A cold and windy Monday afternoon brought the Lewis Mills Spartans to Rotary Field for a battle with the South Windsor High School Bobcats. The Bobcats looked to get off on the right foot ahead of a big week featuring four games and they would do just that.
Senior Jake Palombizio got the starting nod and looked to avenge his loss to Berlin just one week prior. After issuing a walk to his first batter of the game, the righty then turned dominant. Palombizio retired 15 of the next 16 Spartans.
The ‘Cats scored a run in both of the first two innings via a passed ball in the first and an RBI single from junior Brayden Edwards in the second, but they’d blow the game wide open in the home half of the third.
Senior Robert Wunsch came to the plate and got a hold of the ball and sent it deep out to left field and all the way over the wall for his first career home run. Junior Dalton Harrison followed soon after when he launched a bases clearing, three run double.
Edwards added a double of his own, while a plethora of Bobcats added base hits and several walks that ended the inning with a grand total of 13 runs and a 15-0 lead.
When the ‘Cats came back to bat in the following inning, the game turned from bad to ugly for the Spartans. Seven more runs came to the plate for the Bobcats and marked their best offensive outburst in recent history.
Palombizio shut the doors on the Spartans in the top of the fifth, where the game ended due to the CIAC run limit rule by a score of 21-0. Two walked batters were the only players to reach the base path, granting Palombizio his first career no-hitter while striking out six.
Wunsch tallied three total hits, with a double and a single to go with his home run in the second inning. Wunsch spoke to The Prowl following the game, saying “It was a great team win. The bats came alive from top to bottom. [The] bats are getting hot at the right time.”
Senior Justin Dittmar joined Edwards, Harrison, and junior Aiden Jackson with two hits apiece, as well as all having multiple RBIs.
Palombizio’s dominance over the Spartans was a great start to an important week for the ‘Cats, and gave the senior confidence with the coming weeks. “The team played great and our defense was on point all game. The bats looked great and will continue to come alive throughout the season,” Palombizio said.
The Bobcats are back in action later today when they travel to Glastonbury for a battle with the Guardians, before a highly anticipated showdown with the fifth ranked Southington Knights under the lights on Wednesday night. South Windsor rounds off the week on Friday against the Tolland Eagles.
Sitting at a 4-2 record, this week will prove to be crucial for the Bobcats and is a huge test early on in the year.
