An Exceptional Week in Boys High School Sports

This was a week of exceptional individual achievement.

In Somers senior Jake Scheuer pitched a no-hitter Wednesday as the Spartans defeated Coventry 5-0 in a game that could well be critical to Somers state tournament hopes.

This was a classic Nolan Ryan style no-hitter. He struck out eight, walked three and hit a batter, while allowing only one batted ball to reach the outfield.

There is such a thing as perfectly wild, that is to say, wild enough to prevent hitters from digging into the box too deep. Big things were expected from Scheuer this season, but before Wednesday it had been a struggle. The win against Coventry was his first.

Somers (5-5) will need Scheuer as it looks to make a push for the tournament. This week the Spartans have Bolton, SMSA and East Granby. A 2-1 week would put them on a solid path but this will also depend on the bats of Jake Alvaro, Justin Liquori and Ryan Connor. This much is certain. No team wants to meet Somers in the tournament on a day when Scheuer is pitching.

In a different week, Zack Graves might have had the most noteworthy performance. Graves went 4-for-4, drove in four runs and pitched a complete-game as Ellington defeated Enfield 8-5. The Purple Knights (7-4), who have been getting the A-game from most of their opponents this season, could have used some of those runs the next day when they were no-hit in a 1-0 loss to East Granby, wasting an excellent effort from Matt Kramer, who pitched a complete-game.

Enfield rebounded from the defeat by beating Avon, which had twice beaten Ellington, 2-0 on a fine pitching effort from John Cerrato. The Raiders continue to get timely hitting throughout their lineup. One day it’s Justin Thomas and Avery Boissy and the next it’s Nick Van Oudenhove or Dan Critz. This will need to continue as they look to make a push in the always topsy-turvy NCCC with games against Bolton and Suffield ahead.

Windsor Locks (7-2) won its first six games but is 1-2 since. The Raiders have been playing the kind of taut, tight baseball that will prepare them for the tournament but the lack of punch in the lineup is a concern. Since a 7-4 victory over Coventry on April 14, the Raiders have scored 3, 2, 2 and 2 runs. Some of this has been good pitching but the good pitching will be there in June. If the Raiders keep getting good pitching from the likes of Chuck Vogt among others, they will be in every game but if the bats don’t wake up so will their opponents.

East Windsor got its first win, an 8-7 victory over Bolton on Wednesday.

Rockville’s five game-winning streak was snapped Friday in a 4-2 loss to RHAM-Hebron, but the Rams have demonstrated an ability to blow games open without warning. Case in point was their six-run first inning against Tolland Wednesday. All runs came after two were out. The encouraging sign for the Rams is the depth of their lineup, which allowed cleanup hitter Kamyno Royal to accept a walk rather than try to hit a pitch out of the strike zone in an effort to drive in runs; Royal was brought home by Patrick Witham.

Tolland’s three-game losing streak ended Friday against Bloomfield. The Eagles continue to ride the bat of Brett Ackerly, but have been hurt by inconsistent fielding, such as the six errors they made against Rockville. Still, E.O. Smith, Conard-West Hartford, Hartford Public and Fermi are ahead on the schedule. The Eagles will be hoping for more than a split.

E.O. Smith ended a five-game losing streak with an 11-9 victory over Hartford Public on Friday.

ON TRACK AND STUFF

The Irv Black Invitational last weekend featured some strong performances by area boys, including E.O. Smith junior Adam Rosman, who finished fourth in the 800 meters and Windsor junior Tosin Edwards, who was third in the shot put. East Catholic junior Andrew Hastings also finished third in the discus.

The Irv Black meet features many of the best track athletes in the state and it would not be unusual for an athlete to have a higher finish in the state meet.

Congratulations to legendary Tolland golf coach Augie Link, who won his 600th career match when Tolland beat Somers and Stafford on Tuesday.

The next week will be critical for Suffield lacrosse, which has lost three straight, including a heartbreaker to Ellington. The Wildcats (5-4) have Lewis Mills-Burlington, which has lost only once, and then a return meeting with Somers. The obvious point is that 6-5 or 7-4 looks dramatically different than 5-6 headed into the stretch. The Wildcats have gotten solid play from the likes of Cory Allen, James Conway, Josh Albert, Drew Fahle, Adam Holmes and Eric Johnson this season. A win against Mills would take some pressure off.