It had been quite some time since the Valley Regional baseball team laid an outright claim to a Shoreline Conference title and, after a slow start this season, it seemed the drought would last another spring. Yet a determined and talented group of young men knew all along that the crown would be theirs in 2023.

The Warriors finished the regular season with a record of 14-6, good enough to earn the No. 3 seed in the Shoreline Conference Tournament. After Valley took down 6th-seeded Old Saybrook (4-0) and No. 2 Old Lyme (3-2) in the quarterfinals and semifinals on May 22 and 23, respectively, the Warriors returned to the championship round to face off against 4th-ranked North Branford on May 26 at Indian River Complex in Clinton.

The two squads split their pair of regular-season matchups, and the rubber game proved to fall in Valley’s favor–emerging with a 7-4 victory to net the Warriors sole possession of the Shoreline Conference title for the first time since 1986.

“This team believed they would win championships from the day they walked onto our field,” said Head Coach Brian Drinkard. “They [the seniors] missed their freshman year because of COVID. They earned the right to play a really tough Coginchaug in 2021 [the conference tournament final], but the game was never played because of weather. They made it back in 2022 only to drop a tough game to Old Saybrook, so they knew this was their last chance at a Shoreline championship. This championship is really important to Valley baseball and to this group of seniors. There will now be hardware in the trophy case at Valley to honor how talented this team was at Valley Regional.”

Drinkard went on to add how Valley showed a championship-caliber poise during the process way back in April when the team stumbled out to a

3-4 opening through seven games. Yet through illnesses and injuries, the Warriors wound up finding their form at just the right instance.

“We were never worried about our record. We had very important players miss multiple games with illness at the start of the season and two other players with significant injuries that compromised what they could do on the field,” said Drinkard. “The coaching staff also thought we used our pitchers a little too much too early in the season last year and committed to limiting pitch counts and avoiding pitchers starting twice in a week this year on short rest. We talked as a team, and we all believed that no matter what our record was, we were the best team in the Shoreline and our conference goal was to be peaking at the end of the season and win this championship.”

He added that senior hurlers Henry Breckenfeld and captain Sam Hutchinson proved pivotal in the pitching staff for Shorelines, freeing up the Warriors to use a trio of rested pitchers in the league bracket.

In the contest against North Branford, senior captain Braeden Sparaco, who was named the Shoreline Conference Pitcher of the Year, worked around two singles in the top half of the first inning and earned three strikeouts.

“Going into it, we were extremely confident, because we knew the strength of the team and what we were seeing from them on the mound,” said Sparaco. “I was extremely confident coming off the season I had on the mound. I felt I gave my team a good shot at winning this game after our struggle to score runs in the Shoreline final last year. I was extremely confident in my fielders and, when they faced their struggles in the game, I fought to pick them up and keep us competitive and in the game. I knew it was our year, and I was prepared and willing to do anything possible to win that game for my team.”

Senior Jack Finnegan led off the bottom of the first with a single, and then Sparaco reached on an error before Hutchinson delivered a three-run homer over the right field fence. Senior Reed Beighau increased Valley’s command with a clutch RBI double with two outs in the third.

Hutchinson also had a big two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth frame after Finnegan had a single and stole second. It proved to be a huge tally by extending the Warriors’ lead to three.

“We went into the game confident knowing we were seeing their pitcher for the third time this year,” said Hutchinson. “We faced adversity from the start of the year with players being hurt or sick and starting 3-4. North Branford fought hard and were tough to put away, but we had a great scouting report from our coaches and knew a lot about their pitchers’ tendencies. Since the end of last season, we were known as the team to beat this year because of the amount of talent we have in our lineup top to bottom. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we trusted ourselves, knowing this year’s tournament would be ours.”

Senior captain Colin Carver then came in to shut the door with a four-out save to send Valley into a state of celebration over ascending to the Shoreline throne.

“We didn’t play our most sound defensive game, [as] all four of North Branford’s runs were unearned. I think we definitely had some big game jitters defensively, but that did not seem to affect us at the plate or on the mound,” said Drinkard. “Braeden looked sharp on the mound and had an effective curveball working with his fastball to keep them off balance. We were really impressed with his composure out there when we dropped some balls and made some bad throws. He stayed focused and limited the damage.”

Hutchinson, Brayden Shea (both in the outfield), Carver (as an infielder), and pitcher Sparaco earned spots on the All-Shoreline Team, plus senior captain Lucas Rogers was an Honorable Mention for the squad.

While still commending the efforts of his entire club in Shorelines, Drinkard and the Warriors know they could not bask in the afterglow of the title triumph for long. Valley opened the Class S State Tournament at home on May 30 as the

No. 8 seed against No. 25 Wamogo and walloped with a 15-0 win. Hosting 24th-seeded Coginchaug the next day in the second round, the Warriors won 13-0 behind a combined perfect game pitched by Sparaco (8Ks in 5 frames) and Hutchinson (4 strikeouts in the remaining 2 innings). Carver was 3-for-4 with two RBI, plus Shea hit 3-for-4 and drove in three while smacking a homer. Valley (holding a 19-6 overall mark) then faced top-seeded St. Paul (19-3) in a quarterfinal on the road on June 3 and scored a 4-3 upset.

Valley, now 20-6 overall, plays in a state semifinal on June 6 against No. 4 Coventry (18-5). The winner faces either No. 10 Lyman Memorial (16-7) or 10th-ranked Shoreline rival Haddam-Killingworth (19-5) in the final on either Friday, June 9 or Saturday, June 10 at Palmer Field in Middletown. The Warriors have not appeared in a state championship game since 1971 where they fell 4-3 to St. Paul Catholic in Class M.

“It was truly a team effort. The assistant coaching staff did an amazing job, and the bench was energized and the players were focused on the game and winning the championship,” said Drinkard after the Shoreline title win. “With states, it starts all over. Just like Shorelines, our goal is to win the championship. We know it takes a team effort and there is little room for error. We believe we are ready and expect to win.”

Sparaco echoed his skipper’s sentiments, as the senior group has long since craved the conference crown and now has its sights set on state supremacy.

“Winning Shorelines is a goal we’ve had since many of us were eight years old stepping onto the field together for the first time,” added Sparaco. “But now, we are onto our even bigger goal of winning a state championship.”

The Valley Regional baseball team roster is comprised of seniors Sparaco, Beighau, Brayden Shea, Hutchinson, Rogers, Luke Buccaro, Jack Finnegan, Carver, Breckenfeld; junior Joshua Faucher; sophomores of James Brzozowy, Braden Karcich, Caleb Winkley, Jack McPherson; and freshmen in Gavin Abderhalden, Logan Prue, Chase King, John Finn Heiser, William Sicignano, and Patrick Finnegan.

2023 Valley Regional Baseball Team Regular Season Results

April 3: Valley Regional 10, East Hampton 0

April 5: Valley Regional 10, Morgan 9

April 6: Cromwell 7, Valley Regional 6

April 10: Haddam-Killingworth 3, Valley Regional 2

April 12: North Branford 5, Valley Regional 4

April 14: Valley Regional 6, Hale-Ray 1

April 15: Waterford 4, Valley Regional 1

April 18: Valley Regional 23, Westbrook 0

April 20: Valley Regional 11, Old Saybrook 1

April 22: Valley Regional 9, E.O. Smith 1

April 24: Valley Regional 14, Portland 1

April 26: Valley Regional 12, Coginchaug 2

April 28: Old Lyme 5, Valley Regional 1

May 3: Valley Regional 11, Morgan 0

May 5: Valley Regional 10, Cromwell 2

May 6: Valley Regional 11, East Hampton 1

May 8: Valley Regional 9, Haddam-Killingworth 0

May 11: Valley Regional 13, North Branford 2

May 13: Weston 2, Valley Regional 0

May 15: Valley Regional 16, Bacon Academy 0