This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
12/26/2017 11:00 PMThe Branford Senior American Legion baseball team wasn't able to get back to the playoffs this summer, although Branford's Junior Legion team qualified and won a couple of games before getting eliminated. Meanwhile, Branford's Prep Legion squad picked up nine victories on the year.
Senior Legion Baseball
In its first season following the retirement of renowned Head Coach Rich Balzano, Branford came up short of earning a State Tournament berth for the first time in several seasons as Post 83 went 10-12 in Zone 2 and finished the summer with an overall record of 12-14.
Branford took two of three from North Haven, Milford, and New Haven to go with a three-game sweep of West Haven during the campaign. On June 25, Post 83 swept a doubleheader from Milford behind great pitching performances from Jeff Jablonski and Eddie Zanor. Robbie Barbash, Devin DeRenzo, DJ Caron, Byrce Baker, James Wallace, and Gio Tirollo were among the players who helped Branford get the sweep. In Branford's season finale, Post 83 received a complete-game performance from Zanor on the mound in a 4-1 victory over Orange.
Junior Legion Baseball
Post 83 went 9-8-1 in Zone 2 to finish in fourth place to go with an overall record of 10-11-1. Head Coach Mike Krause's team then won two games in the State Tournament on its way to finishing with a total mark of 12-13-1.
During the regular season, Branford posted a 3-2 walk-off win versus North Haven on a bases-loaded walk by Blake Kustra. Post 83 went on to sweep a pivotal doubleheader with New Haven by claiming a 7-6, walk-off victory in eight innings, followed by an 8-7 win. Aiden Ricciardelli's squeeze bunt plated Glen Iacovetti with the winning run in the first victory.
In the double-elimination State Tournament, Branford lost an 8-5 contest against Milford in its first game, but came back to defeat Oxford 8-7 and Milford 9-4 in its next two contests. Dan Watson earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief versus Oxford, while Mason Traca was the winning pitcher in the Milford victory. Tyler Sibley had a big two-run hit, Ricciardelli doubled twice with four RBI, and Colin Baxter walked four times and scored twice in that game. Branford was then eliminated from states with a 2-0 loss to Stamford in its next contest.
Prep Legion Baseball
Branford welcomed a new head coach in Jeffrey Shannon, whose team went 9-8 in Zone B play and 9-10-1 overall for the season.
Post 83 notched a pair of victories versus West Haven, Naugatuck, and Wallingford during the year. In its season finale, Branford defeated Wallingford as Daniel Farricielli, Jr., pitched 4.2 innings, and Jake Bodner threw 1.2 innings for Post 83 in the win.