NORWALK, Conn. The Norwalk Senior Legion Post 12 baseball team fell behind Wilton quickly in the top of the first, 5-0, but the Norwalk bats slowly chipped away. After tying the game on a Wilton error, Kevin Cawley drove in the go-ahead run to give Norwalk a hard-fought 6-5 win.
Most pitchers would have been discouraged or even pulled by their coach after giving up five runs. But Norwalk starter Lucas LaBry just kept pitching. The wiry righty went the distance for Post 12, allowing his team to make its comeback.
"I had trouble with my command at first, and they got a bunch dink hits off of me. I just settled down after that," LaBry said. "I hadn't started a game in a good while, so I guess I had some nerves. But coach and all the guys stayed upbeat and I just kept pitching."
LaBry spotted his curveball well after the rough first inning and wound up striking out six in seven innings pitched. It was hardly smooth sailing either for LaBry, who had to get out of a first-and-third situation in the fourth and a bases-loaded jam in the fifth.
Norwalk got plenty of help from Wilton, scoring three times without the aid of a hit in the bottom of the first. Two errors, a walk and a hit batsman aided the comeback.
Mike Parlanti beat out a potential double play in the bottom of the fourth, keeping Norwalk's rally alive. Spencer Jacoby doubled home Parlanti to cut Wilton's lead to one, setting up the game-tying error and Cawley's clutch two-out single.
"I always tell the guys, 'one inning can't beat you,' " assistant coach Steve Brueski said. "If they have a big inning, we can always have a big inning, too. We can't ask for more than the way they came back."
With the win, Norwalk (12-4) keeps pace with first place Greenwich, remaining two games behind the Cannons. Norwalk needs just three more wins to qualify for the Legion state tournament. It travels to Bridgeport on Saturday and hosts Westport on Sunday.
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