Michaud Leads East Hampton Over Westbrook

The East Hampton High School baseball team improved to 3-0 on the season with an 8-3 victory in Westbrook on Monday.

Starting pitcher Adam Michaud had 10 strikeouts, going the distance for the Bellringers. He also helped his own cause with three hits and three RBI.

There was other good news as well. Marvin Gorgas, who suffered a sprained left ankle in a victory over Cromwell on Friday and had to be helped off the field, was in the starting lineup without missing a game.

Even with Michaud on the mound and Gorgas healthy enough to play, East Hampton coach Scott Wosleger was still feeling a little nervous.

"I was concerned about this one," Wosleger said. "A Monday game on the road after a holiday is always reason to worry. It's easy to be flat."

The top half of the first inning helped aleviate any concern. With two out, Gorgas tripled and Michaud knocked him in with a double. Michaud then moved around on two wild pitches to make the score 2-0.

In the second, an error, a single by Joe Tuxbury and RBI from Gorgas, Michaud, Matt Sevigny and Spencer Daly tacked on five more runs. From there it was a matter of getting good defense and solid pitching from Michaud with a lead.

"I thought we had some really good at-bats early. We didn't give anything up," Wosleger said. "As the game wore on, we lost a little bit of our edge at the plate."

East Hampton finished with 12 hits, including two each by Joe Tuxbury, Spencer Daly (two doubles) and Matt Sevigny.

Defensively, the Bellringers were pretty strong again, but Wosleger thinks the team can be better. "We can be better," he said. "Toward the end we got a bit sloppy. But, the kids gave a pretty good effort and the result is positive. No one is complaining about being 3-0, trust me."

Michaud was dominant at times but appeared to be struggling at other times, walking four.

"He was deep in a lot of counts and they took a few good swings on him the third time around," said pitching coach and associate head coach Gregg Johnson. "We quickly made an adjustment and pitched them a little differently later in the game. That's the beauty of having a guy who can throw three or four pitches for strikes."

Wosleger was also happy with some of his younger guys, seeing varsity action for the first time.

"[Jake] Vickery was pressed into action at the 11th hour and did a nice job in his first start in right field. He got his first varsity hit and made a nice diving catch in the seventh," Wosleger said.

Vinny Langenfeld and Dylan Riley also impressed.

"Both came off the bench and took some nice swings," Wosleger said. "We still have a lot of improving to do in all areas, but we have good kids who are willing to work hard to get there."

Sam Grigo had two hits and two RBI for Westbrook (1-1). The Knights finished with seven hits.

As for Gorgas, his return was surprising to say the least.

"Marvin was 100 percent. I couldn't get over it," Wosleger said. "There was no signs of him being hindered by it at all. If he was hobbling around a little, we weren't going to play him."