Branford Senior Legion Eliminated in Opening Round of States
Senior American Legion Baseball
The Branford Senior Legion baseball team 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 on July 16. Branford completed its season with an overall mark of 17-13-3.
Branford began its last week of the season by dropping a 3-1 home contest to Orange on July 12. Post 83 prevailed at Orange 7-2 the following day and then took an 8-3 home defeat to Orange in the rubber game of the three-game series on July 14. Branford closed the regular season by blanking New Haven 8-0 at home on July 15, after which Head Coach Rich Balzano’s squad was shut out by Orange in states the following day.
First up last week, Branford lost at home versus Orange, 3-1. DJ Caron started on the mound for Branford, scattering 10 hits and striking out three. Orange scored two runs in the fourth inning and Post 83 answered with one run in the fifth. Nick Candelora doubled and Tyler Criscuolo singled him in to make it 2-1. Orange came back with a run in the bottom of the fifth for a 3-1 advantage and that was the way it stayed. Branford was unable to mount any offense and left 10 runners in base in the game.
However, Branford came back the next day to snag a 7-2 victory at Orange and even the series at one game apiece. Mike Keinz pitched the first inning for Post 83, Alphonse Suppa threw the next five to earn the victory, and Candelora worked the seventh. Branford took an early command by plating three runs in the second inning. Caron singled, Trevor Brown walked, and then Caron scored the game’s first run on a single by Robbie Barbash. After that, Coleman singled in Brown and Candelora singled home Barbash for a 3-0 lead. Orange sliced the deficit to 3-2 by scoring twice in the bottom half of the second, but Branford retaliated with a three-spot in the third. It started when Botte singled, Caron sacrificed him to second, Brown reached on an error, and Brandon Kilfeather walked to load the bases. Barbash was hit by a pitch to force home a run and then Criscuolo drove in Brown and Kilfeather with a single to make it 6-2. Post 83 tacked on another run in the fifth when Kilfeather singled, advanced to second on Barbash’s sacrifice, and scored on a base hit from Coleman.
“Good win. Our pitchers got a good workout and kept them at two to give us a chance,” said Coach Balzano. “Our offense perked up a bit and we hit in the clutch.”
Unfortunately, Branford was unable to win the series as Orange came to Branford on July 14 and left with an 8-3 victory. Devon Lawson took the hill and pitched into the fifth, when he was relieved by Devon DeRenzo. Criscuolo pitched the seventh inning for Branford. Orange scored three in the first, but Branford came back with a pair in the bottom of the inning. Coleman walked, Candelora got aboard via an error, and DeRenzo walked to fill the bases. Botte came up and delivered a single that brought home Coleman and Candelora for a 3-2 ballgame. Post 83 tied the game at 3 in the second as Brown walked and scored on Barbash’s single, but Orange scored four times in the fourth and once in the seventh for the 8-3 win and the series victory. Orange finished tied for second place in Zone 2 with a record of 18-9.
“We were flat and could not mount any offense over the last five innings,” said Balzano.
On July 15, Branford hosted another Zone 2 opponent in New Haven and claimed an 8-0 win in its last regular season contest. TJ Beaudin tossed a complete game shutout for Post 83, allowing just three hits, while striking out three. Branford scored five times in the second and added single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings on its way to the lopsided triumph. Criscuolo and Suppa had two hits each to pace the offense for Branford, which took advantage of some New Haven walks and errors by getting some timely hits. New Haven went 13-14 in Zone 2 and tied for sixth place.
Branford was right back at it for its State Tournament opener the following afternoon against familiar foe Orange and saw its season end with a 5-0 road loss at Brinley Field. Branford was the No. 14 seed in the Southern Division of the bracket and Orange was the No. 11 seed. Both teams had to play in the single elimination Sectionals portion of the tournament as only teams that win their zones receive a bye through those two rounds. Keinz started for Post 83 and pitched 3.1 innings. Suppa threw the next 1.2 innings and Candelora pitched the sixth. Orange scored two runs in the second, two more in the fourth, and one in the sixth for the 5-0 victory. Post 83 left 10 runners on base and was hampered by a few great plays from the Orange defense. Branford had a runner thrown out at the plate and another thrown out at third in the defeat. Botte and DeRenzo both had two hits for Coach Balzano’s club.
“Tough way to end the season, but the kids played hard each and every game,” said Balzano.
Junior American Legion Baseball
Branford’s run of reaching the State Tournament came to an end as Post 83 finished the season with a record of 12-12 in Zone 2 to place sixth and come up one place shy of qualifying. Branford had a chance to make it entering the final week, but split its two games with North Haven to finish a game behind both Orange and Hamden, which both went 13-11 in the zone.
On July 13, Branford won its sixth-straight game, 6-3 over North Haven at home, to remain in playoff contention. Jake Judd went six innings for the win and allowed three runs (2 earned) on four hits and five walks. Matt Judd closed the door in the seventh, striking out two to earn the save. Nick Mancini had a hit, a RBI, and three runs scored; Dan Lear had a hit with two RBI; Colin Baxter had two hits; Jason Rysczyk had two hits, a RBI, and a run scored; and Aiden Ricciardelli had a hit, an RBI, and a run scored.
The season came to an end for Branford on July 15, when it lost at North Haven 9-1. Prior to the game, Branford had learned that a June 20 loss against New Haven became a win due to New Haven playing with an 18-year-old in the game. First-year Head Coach Mike Krause’s club finished the summer strong following a rough start.
“If we got a win in our last game, we would have moved up from sixth to tied for third. Unfortunately, we came up short with North Haven beating us. Our hitting, fielding, and pitching fell asleep on us,” Krause said. “I’m very proud of the kids that they did not give up. We had a young team. At least three of the players that played for Seniors were going to be with us, but the Senior team needed them.”
Prep American Legion Baseball
Post 83 played six games last week and saw a mixture of results to stand at 6-11 in Central Division play with overall mark of 9-13. Branford remains in State Tournament contention entering the final week of the regular season and has one left to play against West Haven.
First, Post 83 faced Central Division foe RCP (Rocky Hill-Cromwell-Portland) for a two-game series and dropped both games by taking a 7-1 road loss on July 11 and a 10-6 home defeat the next day. On July 13, Branford played at non-division opponent Fairfield and won an 11-9 ballgame. Branford then dropped both ends of a divisional doubleheader with Wolcott at home by final scores of 12-2 and 8-4 on July 18. In its last game of the week, Branford notched a 4-3 victory at West Haven in a Central Division contest.
In the Fairfield win, Post 83 rallied from a nine-run deficit to earn an 11-9 victory. Enrique Diaz had the game-winning RBI and Jack Van Gelder was the winning pitcher in relief.
Versus West Haven, Brett Fee pitched a complete game for Branford, which won it when Gio Parillo drove home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Matt Daley had an RBI double for Head Coach Bruno Castaldi's squad.