By Ron P. Coderre

The Fourth of July holiday is usually the signal for teams in the Major Leagues to begin their runs to the playoffs if they’re going to reach the postseason.  It’s not much different for American Legion teams in Zone VI.

It’s time for teams to look in the mirror and assess their preseason goals. 

The American Legion season is at the point of no return.  All 10 teams in Zone VI have hit the mid-point of the schedule or beyond.  Danielson, Moosup and TriTown are all mired below the .500 mark and occupy three of the four bottom places in the standings.

It’s a fact, the top five teams in the Zone qualify for the postseason tournament.  There’s very little wiggle room remaining if the trio from the Northeast hopes to qualify.  It’s time to pull up the boot straps or in this case the laces on the cleats if they hope to make the postseason dance.

Danielson Striving to Break Losing Streak

The Danielson Recs faced a hot Niantic team, which has compiled a six game winning streak, in a three-game series and came away winless.  Niantic proved to be a tough hurdle for Post #21 as it was shutout in the opening game of the set 9-0.  Niantic then came back to sweep a doubleheader by scores of 7-3 in the opener and 6-5 in extra frames in the nightcap.

Danielson finally broke its five-game losing streak with a 12-3 win over Ledyard-Pawcatuck.  Hurler Travis Zurowski settled down after a shaky first inning and held L-P at bay the remainder of the way.  Tre Belanger, Kolby Reggione and Derek Grzysiewicz provided the offensive firepower, each with three runs-batted-in.  Belanger and Reggione had three hits apiece and Grzysiewicz two.  

In the middle game of the series, Ledyard-Pawcatuck squeezed out a 5-4victory over visiting Danielson.  Danielson is 6-11 and three games out of contention for the fifth spot in the Zone with 10 games remaining on the schedule.

Moosup Swept by Archrival Jewett City

The rivalry between Moosup and Jewettt City goes back a long way in all sports.  When these two rivals square off, it’s usually a fight to the finish.  This week the Jewett City nine threw some fuel on the fire by taking three games from Moosup in impressive fashion.

In the opening game of a three-game series the JC pitching shutdown the Moosup bats completely, walking away with a 10-0 victory.  Jewett City followed the shutout with a twinbill sweep of Post #91.  In the opener of the doubleheader Jewett City pitching tossed another shutout, winning 5-0.  The second game had more offense but Moosup still came in on the short end of the scoreboard, losing 14-5.

Moosup continued its dismal play losing the opening game of a three game series to Waterford 8-0.  Post #91 managed only one hit in the loss.  This was the third time in the last four games that the Moosup bats have been shutout.  The teams engaged in a Sunday doubleheader with Waterford walking off with a pair of wins.  They won the first game 9-2 and the second 15-5.  Moosup is 6-13 and mired in the cellar of the 10-team Zone with eight games remaining. 

TriTown Searching for Elusive Wins

TriTown faced Niantic, the hottest team in Zone VI and was schooled 14-3.  The Towners were their own worst enemy, committing both physical and mental errors in the loss.  As each error occurred the frustrations mounted.

The Towners then went from the frying pan to the fire, facing Waterford the first place team in Zone VI.  The results weren’t pretty, as TriTown went down 9-4 despite posting eight hits.

Opening a series with Norwich on the road, TriTown dropped a heart breaker, losing 5-4.  TriTown rallied for three runs in the top half of the seventh inning only to give up the winning run in the bottom half of the frame.  

TriTown concluded the three-game series with Norwich by sweeping a doubleheader from the visitors.  The first game went nine innings before the Towners were able to push across the winning run.  Jared Durand pitched seven strong innings before being relieved by Kyle Tyler who picked up the win.  Benny Brissette had two RBIs.

In the nightcap TriTown scored a run in the opening inning and Josh Allard made it stand up as the Towners picked up a 1-0 victory.  Alex Angelo had two hits and drove in the only run of the game.  Jacob Guertin also had a two hit game.  The Towners are currently 5-11 with 11 games remaining.