The Branford Junior Legion baseball team continues to be one of the top squads in Zone 2 and completed the regular season in its upper echelon for the seventh year in a row. Despite taking a 4-3 loss to Hamden on July 15, Post 83 and Hamden both went 19-5 in zone play for the regular season, thus giving Ryan Santoro’s club a share of the crown.

“We’re co-champs and it was nice to tell the kids that. We accomplished the goal we set out. We didn’t outright win it, but we were co-champs for the zone and the hard work they put in paid off,” Santoro said. “We certainly had some bumps in the road. We had our winning streaks, some losing streaks, a bad stretch of games, a great stretch of games. Over the course of it all, it’s good for the kids to have that label that we tied to win the zone. It’s nice for them and I’m happy for them.”

Post 83 started the week with a 12-0 thumping over North Haven on July 13. Devon Lawson started and struck out seven in five innings before the game was called due to the mercy rule. Branford scored two in the first, four in the third, and six in the fourth. In the third inning, Trevor Brown’s single drove home Giovanni Tirollo and Nick Mancini tripled home Brown and Mike Hoyt. Mancini then scored on a single by Luke Spivey. In the fourth, Post 83 batted around as eight guys in a row reached base. DJ Caron doubled and scored; Brown, Mancini, and Spivey all singled and scored; and Derek Candelora and Hoyt both reached base on errors and scored.

On July 15, Post 83 was defeated by Hamden 4-3. Hamden scored a run in each of the first three innings off pitcher Jack Spencer. Branford got one back in the fifth when Tirollo’s single drove home Spivey. However, Hamden answered right back in the sixth. In the bottom of six, Brown singled, Hoyt doubled, and they both scored on a single by Spivey, although Branford came up one run shy.

“It was a well-played game. It was a well-pitched game by both teams. We had our chances. We just didn’t capitalize. It was a tight game,” said Santoro, who wasn’t present at last week’s games. “All I was told was that we had our chances. Hamden had their chances, as well, but Hamden was the victor in a well-played game. We have a lot of respect for those guys. There are a lot of juniors on their team, so with our team being a mix of freshmen and sophomores, as well as an 8th-grader, we held our own pretty good against one that’s considered a varsity squad. We were just on the short end of a good game. That’s about it.”

On July 17, Branford bounced back by defeating Milford 10-0. DJ Caron struck out eight in his six-inning shutout. Post 83 got things going early by scoring four in the first inning. Candelora and Brown hit back-to-back doubles, highlighting the frame. In the fifth, Candelora singled and then stole both second and third. He scored on a triple by Alex Luhn, who later scored on a single by Griffin Lynch. In the sixth, Tirollo and Hoyt hit back-to-back, one-out singles, Candelora reached on an error, and everyone scored following Brown’s double. Brown was then driven home by a single by Spivey.

Branford was additionally awarded a pair of forfeit victories over Milford and North Haven last week.

“In a way, I had a gut feeling that both of those teams were going to do this. It benefited us because we didn’t have to waste arms. We had a couple of extra days off. It didn’t affect us at all,” said Santoro, whose club went 20-10 overall for the regular season. “I have no complaints about our kids through the entire year. For the most part, from start to finish, our kids have played hard, have had a good attitude, have come to play baseball, so even with the days off and today with the outcome, it had no bearing whatsoever.”

Santoro felt pleased about how his team composed itself in his absence, but wasn’t surprised given the strength of his coaching staff that consists of John Ponzillo, Mike Krause, and Jeff Hoyt.

“Honestly, I could not ask for a better coaching staff. Every year, I say it. We wouldn’t be able to do the things that we do without having those guys on the staff. It’s all done as a group. I’m the one on the phone and the one at the end of the day answering all the questions, but they’ve been a really intricate part of our success,” Santoro said. “I’ll be perfectly honest with you. Outside of one year where I couldn’t go to the final day of the Firecracker Tournament where we lost, that Hamden game is the first game they’ve ever lost without me there in seven or eight years. It’s happened in the past where I had to go away and they win every game. They always joke with me that I should just retire and do administrative work. It’s good to know. Having four coaches there is obviously helpful and eases the burden. I’m always confident when I’m not around that they’re going to do a good job. These guys could be head coaches, so I really have to thank them for the loyalty that they’ve shown to me and program. It’s been good to know that when I’m not around that they’re more than capable of taking over and doing the job.”

Having wrapped up a top spot in the zone, Santoro and company were excited to start the State Tournament and happy that it now features a double elimination format.

“When you look at our record today, we were 20-10 on the year. We won 67 percent of our games, but it’s funny to say this, but it’s almost better than going 27-3 because you had a little more adversity along the way. I’m really proud that they stuck to our message and goal and showed up to play every day and do their job. You’re going to make mental and physical mistakes, but we told them, we’re all in this together. Just go out, do your job, and that’s what they’ve done. I know they’ve gotten a positive experience out of this,” Santoro said. “We’re looking forward to the playoffs and just seeing what we can do now that we have double elimination. Even if we lose that first game, we still have life. We’ll just see how it goes and we’re ready to go.”