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06/29/2017 12:00 AMThe Branford Senior American Legion baseball squad picked up its first four wins in Zone 2 play this year by sweeping a doubleheader with Milford and earning a pair of victories versus North Haven last week. Post 83 is now 4-6 in its Zone 2 games this summer.
Branford got on the board in zone play by taking both ends of a home doubleheader against Milford on June 25. Post 83 won the first game 6-3 and took the second game 7-1. The next day, Branford and East Haven resumed a game from June 22 that had been suspended due to darkness with the score tied heading into extra innings. When play resumed, the game went to the 14th inning, where East Haven won it, 6-5, by plating a run in the top half of the frame. Then on June 27, Post 83 bounced back by blanking North Haven 1-0 at Branford High School. The day after that, Branford faced North Haven on the road and came away with a 3-2 victory.
First-year Head Coach Ryan Santoro was pleased to see his team settle in by winning four of its last five Zone 2 matchups after dropping its first five to start the season.
“We’ve just relaxed a little bit, and the kids are starting to throw more strikes. Between the continuation of the East Haven game and [the two North Haven games], we’ve only given up three runs in 21 innings, so the pitching is doing its job, and we’ve gotten some timely hitting. They’ve been close games for the most part, and so we’ve grinded them out,” Coach Santoro said. “We’ve put our slow start behind us now by winning four of five, and we’re right in the thick of the zone standings. We’re out of the mud now and have some momentum, and we’re looking to continue it. The kids are in a good place, and that’s where we’re at.”
Jeff Jablonski pitched a four-hitter with one walk when Branford beat Milford 6-3 in the opening game of a doubleheader. Trevor Brown went 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI, Robbie Barbash was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, and Gio Tirollo drew a walk and scored two runs for Branford.
Post 83 trailed 2-0 when James Wallace drove in Eddie Zanor on an RBI single. With Branford down 3-1 in the fourth, DJ Caron scored on a sacrifice fly by Barbash. Branford tied the game in the fifth when Devin DeRenzo singled in Tirollo, after which Brown scored on an error for a 4-3 lead. In the sixth, Branford added insurance when Brown drove in Barbash and Tirollo scored on a throwing error to make it 6-3.
In Game 2, Post 83 beat Milford 7-1 as Zanor earned the win on the mound by allowing just one earned run. Devon Lawson finished it out for Branford. DeRenzo and Caron both scored two runs and walked twice. Barbash had an RBI double and scored a run, while Bryce Baker hit an RBI single.
The game was tied 1-1 in the fourth when Baker drove home Caron and then stole second and scored on a base knock by Tirollo for a 3-1 advantage. In the fifth, DeRenzo scored on a balk, and Wallace drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Caron. Barbash clubbed a two-run double in the sixth to blow it open at 7-1 and complete the sweep.
On June 26, Branford and East Haven resumed a game they had started four days earlier with the scored knotted 5-5 entering the eighth inning. East Haven scored the go-ahead run on a bloop single in the top of the 14th and went on to a 6-5 win. TJ Beaudin pitched five innings for Post 83, CJ Miller pitched two innings, and Lawson pitched all seven after the game resumed.
Branford had scored three runs in the first inning as Jordan Botte drove in Tirollo and Brown, and Caron’s single scored Botte. Branford made it 4-0 in the third when Mason Traca plated Dan Lear on a single. East Haven cut it to 4-3 in the fourth, tied it in the fifth, Branford went up 5-4 in the sixth, and the 89ers tied it again in the seventh before the game was suspended.
In the first game of the North Haven series, TJ Beaudin pitched a shutout in a 1-0 victory for Post 83. Beaudin allowed just two hits and two walks in the masterful performance. DeRenzo’s RBI single in the fifth inning was all Beaudin needed to lock down the one-run win.
Branford came back to get another win against North Haven by prevailing 3-2 the following day. Branford went up 2-0 in the third as Zanor hit a sacrifice fly that scored Brown, and Baker’s infield hit brought home Botte. In the fourth, Brown hit a sacrifice fly that scored Wallace to make it 3-0. North Haven scored two runs in the sixth against Branford starter Caron, who reached his pitch limit, and so Coach Santoro went to CJ Miller to try to get out of the jam. Miller got North Haven’s hitter to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Then in the bottom of the seventh, North Haven had runners at second and third, when Miller’s pitch got away from Barbash behind the plate. However, the ball didn’t scurry too far away, and so North Haven’s runner was caught in a rundown between third and home. Branford got the lead runner out, while North Haven’s trail runner moved up to third. On the next pitch, Miller got a strikeout to end the game and secure Branford’s 3-2 victory.
Caron picked up the win by pitching 5.1 innings, and Miller notched the save by pitching the final 1.2 innings. Tirollo went 2-for-3 with a stolen base, and Botte was 2-for-4 with a run scored for Branford.