks for the Class M state tournament. They currently stand tied for first in the Copper with Holy Cross at 6-1, but the Crusaders lead the way with a 12-3 overall mark.