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STAMFORD, Conn. The Stamford Junior American Legion baseball team rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday to stun West Hartford, 5-4, in the quarterfinals of the state tournament at Windsor Locks.
The victory sends Stamford to the semifinals in Windsor Locks at 6 p.m. Friday against the winner of Thursday's late game between Trumbull and Southington.
The winning runs scored on a hard-hit smash by Billy Druehl. His smash handcuffed West Hartford's shortstop, allowing Billy Murphy to score the tying run. Nick Palumbo raced around the third and scored the winning run, after an errant throw by the shortstop.
"We battled and hung in there,'' manager Scott Giorgi said. "That's all you can ask."
The winning rally started with a one-out single by Andrew Oakes. Brandon Curto walked, and Brian Pollack got hit by a pitch. Murphy's dribbler up the third base line scored a run and left the bases loaded. Palumbo followed with a two-run double. After a strikeout, Druehl's smash up the middle scored Murphy and Palumbo, who slipped rounding third. When he resumed home, the shortstop's throw was off the mark to allow Stamford to escape with an improbable victory.
Peter Dawson came on in the seventh inning in relief of Logan McCullough to get the victory. "Logan pitched well enough, but we were sloppy behind him,'' Giorgi said.
Stamford had just one hit before the seventh inning uprising. Stamford, the Zone 4 champion, is a win away from playing for its first Junior state championship. Stamford's last Legion championship was in 1957 by its senior team, according to the state website.
"We might have been a little bit flat due to the long ride,'' Giorgi said. "We're going to do some things a little differently on Friday."
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