69°
The conference playoff hopes of the Trinity Catholic High baseball team ran into a brick wall Monday. Winners of three in a row, the Crusaders suddenly found themselves just a game behind New Canaan for the final spot in the FCIAC tournament.
Trinity faced the red-hot Norwalk Bears on Monday. The Crusaders committed five errors in a game in which they could not afford to give extra outs. Norwalk pounded out 20 hits, pummeling Trinity, 17-1, to end its win streak.
Norwalk's Leon Fleming and Matt Ederle were unstoppable, each driving in four runs. Ederle was a pain in the side of Trinity shortstop Pat Murphy, driving three seeing-eye singles past him into left field.
Defensive woes doomed any chance of a Trinity comeback. It was a tough afternoon for left fielder Bryan Sclafani, dealing with a whipping wind and a bright, setting sun. Sclafani was charged with three of Trinity's five errors.
The Crusaders' best chance to get back into the game came in the third but was quickly snuffed out. Trailing 5-0, Trinity loaded the bases with one out. Second baseman Mike Palamba hit a shot right back to Norwalk starter Spencer Jacoby, who fired to third to complete the double play. It was the only threat Trinity managed on offense all afternoon. Jeff Cortese drove in Trinity's lone run of the game. Kyle DiVico was the only Crusader who managed more than one hit.
Trinity (7-6 FCIAC, 7-8 overall) needs one more win to clinch a state playoff spot and is 1.5 games back in the race for the final FCIAC playoff spot. The Crusaders host Fairfield Ludlowe on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. game.
Follow Eric Gendron on Twitter for the latest MSC sports coverage. Like The Daily Stamford on Facebook.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.
