Massachusetts done in by one bad inning
LYNN - In all but one inning last night at Fraser Field, the Massachusetts and Connecticut All-Stars went blow for blow. Unfortunately for the locals, that inning made all the difference, as Connecticut scored five runs in the fifth to top Massachusetts, 8-4.
In the fifth, six consecutive batters reached for Connecticut, which sent nine men to the plate. The big blow came when team MVP A.J. Rataic (East Catholic) hit a ground-rule double to left field with the bases loaded to open up a 6-2 lead. Rataic also doubled in the fourth and played solid defense at third base.
Both teams racked up strikeouts, as each received impressive pitching performances.
"All the pitchers looked great tonight," said Agawam's Tyler Toyfair, who took home the Most Valuable Pitcher award for the second consecutive year for Massachusetts.
"Other than that one bad inning, we looked great."
Toyfair struck out five in two innings without yielding a hit. He said it was his goal to win the Most Valuable Pitcher award.
"I wanted it again and I looked to just set them down," the senior said. "I knew that if I pitched well and brought my good stuff that the strikeouts would come."
Waltham's Steve Hopkins won MVP honors for Massachusetts after singling, stealing a base, walking, and scoring a run in three plate appearances.
"The game was fun; it was the best competition I've seen in a while," he said. "It's an honor to win MVP, but I did not think I was going to win it. But with the talent that's here, you take an MVP any way you can get it."
The most dominating pitching performance may have been by Connecticut's Will Jolin. The Guilford senior pitched three innings and struck out five, featuring a blazing fastball. He allowed only one hit, a single, and walked one.
Massachusetts cut the lead to four after scoring two runs in the sixth. Hopkins led off with a walk, then scored on a double by East Longmeadow's Nick Ahmed. Auburn's Jon Leroux grounded out to second to send home Ahmed, but that was all Massachusetts could muster.
Georgetown's Tim Holland made sure the Massachusetts All-Stars got off to a fast start.
After falling behind in the count, 0 and 2, the senior drove a shot off the base of the right-field wall for an easy triple. He scored when Tewksbury's Pat Devlin reached on an error to give Massachusetts a 1-0 lead.
After falling behind, 2-0, Connecticut pulled even in the third despite collecting only one hit. First, Dave Soltis (Plainville) and Ryan Maghini (Daniel Hand) worked back-to-back walks with one out, then Montville's Taylor Lewis hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1. Maghini eventually came around to score on a passed ball with two outs.
Dighton-Rehoboth's Nate Koneski, the Massachusetts starter, tossed two hitless innings and struck out three, facing the minimum six batters. 