By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Connor Gresens does the bulk of his work from behind the plate.
On Saturday, the junior catcher traded battery spots and helped the Irondequoit baseball team get back on the winning side.
Gresens hurled three innings in relief and picked up the win in the Eagles’ 5-4 victory over Brighton in Monroe County Division II action.
“That feels really good,” he said. “A great team win. We had the confidence to keep coming back.”
The right-hander took over on the mound with no outs, a pair of runners in scoring position and Irondequoit trailing 3-2. He escaped without allowing a run getting a routine fly ball, an out on a rundown between third and home and his first of five strikeouts in the appearance.
“I knew they couldn’t hit me. He (catcher Carraig Jones) kept calling for a fastball. I wanted to go with the curveball and play around a little with that.”
Connor Gresens takes over on the mound with no outs, runners on second and third and escapes without a run allowed. @BBruinsbaseball 3 @ITown_Baseball 2. pic.twitter.com/9k0jaSl3z5
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 30, 2022
Fittingly, Irondequoit took its first lead of the game in the home half of the frame. Sam Lessard plated Brian Tisa with a two-out double for a 4-3 lead.
Sam Lessard’s two-out double gives @ITown_Baseball its first lead of the day at 4-3 heading to the 6th. pic.twitter.com/gLFsiCAMAI
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 30, 2022
Brody Froman scored the winning run in the seventh when Gresens pushed a ground ball to the right side of the infield.
“I know Connor,” said Froman who scored three runs in the game. “He’s a great hitter. I knew he was going to put it in play. I was going to score. I had a lot of confidence that he was going to put the ball in play which he did.”
Moving on contact, Brody Froman scampers home on the Connor Gresens ground ball. Walkoff: @ITown_Baseball 5 Brighton 4 pic.twitter.com/qAhtvEqHce
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 30, 2022
Froman reached on a hit by pitch to lead the seventh and stole second. The Eagles centerfielder moved to third on a Jones fly ball to right setting up Gresens for the walk-off.
“I was trying to see it through,” Froman said of his read on the game-winning play. “I saw it on the ground, and I was just like well it’s on the other side of the field, so I gotta go and make a play.”
Ninth-grader Gio Cassetta made his first varsity start struck out six over four-plus innings for Irondequoit. The right-hander allowed two earned runs on three hits.
Froman had a hit and reached base three times in the game.
Irondequoit (7-5) loss to Rush-Henrietta on Friday. Saturday’s win was the Eagles third in the past four games.
Brighton’s Ellis Einbinder reached on a one-out error in the seventh. The Bruins’ centerfielder moved 90 feet on a Ben Comeau ground ball. Jackson Heider knotted the game with a two-out single to right center.
Jackson Heider plates Ellis Einbinder with a 2-out single to know the score at 4. @BBruinsbaseball pic.twitter.com/3VWNBJHYWu
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 30, 2022
Heider also brought home Einbinder in the third with an RBI groundout for a 3-1 Brighton (2-8) lead. Three of Brighton’s losses have been by one run.
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