Titans edge Tri-State All-Stars 8-5

TORRINGTON — It was a peculiar night of baseball at Fuessenich Park Monday, July 4.It was at times absolutely picturesque, with Winsted Whaler All-Star Donny Crossman throwing blazing strikeouts as fireworks ignited in the distance over center field. It was at times entirely bizarre, with Willie Hung of “American Idol” fame singing grisly renditions of “Take Me Out” and “She Bangs” between innings to the fan’s delight. There were even moments of honest, nostalgic delight, as former Yankee pitcher and 1962 World Series Champion Jim Bouton received a roaring standing ovation after pitching a scoreless fourth inning at the age of 72. Titans’ starting pitcher Ben Doucette dueled with Winsted Whaler All-Star Adam Piechowski through three scoreless innings, in which Doucette struck out six and Piechowski dropped three of his own.The fourth inning delivered what many had been anticipating all day, as Bouton, former All-Star and author of the legendary baseball book “Ball Four,” took to the hill to pitch for the Tri-State All-Stars. The veteran pitched a spectacular inning, baffling the youthful Titans, who were unable to hit his dancing knuckleballs out of the infield. Steven Price drilled a home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the fourth to put the All-Stars ahead by one.The Titans responded, grappling the lead away from the All-Stars to lead 2-1 into the top of the sixth, then pulled ahead 3-1 going into the seventh. Tri-State All-Star Adam Claire closed the gap with an RBI base hit in the seventh, but the Titans took advantage of a few near errors in the bottom of the inning to pull ahead by five. All-Star Eric O’Toole brought some life back into the Tri-State dugout with a hard line drive up the middle for a base hit in the top of the eighth. Devin Murphy drove a fierce grounder out of the infield for a base hit and an RBI to cut the Titans’ lead to 5-3. Claire remained hot at the plate, knocking out a base hit that worked its way through the first and second basemen to drive in two more runs, tying the game at five apiece.Winsted Whaler All-Star Donny Crossman took over command at the mound in the bottom of the eighth. The Titans were able to extend their lead to 8-5 and win the game.