OLD SAYBROOK — For Rae Brookes, who’s seen almost all of the 1,001 baseball games her husband has coached at Haddam-Killingworth, this one had her particularly on edge.
“I’m a ball of nerves,” said Mark Brookes’ wife of 45 years before H-K took on Old Saybrook on Monday afternoon. “You never know how it’s going to go in baseball.”
The Shoreline Conference game went as well as it could for the Cougars and for Brookes. H-K delivered the only coach in the program’s 45-year history his 700th victory, 2-0 over the Rams.
Seniors Alex Sheehan and Alden Halfinger combined on a two-hitter, with Halfinger picking up the save, and senior Luke DiMauro provided the biggest of the team’s three hits on the day — a two-out, two-run double over the head of center fielder Noah Hester in the fifth inning.
Sheehan, who got the win, said the team had been building toward the moment for the last week or so.
“It feels nice to get this one finally,” the right-hander said. “I knew it was 699 going in and I just thought, all right, it’s a big game, gotta stay calm and keep my arm slot the same.”
No. 700 went into the books just six seasons after Brookes won No. 600. He is believed to trail only Bob DeMayo, who has amassed more than 900 wins at North Haven, on the all-time wins list.
Haddam-Killingworth coach Mark Brookes and wife Rae after Brookes’ Cougars beat Old Saybrook for his 700th coaching win Monday.
Paul Augeri / For Hearst Connecticut Media
Old Saybrook starter Gabe Kaar did not allow an earned run in Monday’s loss to Haddam-Killingworth.
Paul Augeri / For Hearst Connecticut Media
Haddam-Killingworth starter Alex Sheehan pitched one-hit ball for six innings and notched the win against Old Saybrook on Monday.
Paul Augeri / For Hearst Connecticut MediaAlthough the feat was a big deal for Brookes’ players and his family — three of his five children and seven of 12 grandchildren were on hand to see it — he felt it has been a bit of a distraction for the Cougars (9-2).
“I’m more worried about the players pressing too much,” he said after H-K won its third straight and remained tied with Coginchaug atop the Shoreline standings. “I’ve been through this several times. I just think the kids, they want it so bad, they want to be the ones that did it, and so they press. So it’s why we didn’t talk about it.
“I think from their standpoint, they will relax now. I get nervous every game so. The fact it was only 2-0 today … Jeez.”
Brookes and Old Saybrook coach Nick Hahn spoke before and after the game. Hahn, who was hired away from Guilford’s staff four years ago, said he was aware of what Brookes has built at H-K long before joining the Shoreline Conference ranks.
“A guy like Mark is someone that we all strive to be as coaches,” he said. “He does things the right way. And 700 wins, you have to be good for a long time to do that. He was one of the first guys to reach out to me when I took this job four years ago. I have a lot of respect over on that side of the field for sure.”
H-K out-hit Old Saybrook 3-2 and was just a shade better on the mound.
Sheehan allowed one hit, walked four, hit a batter and struck out seven, and was backed by a defense that made every routine play. He ran into serious trouble just once.
In the third, Sheehan walked Auggie Albert and Carson Brown to start the inning. But he got himself out of it by dropping to his knees and picking off Gabe Kaar’s second bunt attempt out of the air and then firing to second to double up Albert. Hester grounded to short for the third out.
“I saw the runner at second go out of the corner of my eye,” Sheehan said. “He was running on the pitch before that and I presumed he was running on the pitch again, so I just had the instinct to go there.”
“My curveball started out a little slow today. I couldn’t get it in the strike zone,” he added. “Then I got it working toward the end (of his outing) and it felt good.”
Old Saybrook (3-7) has lost six straight, but the Rams have been in most games. Their last lost four losses have been by a total of six runs.
“The toughest thing for us right now is we’re not putting seven innings of competitive ball together,” Hahn said. “It tends to be one inning for us. I thought today we competed for seven innings. We didn’t do some of the little things. We had our opportunities and we’ve had our opportunities all year long. I love this group that I’m coaching. They have a never-give-up type of attitude. We proved today that we can compete with anyone in this conference.”
While Sheehan outpitched Kaar, it wasn’t by much.
The Rams’ senior right-hander did not allow a hit until the fifth. Ryan Kellenbach reached on an infield error to start the inning and moved up with one out when Kaar hit Alec Erskine on the hands with an 0-2 pitch. Lucas Kamoen tried to bunt his teammates over, but Kaar came up firing to third for the force on Kellenbach for the second out.
DiMauro, one of H-K’s hottest hitters this season, smoked a fastball to dead center and out of the reach of Hester to score Erskine and Kamoen. Kaar got out of the inning by getting Halfinger to ground to third. Both H-K runs were unearned.
“Luke was super clutch,” Erskine said. “We needed that hit so bad. He stepped up and was the difference in the game.”
The Cougars had three opportunities in the sixth to extend their lead after loading the bases with a hit by Matt Miranda, an error and a walk. But Jake Butler, who relieved Kaar to start the inning, struck out Kallenbach, got Matt Pray to pop to short and struck out Erskine.
The hard-throwing Halfinger came on in the seventh and got two quick strikeouts before Albert doubled to right-center. When he struck out Brown on a full count, H-K’s dugout erupted.
“For Coach Brookes to be the second ever in Connecticut to (win 700 games) … we just really look up to him,” Erskine said. “I was a little nervous out there that last inning. Coming into this game you could tell it was a little more tense, it felt more like a playoff-type vibe. We’ve showed we can play our best ball and we hope to keep it rolling and get better every day.”
"blank" - Google News
May 04, 2021 at 08:09AM
https://ift.tt/3nMwlux
Brookes gets win No. 700 as Cougars blank Old Saybrook - New Haven Register
"blank" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3aXU3fw
https://ift.tt/2Wij67R
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Brookes gets win No. 700 as Cougars blank Old Saybrook - New Haven Register"
Post a Comment