Norwalk, CT — Norwalk baseball coach Ryan Mitchell described his team’s hitting as “quiet” during the past week and a half. When they took on city rival Brien McMahon on Wednesday, the Bears decided to get loud. Norwalk pounded out 14 hits in support of pitcher Alistair Morin and routed the Senators 13-5 at Brien McMahon. The Bears (9-5) kept the lineup moving and had a few big hits: Jaden Echevarria and Ben Boccanfuso both homered, and Ethan Platt had a two-run double. “This was just an offensive explosion,” Mitchell said. “Guys being locked in and sitting on fastballs was really the difference today. We’ll take 13 runs any day of the week.” “We had a tough one against Danbury (a 10-2 loss), a tough one against Westhill (a 2-0 loss), but today we came here hungry,” Echevarria said. “We wanted to battle, we wanted to fight and we wanted to win this.” Morin delivered a gutty performance, throwing 112 pitches for the complete game. He struck out eight, and three of the five runs he allowed came in the final inning on a home run to center by McMahon catcher Pete Meyerson. Mitchell called Morin’s effort “absolutely tremendous.” “I’d put that pitching performance up against any in the league this year,” Mitchell said. “He was locating fastballs, and curve balls had them off-balance. He’s a big-game pitcher and there’s nothing better than having a guy that when I give him the ball, he’s going to give me everything he has every single pitch.” “Hat’s off to Alistair,” McMahon coach Steve Buckett said. “He pitched a great game and Norwalk swung the bats. They took advantage of every free base we gave them, timely hitting and we didn’t respond today.” Echevarria had a hot bat for the Bears, going 3 for 4 with a two-run homer which gave Norwalk a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning. “I felt really comfortable at the plate today,” Echevarria said. “(On the home run), I saw the ball out of the hand, I saw fastball, and I tried to make the best swing that I could and it ended up going over the fence.” Norwalk has three games remaining in the regular season and Mitchell said he hopes the Bears’ performance on Wednesday can be a springboard heading into the playoffs. The Senators, on the other hand, hope to regroup. “In a season like this with the playoffs the way they’re configured, it’s not about how you start, it’s when you get hot,” Buckett said. “We’re still looking to get hot at the right time and hopefully, we can use this as a wake-up call.” (credit: https://www.gametimect.com/norwalks-bats-explode-in-rout-of-city-rival-mcmahon/#photo-null)