TORRINGTON: After falling to 2-5 after back-to-back losses to St Paul (14-2) and Naugatuck (4-2), the Torrington baseball team was staring at a potentially rough 2023 campaign.
One that certainly would not have been particularly memorable.
When senior Joe DiPippo took to the mound in Watertown on April 19, little did he know that his performance that day, a no-hitter in a 7-0 win would propel his team to where they are now.
On the right side of ten in a row.
Yep, that’s right, the Raiders have not lost since with their latest win, a 7-4 decision over Wolcott a blueprint on how this team has shown resilience and character throughout.
Things didn’t start well for the home team who fell behind 2-0 after a half inning but with DiPippo coming on in relief of teammate Melvin Alverez, to stymie the threat, the Raiders got to work in taking back what they had given up.
They would erase the deficit quickly with a four-run bottom of the first and never trailed again.
The visitors would add runs in the third and fourth innings but could never break an inning open as the Raiders made the plays, they needed to behind DiPippo.
Torrington would answer the Wolcott runs in each of their at bats to keep the lead at three.
What has been the difference during this streak?
“We don’t get down on ourselves,” second basemen Jack McCoy said. “We keep the energy up in the dugout no matter what the score is.”
Torrington improves to 12-5 with the win while Wolcott falls to 12-5 with the Raiders ahead of the Eagles by nature of sweeping the season series.
The team is putting the ball in play on a much more consistent basis right now, another key during this winning streak.
It’s a team that has shown great character this year, both on the diamond and in the dugout.
Torrington sits in fifth place in the Naugatuck Valley League standing with league games against St Paul on Saturday and Crosby next Tuesday/
They host Platt on Monday in a non-league contest.
The upcoming NVL tournament with give the Raiders another crack at the leaders.
This is a much different team than the one that started the year by losing five of their first seven.