Woodland baseball captures NVL championship

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BY MARK JAFFEE

REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY — Senior Darren Gasparri gave teammate Matt Silva the necessary bit of encouragement he needed when he left the mound with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the seventh inning on May 25.

“Darren just told me to finish what he had started,” said Silva, a sophomore left-handed relief pitcher and first-year varsity player.

Silva heeded the advice, recording a fly out to left field, a strikeout on a 3-2 pitch and a fly out to right to seal the top-seeded Hawks’ 4-0 victory over No. 2 St. Paul in the NVL tournament final at Municipal Stadium.

It marked the second NVL crown in the 22-year history of the program.

“I threw about 10 or 12 innings this season,” said Silva. “I went out to the mound and I tried not to think too much. Our catcher, Anthony Marsala, helped out a ton and got me to fight through the (pressure) situation. When I got the strikeout, it boosted my confidence.”

Gasparri, a left-handed pitcher, scattered nine hits over six innings to improve to 6-1. He induced eight groundball outs and an infield pop-up.

“Anthony called a great game,” said Gasparri. “I think I shook him off maybe once or twice. My defense was huge behind me, and I didn’t have my best stuff.”

It also helped that the Hawks scored early with three runs in the bottom of the first.

Gasparri reached on an error, and Tyler DeCrescenzo singled to left. After a pop-out, Michael Belcher singled to left field to load the bases.

First baseman Billy Untiet followed with a two-run single, a chopper over the first baseman’s head, scoring Gasparri and DeCrescenzo. Belcher advanced to third. When Untiet then tried to steal second, Belcher bolted to the plate and scored on a delayed steal for a 3-0 edge.

“I saw the pitch and just hit,” said Untiet. “It felt good to put runs on the board. It gave us a lot of momentum. I’ve been in a slump for about two weeks and have been struggling. I haven’t been making good contact. My swing was fine. It was just my rhythm and timing. It felt great to help my team.”

Woodland head coach Steve Bainer said Untiet’s clutch hit was good to see.

“I love Billy’s approach,” said Bainer. “You never see him try to hit a home run. He just tries to hit the ball hard on the barrel. He really stepped up.”

Woodland had only four hits in the game, three in the first inning and a two-out single by Marsala in the fifth.

DeCrescenzo gave the Hawks a 4-0 edge in the bottom of the fourth on a 6-4 force play, scoring Erik Pulkkinen from third base.

Bainer said he was fortunate that Belcher and Ethan Stepputtis pitched deep in the first two games of the tournament, and the Hawks nearly had a complete game from Gasparri, too, with Silva closing the door.

“Matt showed a great level of confidence,” said Marsala. “He hit his spots and threw strikes. I can’t thank him enough.”

The same goes for Gasparri.

“Darren is a three-sport athlete and thrives on the big moment when the lights are on,” said Marsala. “That makes him a real special athlete.”