By Andy Hutchison

NORWALK–Staples baseball flexed its muscle in the batter’s box, blasting five home runs in a pair of wins, 9-1 at Brien McMahon on Monday and 11-9 at Norwalk Wednesday.

Connor Brill led the offensive charge in the win over the Norwalk Bears, blasting two homers and driving in five. Brill homered in the third and fifth innings. The Wreckers built a seven-run lead in the third inning and held off a Bears’ team that was third in the Class LL rankings going into the contest.

Mark Kelly had a big day; he singled home two runs in the first and later added a double.

In the second, Paul Dottori hit a sacrifice fly, Jack Jacob singled down the right field line and Jules Cicero grounded out, each scoring one run.

Brill hit a three-run homer in the third and added a two-run shot in the eighth. Vincent Vega had two of Staples’ 10 hits.

Charlie Fitch earned the win, allowing eight hits and eight runs (five earned) over five and one-third innings, striking out four and walking two.

In their win over the Senators two days earlier, Cicero, Bruce Schlegelmilch and Mason Tobias all homered.

A sacrifice fly by Kelly put Staples Varsity Wreckers on the board in the top of the first. After McMahon tied the game in the third it was all Staples. Tobias singled in two runs for a 3-1 lead in the fourth.

Schlegelmilch homered to center field, a two-run dinger, in the fifth. Tobias and Cicero hit homers in the seventh. Both players had two hits with Tobias driving in three runs. Brill worked three of the team’s seven walks for the game. Cicero and Chase Landgraf each stole two bases.

Lukas Snow pitched a complete game and surrendered five hits and one run (none earned) over seven innings, striking out five and walking three. 

Next up for Staples (5-3 this spring) is a home game this afternoon when Stamford (6-1 and fourth in the Class LL rankings) visits at 4:30 p.m.

Andy Hutchison

^{_{Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories, since the 1990s. He is the sports editor at the Newtown Bee. He writes for the Monroe Sun. He was director of communications and radio color commentator for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (now Islanders) hockey team. He has won numerous writing awards, including regional and national first-place honors.}}