Greyhounds making themselves heard

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NAUGATUCK — The Greyhounds are starting to make some noise on the diamond.

Naugatuck knocked off Torrington, 5-1, at Fuessenich Park April 18 to improve to 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the Naugatuck Valley League.

Naugy junior Ryan McCarthy went the distance on the hill in his first varsity start, scattering four hits and striking out four in an 83-pitch masterpiece.

McCarthy helped his own cause with three hits to pace the offense. Jon Chatfield continued his hot streak at the plate, belting two doubles and a single and driving in a run.

The win helped to erase some of the disappointment felt from a bitter 8-4 loss to Holy Cross on April 16.

“We played much better in the field against Torrington,” Naugatuck head coach Tom Deller said. “Ryan, in his first start, pitched a great game for us and he came up with three hits to add to the offense.”

Naugy held a 4-3 lead against Holy Cross before surrendering five runs over the final three innings.

Derrick Jagello had a home run and two RBI for the Greyhounds, who struck out 13 times versus the Crusaders. Five Naugy errors in the field didn’t help the Greyhounds’ cause either.

“We didn’t play well at all,” Deller said. “We were awful in the field. We couldn’t catch a fly ball and pretty much handed them a bunch of extra outs, and we paid for it.”

The Greyhounds showed the kind of resilience needed to challenge for an NVL title when they battled Watertown and escaped with an 8-7 win in extra innings April 12. Naugy erupted for four runs in the top of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie and then held on for the win.

Jagello struck out nine in seven innings of work for the ‘Hounds. Chatfield slammed a two-run double, and Derek Sampaio went 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in two more to pace the offense.

The Greyhounds entered a tough stretch last Friday with five games scheduled over nine days, but coach Deller felt his team has enough arms to stay competitive.

“We had so many postponements, it is what it is,” Deller said. “I have a lot of confidence in our pitchers. Nate (Deptula) has proven to be our number one, having pitched in four of our seven games. Ryan (McCarthy) showed he can go the distance, and we have Derrick (Jagello), Zack Royka, Chatfield and Nick Bruno who have pitched well for us. When we play the way we can, being aggressive at the plate and making the plays in the field, we can be very competitive.”

Naugatuck will play Woodland on Friday. Next week, the Greyhounds will face Waterbury Career St. Paul, Crosby and Wolcott.