American Legion

TriTown

suffers tough

loss in

tournament

By Ron P. Coderre

Jared Durand’s nickname is “Bird” because he was tiny at birth and still somewhat diminutive in size.  “Bird” didn’t allow his lack of size to deter him as he hurled a complete game in a 5-0 loss to West Hartford in the first round of the Connecticut American Legion Tournament.

The loss to West Hartford could easily have been a TriTown victory if the Towners could have capitalized on some early inning opportunities.  Regardless of the outcome, coach John Foucault’s charges proved that they belonged in the tournament.

West Hartford, which had a difficult time hitting Durand’s offerings, resorted to small ball, utilizing the bunt to beat the courageous pitching effort by Durand and the never give up attitude  of his teammates.  West Hartford scored four runs in the fourth inning to break open a scoreless contest up to that point.  They added a single run the next inning to conclude the scoring for the day.

In three key innings TriTown squandered potential scoring opportunities as they had runners on third base in each of those frames.  Nick Foucault got the first of eight TriTown hits when he had a ringing double in the first inning.  An Alex Angelo single and a fielding error by the left fielder put Angelo on second to open the second inning.  A Zach Cutler sacrifice bunt moved Angelo to third, where he was stranded.

Josh Allard’s one-out double to deep center field started what was to be TriTown’s last gasp effort.  Jacob Guertin, who had two hits on the day, then singled Allard to third, where he would stay when the game ended on a double play ground ball.

“I’m very proud of this team.  You demonstrated that you could play with the best teams in the state today.  This loss is bitter sweet as it’s not only the final game of our season but the final game for six of our players,” coach Foucault told the players in his postgame address.

TriTown, which reached the American Legion postseason for the first time since 1997, concludes its season at 12-16.  

TriTown Seniors and Juniors Qualify for State Legion Tournaments

All the action for the TriTown Senior and Junior American Legion Baseball entries came down to the final week of play.  And in some instances even to the final game and final out of the regular season.

In a crucial series with a young Danielson team the Towners were surprised as Danielson took the first two games of the series.  The losses kept TriTown’s admission to the postseason in jeopardy until the very last game of the 27-game season.  A TriTown 2-1 decision enabled the team to sneak into the tournament with a 12-15 record.

Danielson finished the season on a high note winning three of the last five games it was involved in during the final week.  The Danielson squad closes the books on the season at 10-17.

Moosup, much like Danielson, had the opportunity to play the role of spoiler.  Post #91 after surprising New London embarked on a three- game series with Jewett City, which like TriTown had an opportunity to qualify for the postseason.  A Moosup win kept Jewett City out of the tournament.

On the Junior level TriTown completed its season on a winning note, picking up a pair of wins over nemesis Jewett City in its final two games of the year.  Despite being on the cusp of the postseason TriTown became the third and final entry from Zone VI with the wins.  The team finishes the regular season at 10-10.

‘Dutch the Clutch’ Comes Through for TriTown

It took a sterling pitching performance by Jake “Dutch the Clutch” Dutcher in the final game of the season to propel TriTown into the long awaited American Legion Baseball Tournament.  It’s the first time Tritown has reached the postseason since 1997, a full 19 years ago.

Dutcher was composed as he battled a determined Danielson team in a complete game performance.  Despite some fielding and throwing errors by his mates, Dutcher and TriTown prevailed in the final game of the season 2-1.  Drew Daley, Dutcher’s mound opponent was equally impressive in defeat.

TriTown picked up both its runs in the fourth inning.  Chuck Innes, who doubled scored on an errant pickoff attempt, and Angelo scored the decisive winning run on a suicide bunt by Kobe Akana.

In the initial contest of the series Danielson broke open a close contest in the fifth inning with a six-run rally and coasted to an 8-1 victory.  Brian Albee with seven strike outs went the distance for the win.  Zach Gagnon and Ben Desaulnier each drove in two runs for the winners.

The following evening the two teams once again were in a dog fight with Danielson coming through with the win for the second night in a row.  Winning pitch Evan Clarkin went the route in the 3-1 victory, allowing TriTown only five hits.  It was only the second start of the season for Clarkin.

Danielson opened the game with a run in the first inning on a Desaulnier RBI single that drove Clarkin home.  In what proved to be the winning run, big Ian Burgess struck for a “Ballantine blast” that sailed well out of the ballpark over the left field fence.  Danielson added an insurance run in the seventh inning when Clarkin teamed up with his brother Dylan sending him home on a ground ball that was ruled an error.

TriTown mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh, when Angelo, who had singled scored on an Allard single for the team’s only run of the game.  The game ended with TriTown’s Guertin stranded on third.

On Sunday, Danielson lost to Norwich 4-3.  Coach John Krot’s team rebounded nicely with a stunning 3-1 verdict over Waterford.  Gagnon spun a gem, going the distance and striking out four Waterford batters.

Moosup prepared for its three-game set with Jewett City by surprising second place New London 2-0.  Izaiah Thompson threw a complete game shutout at the Whaling City crew.  Jordan Federer drove in both Moosup runs, while Jeff Nicolosi contributed a pair of hits.  In the field Saige Louis aided Thompson’s cause with two spectacular outfield catches.

Post #91 suffered a letdown when it lost the opener of the Jewett City series 4-2.  The team came back with a solid hitting performance, winning the middle game of the set 9-1.  Louis led the charge with three hits and three RBI.  Thompson also had three hits in support of winning hurler Nicolosi.  Steve Jankowski had two hits and drove in a run for the winners.

Federer struck again in the deciding game of the set when he pitched and hit Moosup to an 8-5 victory.  He went the distance for the win and drove in two runs.  Caleb Deslauriers also had two hits and an RBI for 10-17 Moosup. 

TriTown Juniors Rise to the Occasion

Facing a do-or-die situation to qualify for the American Legion Junior Tournament, TriTown got its act together following a devastating 6-0 loss to Norwich.  Riding the strong arm of Scott Davagian, who went the distance striking out seven batters, the Junior Towners beat Jewett City 4-1 in the next to the final game of the regular season.  TriTown jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings and rode Davagian the rest of the way.  Mike Falco and Jacob Straub each contributed key runs-batted-in to the win.

In a must-win situation TriTown, trailing 2-1 after four innings picked up a pair of game winning runs in the fifth inning to seal the win.  Luke Matthewson was the complete game winner.  He  limited JC to only two hits.  The duo of Matthewson and Davagian each had two hits, while Matthewson and Adam Saucier drove in key runs for coach Shawn Bates’ charges.

 

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