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06/24/2018 12:00 AMSenior Legion Baseball
The Branford Senior American Legion baseball team continues to play well in the early goings of its first full campaign with Kyle Heins as the club’s head coach. Post 83 put four more wins in the books last week by earning a victory versus Stratford, notching two wins over fellow Zone 2 opponent East Haven, and then defeating Avon in a non-zone contest. Branford is in first place as the only undefeated team in the Zone 2 standings with a record of 5-0 to go with an overall mark of 6-2 this year.
“We are playing great baseball right now. The chemistry is great and the kids know how the play the game,” said Heins, a North Branford High School baseball alum. “I can’t wait for the rest of the season to unfold.”
Post 83 hosted Stratford on June 17 and claimed a 9-6 win to complete a three-game sweep against its Zone 2 foe. Branford had taken both ends of a doubleheader the previous day, defeating Stratford by final scores of 4-3 and 4-0 at Penders Field.
Then on June 20, Branford was home to face East Haven for the first time this summer and blanked the 89ers by a 9-0 final. Recent Branford graduate Alphonse Suppa pitched six innings to get the win and improve to 2-0 on the year. Fellow Branford resident Matt Judd threw a scoreless seventh inning to close out the game. At the plate, Zach Withington had a big day by collecting two hits, two runs scored, and four RBI for Post 83. Fellow 2017 Branford graduate Nikko Liguori also had a pair of hits in the victory. Zachary Vandale, who attends Choate Rosemary Hall, provided two hits and scored two runs.
Two days later, Branford headed to East Haven and picked up a 6-1 victory. Zane Kmietek tossed six innings with 11 strikeouts to get the win and move to 2-0. Carson Mendoza pitched the seventh inning for Branford, and he also had two hits at the dish. Liquori had three hits with two runs scored and an RBI, Damien Maniscalco had two hits, two runs scored, and a stolen base; and Suppa added two hits in the victory. Kmitek, Mendoza, and Maniscalco recently finished their careers with the Branford High School baseball team.
Then on June 23, Branford hosted Avon for a nine-inning, non-zone contest and came away with an 8-4 win. Mendoza pitched four innings for the victory, after which Branford’s bullpen took over and finished off the game. Withington had three more hits, while Suppa hit a pair of doubles to go with two runs scored and two RBI for Coach Heins’s club. Liquori contributed two hits for the offense, and Kmietek hit a clutch, two-run double to help Post 83 add to its lead.
Junior Legion Baseball
Post 83 split its last two games to move to 4-2 in Zone 2 action this year. Branford is just one game behind East Haven and Hamden for first place in the zone standings.
On June 19, Branford took a 4-0 loss against East Haven. Justin Elpi threw four scoreless innings of relief in which he allowed just one hit for Post 83. Dan Farricielli had two hits, while Carter Shannon, Justin Cofrancesco, Declan Ross, and Enrique Diaz all recorded one hit apiece.
Post 83 rebounded by earning 4-2 victory over East Haven on June 21. Farricielli got the win on the mound as he tossed four innings and allowed just one run on five hits. Jack Van Gelder picked up the save by giving up one run in three innings of work. Shannon went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI to lead the offense. Glen Iacovetti had two hits, including a triple, with two runs scored; Elpi had a double, a run scored, and an RBI; Diaz had a hit and with an RBI, plus Ross had a hit and a run scored in the victory.
Prep Legion Baseball
Branford recently split four games in Zone A action to move to 3-4 in the zone and 4-6-1 overall this year. On June 17, Post 83 took a 14-7 loss at West Haven. Two days later, Branford hosted West Haven at Totoket Park and dropped a 12-6 decision. The following day, Branford welcomed another Zone A opponent to Totoket Park when Meriden came to town and prevailed by the final score of 8-2. The following afternoon, Post 83 earned a 7-5 win on the road versus Meriden.