The Branford Junior Legion squad clinched its second straight Zone 2 title by beating Stratford 11-5 on July 16 and finished the regular season with a robust record of 23-2, earning the top seed in the Southern Bracket of the State Tournament.

"It was a great regular season. We're very proud," Head Coach Ryan Santoro said. "With this team winning games by as many runs as they did all season, you'd think they'd take it easy and go through the motions. But they played hard and continued to work on the little things. They're looking forward to the tournament."

Branford followed the Stratford win by beating East Haven 4-1 on July 18, prevailing behind another brilliant performance by Jason Quido on the mound. Quido improved to 6-0, going the distance and limiting East Haven's scoring chances. He allowed just six hits and one run that came with two outs in the top of the seventh inning.

"I had [catcher] Charlie [Ahern] helping me out. He mixes the pitches well and set me up," said Quido. "There's not much I have to worry about out there. I just let them hit it and let the defense make the plays."

To end the second inning, East Haven's Jordan Torre threw out Joe Criscuolo at the plate when he attempted to tag up on a fly ball, shifting the game's momentum in favor of East Haven. But Quido then returned momentum to Post 83 for, after allowing a single to start the third, he followed that up with a strikeout, pop out, and ground out to silence East Haven and put Branford in the driver's seat once again.

"I just had to throw strikes and get out of it," Quido said.

Although Branford only had three hits, it was still able to manufacture four runs for the victory.

In the second inning, Devin DeRenzo walked and moved to second base on a balk. After Joe Criscuolo reached base on an error, Ahern hit a ground ball to the right side that East Haven's second baseman couldn't handle. The ball dribbled into the outfield, allowing DeRenzo to score to give Branford the lead.

In the third, Isaiah Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and scored when Sean Halligan's ground ball to second got through via another error. Halligan attempted to move to second when the right fielder tried to throw out Rodriguez at home, but the ball was cut off and Halligan was picked off to end the inning. After the game, Santoro talked to his team about base running and how important it is leading into the State Tournament,

"You're in a tight game and those things matter," he said. "So we try to tell these kids what they can work on every day because there always is something in baseball."

Branford scored its final two runs in the fourth inning, thanks to timely hitting. Branford loaded up the bases with two walks and an error and, with two outs, Nick Candelora singled to drive home Criscuolo and Greg Mahan.

"Timely hitting is a great thing. A lot of the times this year, we've done that with two outs," Santoro said. "Hopefully, that just carries over to the rest of the season and the tournament."

Those runs were all Quido would need as his only blemish came in the top of the seventh inning, an out away from a shutout. After getting the first two batters out with ease, he allowed a walk and an RBI double to right-center field before recording the final out. Quido worked methodically, throwing 94 pitches, 19 of which were in the final frame.

"That's Jay. He knows how to pitch. He moves from one batter to the next," Santoro said. "They did have some changes to score runs and Jay definitely, along with his defense, took that away from them, which allowed us to get a run here, a run there, and eventually go up four so we had a bigger cushion, which is always nice. He just put the game away."

Earlier in the week, Branford notched a few wins over Stratford and then ended the week with blowouts over Milford to cement its place in the standings.

Branford beat Stratford on July 14, 10-2, with Halligan picking up the win. It scored seven runs in the fifth to close out the game and the team batted around in the inning with Will Coleman and Criscuolo each knocking in a pair.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Branford won in extra innings, 6-3. Post 83 jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and didn't score again until the ninth. Criscuolo started the game on the mound and had the lead entering the seventh inning before allowing the tying runner on base, who eventually scored when Tanner Giddings relieved him later in the inning. In the ninth, however, Quido got things rolling, reaching on an error and stealing two bases before scoring on a fielder's choice. Evan Abbagnaro and Ryan Savio also scored in the inning, allowing Giddings to pick up the win in relief.

Branford finished the sweep of Stratford and clinched the zone title on July 16, winning 11-5 behind one big inning as it scored 10 runs in the third. Mike Keinz picked up the victory on the hill. Coleman went 3-for-4 with five RBI and DeRenzo finished with three RBI.

Branford then completed its regular season with 13-2, 17-2, and 17-1 victories over Milford. Post 83 has a bye until the final round of its regional bracket in states and will play at home on Monday, July 29. If it wins that game, Branford begins play in the double-elimination bracket on Wednesday, July 31.