SOUTH DEERFIELD – Connor Waitkus stepped into the Valiton Field batter’s box – a familiar place – to some unfamiliar jeering.
Waitkus, a Frontier Regional graduate, was wearing the Chicopee Tigers blue and orange, while his hecklers, former high school teammates Gabe Gochinski and Bryan Baumann, sported Teddy Bear Pools jerseys in the left side of the infield.
“Easy out,” they yelled.
Chance brought the three former teammates together on the diamond where they experienced so much success. Waitkus was added to Chicopee’s roster due to their low numbers, while Gochinski and Baumann played so much and in the spots they were because of absences on the Teddy Bear Pools roster.
“It makes it more fun when you play against the guys you grew up with,” Waitkus said. “It was good to get back on the field after a while of not playing on it.”
They razzed Waitkus earlier in the game when he threw out Teddy Bear Pools Patrick Serio between second and third after he tried to pick up an extra base following an overthrow by Chicopee’s catcher trying to catch him stealing.
“I think you can chance it with Connor,” Baumann joked.
“It’s definitely fun to be out there with them, I like giving them grief,” Gochinski said. “I like messing around with them. We both just have fun with it, especially in the summer.”
Waitkus proved he wasn’t an easy out and drew a key walk in the top of the seventh inning with the visiting Tigers trailing by three runs. It put two runners on base for Chicopee coach Sean Bourgeoise, who inserted himself as a pinch hitter.
Bourgeoise laced a two-run double into left field to make it a one-run game, but he ended up stranded at second when Teddy Bear Pools’ Cody Cleveland struck out Max Chipman looking to end the game. Cleveland breathed a sigh of relief walking off the mound, as the 4-3 victory likely clinched home field advantage in the opening round of next week’s playoffs. Teddy Bear Pools was the No. 4 seed entering Thursday’s action with a two-point lead over the Longmeadow Cardinals that stretched to four with the victory. Longmeadow played a night game Thursday and has one more regular season contest Friday to close the gap.
“It gives us a little cushion going into the playoffs,” Teddy Bear Pools catcher/coach Andrew Serio said. “It was a lot more important than most games.”
Teddy Bear Pools (9-10) pulled ahead in the bottom of the second inning with discipline at the plate. Serio was hit by a pitch leading off, then Joe Pion walked. A Baumann walk loaded the bases, then Patrick Serio dropped in an RBI single for a 2-1 lead. Andy Grygorcewicz and Hector DeJesus each drew a walk to push it to 4-1.
Greg Koiziol drove in Chicopee’s run in the top of the second, while Gochinski had an RBI for Teddy Bear Pools in the first.
“This field, we know the lips everywhere. We know where the ball is gonna go on it,” Gochinski said. “It’s definitely comfortable playing on it.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.