Abrupt ending to the season for East Lyme baseball
Jun. 3—EAST LYME — There are no words, really, for the abrupt end to a state tournament run. But it felt a little different Saturday — a little worse, if possible — for the baseball team at East Lyme, whose players and coaches all believed the Vikings of 2023 were championship worthy.
Instead, their season ended bitterly on their home field, the No. 2-seeded Vikings falling to No. 10 Berlin, 4-3 in a game the Vikes led 3-0 in the sixth inning.
But where there was the miraculous in the second round a few days earlier against North Haven, there was the disastrous that punctuated Saturday's Class L quarterfinals.
"This one stings," East Lyme coach Jack Biggs said. "We've built this team with these kids since they were sophomores. We've spent a lot of time with them. Such a great bunch of kids to be around."
And to think it all unraveled Saturday when the sizable crowd encircling the field least expected it. The Vikings had just taken a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by John Bureau's RBI single that snapped a scoreless tie, Gavin O'Brien's bases-loaded walk and Alex Dreyfus' sacrifice fly.
Dreyfus, the starter, working on a one-hitter at the time, had thrown 73 pitches in Tuesday's tournament opener. He began the sixth at about 100 and perhaps a near empty tank. He walked the first two hitters and allowed a single to Max Weber, loading the bases.
Biggs did what he did against North Haven, summoning O'Brien in a dire situation. And O'Brien nearly escaped, inducing a double-play grounder. But with the lead 3-2 and two on, Toby Lavender hit an RBI single to tie the game.
O'Brien allowed an unearned run in the seventh when a throwing error allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Berlin relief pitcher Johnny O'Brien finished it from there, working 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Johnny O'Brien, who began the game in right field, authored the game's signature defensive play as well, throwing out Connor Tukey at the plate trying to score on a single in the fourth. It was one of several almosts for the Vikings, who all watched in the first inning as Gavin O'Brien flew out to the fence in left.
"Part of the game," Biggs said. "We hit some balls right at them, too. I'm more disappointed than angry. But give Berlin credit. They never folded. Got big hits and made big plays. That's what happens in the state tournament. You can be rolling and then get cut down quickly."
