ELLINGTON — It's become a new tradition for the unbeaten Suffield baseball team. After each win, the team takes a team picture in the outfield and signifies how many wins it has.
Following their 6-1 North Central Connecticut Conference victory over Ellington on Wednesday, the Wildcats are at 11. Counting using their fingers is no longer enough.
"We're having a lot of fun," Suffield shortstop Colin Faber said with a smile. "It's fun playing with the guys I've been around since Little League. We won District 8 back in 2019 and it's pretty much the same team. We had a goal in mind for this year and that was to go undefeated and we're sticking to it."
Suffield's U12 District 8 title six years ago was its first in 37 years. If the Wildcats advance to the CIAC Class M final at Palmer Field in Middletown in June it will be another first: their first appearance in a state final.
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Why not them? They have three solid starting pitchers, a closer, are sound defensively and, while they haven't hit with runners in scoring position as well as they've wanted, they can score in bunches.
At 11-0 they are one of the state's last remaining unbeatens, along with Norwalk (11-0), Berlin (11-0) and Bethel (10-0). Norwalk is ranked second and Berlin fourth in the GametimeCT Top 10 poll with Bethel No. 11 and Suffield No. 14 in the also receiving votes category.
"It's our energy and our energy means everything," Faber said. "When we're hyped, the momentum shifts pretty well. That's what makes us a great team. We have each other's back and we have great chemistry. That's one of the reasons we're playing well and a tough team to beat so far."
In a 5-4 come-from-behind win at Coventry Monday, Suffield had no one on and two outs in the top of the seventh inning and down by two runs, but was able to load the bases for Jake Gagnon, who delivered a decisive, three-run double.
Strong pitching and defense and opportunistic offense made for a winning combination Wednesday.
Gagnon came up big again, this time on the mound. He allowed seven hits and quieted a Knights' offense that had been averaging 9.1 runs per game to a season-low. He walked four, hit a batter, and struck out eight.
"I really think the momentum coming into today was great because we were down in the early innings against Coventry and we came back," Gagnon said. "We faced two great pitchers from Coventry and we faced two great pitchers today. We showed that we can hit good pitching."
Ellington (6-3) struck first on Tyler Dumond's RBI double in the second. Suffield got on the board in the fourth when Faber, who finished with three hits and two runs scored, and Noah Schermerhorn came home on consecutive wild pitches. Suffield broke it open in the fifth when Dashel O'Dell singled with the bases loaded to bring in two runs with a misplay on the throw to the infield allowing the third run to score.
Schermerhorn's sacrifice fly made it 6-1 in the top of the seventh and the catcher came up with the key defensive play in the bottom of the frame by picking off a runner at second base. The Knights had the bases loaded when Gagnon got the final out.
"I've got a great defense behind me when I pitch and I'm always confident in them," Gagnon said.
Suffield has scored at least five runs in every game and limited the opponents to zero or one runs in six games.
"The fight they have and the mental toughness they show is something they bring to the field every day to practice or to games," Suffield coach Bill Gaynor said. "They want to win and it's special how hard they play for me. They feel like they're never out of a game."
Losing pitcher Dylan Killoran had two hits for Ellington, which takes on Aerospace Thursday in non-conference action.
Suffield faces one of its tougher tests to start May on Saturday when it travels to Quigley Stadium to face Notre Dame-West Haven in a rematch of an April 8 game won by the Wildcats.
"There's always pressure being undefeated," Gagnon said. "But you want it and we'll try to continue that."
Player of the game
Jake Gagnon, Suffield. The junior pitcher scattered seven hits and limited Ellington to a second-inning run. He walked four, hit a batter, and struck out eight to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Quotable
"We got down against Coventry on Monday and came back. We got down early today and came back. And what more can you ask for? Jake pitched a great team and our defense was outstanding." -- Suffield coach Bill Gaynor.