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06/24/2019 12:00 AMThe Branford Senior American Legion baseball team is off to a solid start in the 2019 summer season. Last week, Post 83 played seven games against fellow Zone 2 opponents and came away with five victories to improve their record to 6-2 in zone play this year. Head Coach Kyle Henis’s club lost two of its three games against Orange, but bounced back by posting a victory versus Wallingford and then swept a three-game series with New Haven over the weekend.
Branford started off the week by hitting the road to face Orange for a doubleheader at Brinley Field on June 15. Post 83 came away with a split of the set by winning the first game and then taking a defeat in the second contest.
Branford took the opener by the final score of 4-2. Alphonse Suppa pitched five strong innings to earn the win on the mound for Post 83. Zane Kmietek locked up the save by pitching the final two innings of the victory. Branford’s offense came through in clutch situations and capitalized off a few mistakes by Orange on its way to the win.
In the second game, Branford dropped a 7-2 decision versus Orange to split the doubleheader. The next day, Post 83 hosted Orange and took a 10-1 defeat in the final game of the series at Branford High School.
Branford was back in action on June 19, when the team had a home against Wallingford, which competes with Post 83 in the Eastern Division of Zone 2. Branford recorded a 7-0 shutout over Wallingford to pick up its second divisional victory this season.
Carson Mendoza turned in a dominating outing for Branford by pitching all seven innings for the complete-game shutout. Anthony Burzynski had a big day at the plate by getting two hits, scoring three runs, and driving in three runs for Post 83. Suppa added a pair of hits to aid Branford’s offensive attack against Wallingford. Coach Heins said that Branford’s defense played great in the victory, adding that his athletes brought a great deal of intensity to the diamond.
“The kids know what lies in front of them,” said Heins. “We have four goals: Make the playoffs, win states, win regionals, and get back to Shelby [North Carolina] for the American Legion World Series for a fifth time. The kids are all in.”
On June 22, Branford hosted New Haven for a doubleheader and swept the twin billing by taking both games. Branford claimed a 5-3 win over New Haven in the first matchup. Eddie Zanor pitched a complete game to lead Post 83 to the victory.
Branford trailed 1-0, before scoring two runs in bottom of the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead. Branford tacked on three insurance runs in the sixth inning to increase the lead to 5-1. New Haven rallied for two runs in the seventh, but Zanor slammed the door to secure the victory.
In the nightcap, Post 83 edged out New Haven by a 2-1 final. Branford was down 1-0 early, but scored a run in the fourth inning and another run in the sixth to come away with the win. Kmietek got the start on the hill and tossed four innings for Branford. Matt Judd pitched two innings in relief, and Suppa worked one inning to finish off the victory.
The following day, Branford finished off its series with New Haven by prevailed by an 8-3 final in a road game at West Rock Field.