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06/17/2017 12:00 AMSenior Legion Baseball
With the retirement of longtime Head Coach Rich Balzano, former Junior Legion Head Coach Ryan Santoro takes the reins as the skipper for the Branford Senior American Legion baseball team this summer. Through six games, Post 83 owns an overall mark of 2-4 to go with a record of 0-2 in Zone 2 play.
Santoro’s squad opened the season by taking a 3-0 loss to the Connecticut Grind in a non-zone home game on June 3. On June 7, Branford prevailed at Waterbury, 8-2, in another non-zone contest. Four days later, Post 83 posted a 5-1 win at non-zone opponent Fairfield. On June 14, Branford host non-zone foe RCP and lost 4-0. Branford opened up Zone 2 play on June 17 by hosting Stratford for a doubleheader and dropped decisions by finals of 10-2 and 5-2.
Last year, Branford finished the regular season with a record of 16-11 in Zone 2 to place fourth and qualify for the State Tournament, where Post 83 took a 5-0 loss at Orange in the opening round. Branford completed its season with an overall mark of 17-13-3.
Junior Legion Baseball
The Post 83 Juniors currently own an overall record of 4-4 with a mark of 3-1 in Zone 2 action after the first two weeks of the season.
Branford took a 16-2 loss against Stamford in its season opener on June 3. Henry Watson had a hit, while Justin Botte had two hits and scored a run for Post 83. Tyler Sibling threw three strong innings of relief.
The next day, Branford beat Guilford 9-4 in another non-zone matchup. Colin Baxter started on the mound and allowed one hit and no runs over five innings. Dean Lear struck out two in the seventh to close out the game. Glen Iacovetti had two hits, an RBI, and two runs scored, Charles Russo had two hits and two RBI, and Jake Judd had a hit with an RBI for Post 83.
Later that day, Branford lost to the Wallingford Senior Legion team, 7-1, in an exhibition game. Lear threw four solid innings for Branford.
On June 7, Branford opened up zone play with a 2-1 loss to Hamden in extra innings. Branford was down 1-0 in the seventh with two outs when Lear struck out, but he reached first base on a dropped third strike. Iacovetti was put in as a pinch runner and scored when Anthony Burzynski hit a double deep into the gap to tie the game. Justin Botte pitched an excellent game, but came away with a no-decision, as Hamden won it in the bottom of the eighth.
The next day, Post 83 earned its first zone victory of the year by beating Hamden 1-0. Baxter went four innings on the hill and struck out three, after which Lear came in and earned the victory in relief.
In its final game the opening week, Branford lost 11-0 to Bristol in a non-zone contest. CJ Miller had two hits and Henry Watson had one for Head Coach Michael Krause’s squad.
To open the second week of the season, Branford played Guilford in a non-zone game on June 11 and lost 6-3. Botte had a hit and two RBI, while Blake Kustra and Burzyinski had two hits each. Miller took the loss by allowing two runs on four hits with two strikeouts in three innings. Post 83’s pitchers allowed 11 walks in the loss, while Guilford came up with some clutch hits.
On June 15, Branford battled West Haven and won 9-3 in a Zone 2 game. Botte got the win by pitching 5.1 strong innings, allowing three runs on seven hits to go with three strikeouts. Lear pitched the rest of the game, striking out two. At the dish, Lear had two hits, two RBI, and a run; Russo had a hit, a run scored, and a stolen base; and Watson had a hit and two RBI.
To wrap up the week, Branford defeated North Haven 3-0 on June 17. Lear allowed five hits and struck out five in a dazzling six-inning performance, with Watson shutting the door in the seventh. Lear helped himself at the plate with two hits, a run scored, and an RBI. Watson contributed two hits and an RBI, and Baxter had a hit, as well. Coach Krause was pleased as Post 83 committed no errors in a game for the first time this season.
Prep Legion Baseball
Branford welcomes a new head coach in this summer in Jeffrey Shannon, whose squad stands with an overall record of 2-2 to go with a mark of 2-1 in Zone B play on the young season.
Post 83 began their campaign by splitting a home doubleheader against zone opponent Wolcott on June 3. Branford lost the first game 12-2 and took the nightcap by a 4-1 final. The next day, Branford took a 2-0 home loss to Fairfield in non-zone contest. Then on June 15, Post 83 faced zone foe West Haven on the road at Painter Park and prevailed 7-4.
Last season, Branford finished with an overall record of 10-13.
Sports Editor Chris Piccirillo contributed to this story.