The 2016 edition of the Branford Senior American Legion baseball team features several athletes who piloted Post 83 to their sixth-straight Zone 2 title last summer, although the squad also features a handful of newcomers, specifically on the pitching staff. Head Coach Rich Balzano feels that the development of these up-and-comers will be critical in his club’s quest to capture a seventh-consecutive zone championship, in addition to making a run through the State Tournament.

“Our strengths are the returning college players and college-age players who have played for us for a number of years and really know the way we like to play. They’ve played at the next level, so they’re ready to go out and hit any pitchers we face. Our strength is our offense. We have the ability to put runs on the board,” Coach Balzano said. “We have a blend of veteran guys and then we have some young players. So we really need our young pitchers to deliver and we need contributions from the players that are new to the team.”

So far, the early returns have been positive for Balzano and company as Branford is riding an 11-game win streak in Zone 2 action and owns a record of 11-1 in the zone. Post 83 is currently tied for first place in Zone 2 with Stratford (11-1), which Branford has a three-game series with on Saturday, July 2 and Sunday, July 3.

In last week’s contests, Branford played to a 4-4 tie with Waterbury in a non-zone home game on June 20 and then swept series against two zone opponents by taking three from both East Haven and Milford. Branford prevailed at East Haven 9-0 on June 21, rallied for a dramatic 6-5 walk-off victory over the 89ers the next day, and took the finale on the road, 15-0, on June 23. For the Milford series, Balzano’s squad won both ends of a home doubleheader with finals of 10-0 and 2-0 on June 25 and then completed another sweep by claiming a 13-5 road victory the following morning.

“We’re winning the games we’re supposed to win, except the Shelton game [a 2-1 loss in its Zone 2 opener], and our players are improving and developing,” said Balzano, whose program has won four state championships and four Northeast Regional titles since 2005. “I think [legendary Notre Dame college football coach] Lou Holtz said one time that he had a young team in the regular season and hoped that they wouldn’t be a young team by the end of the season. That’s what we’re hoping for—that our pitchers and our position players develop by the middle and the end of the season. We’d love to start off by winning the zone and making the State Tournament and then be competing for a championship.”

Non-Zone Showdown

Branford began last week against an excellent Waterbury squad that competes in Zone 5 and sports a mark of 12-0-1. Tyler Criscuolo hit a RBI single that tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the first inning and Will Coleman lashed a three-run double to left field that made it 4-1 in the fourth. Waterbury scored three in the fifth to draw even at 4-4 and that was the way the game ended when it was called due to darkness after six innings.

Coach Balzano used the non-zone contest to look at some athletes who may help his team on the mound down the road. Devin DeRenzo started and was followed by Alphonse Suppa, Brandon Kilfeather, and Ben LaCroix.

“We felt like we did very well to put four runs on the board against such a quality combination of pitchers that they threw at us,” said Balzano, whose team is 1-0-3 in non-zone games. “We experimented with kids to try and find some additional arms and all of our kids did pretty well and it turned out to be an opportunity for them to get a good look.”

Facing East Haven

Suppa got a really good look when Branford blanked East Haven 9-0 as the right-hander gave up just two hits in five innings to pick up the win. Post 83 plated four runs in the first and tacked on six more before the game was called after five because of the mercy rule. DeRenzo collected three hits, as did Kilfeather, DJ Caron, and Jordan Botte. DeRenzo had two doubles and three RBI, while Caron also hit a pair of two-baggers and added two RBI.

Coach Balzano talked about the impressive performance of Suppa, who’s in his first season with Post 83 and will be a junior at Branford High School in the fall.

“He’s only given up one run in his [three] starts and has been very strong,” Balzano said. “He’s been around the plate and tends to not give up a lot of walks. He really pitches to contact and we seem to get a lot of ground ball outs when he pitches. Every batter has to earn their spot on the bases when he throws.”

In the second game of the series, Branford scored two in the first on doubles from Criscuolo and DeRenzo to hold a 2-1 lead, but the 89ers sent four across the plate in the fifth to bring a 5-2 advantage to the bottom of the seventh. Post 83 responded by scoring four runs to leave East Haven on the field in a 6-5 victory. Nick Candelora singled and scored on DeRenzo’s single to cut it to 5-3, after which LaCroix socked a double that plated Criscuolo and DeRenzo to tie the game at 5. With two outs, Robbie Barbash hit a liner that hopped over the left field fence for a ground rule double to score LaCroix with the winning run. TJ Beaudin, Devon Lawson, and Caron toed the rubber for Branford. Caron allowed no baserunners in his 2.1 innings to get the win.

“I was really impressed that we held our composure. East Haven took a 5-2 lead and our kids didn’t lay down. They stayed focused the rest of the game. We like to say that good teams win baseball games and great teams come back to win baseball games and that’s what we did,” Coach Balzano said. “Ben has consistently come through all year for us. We really count on him to deliver in big spots and he usually does. Robbie has struggled at the plate this season and so it was very enjoyable to see him deliver in a clutch situation like that.”

The finale of the set against East Haven (5-7) saw Jack Spencer get the win with four scoreless innings, after which Candelora fanned the side in the fifth before this one was called with Branford up 15-0. LaCroix had three hits, including a three-run double, while Criscuolo also had three hits with Botte adding two.

Another Sweep

The first game of the Milford doubleheader was halted with Branford ahead 10-0 after six innings. Suppa pitched all six, allowing three hits and striking out five for his third win. Branford scored six runs in the third inning and added four in the sixth. Coleman, Criscuolo, DeRenzo, and Botte each had two RBI.

Branford took the second game 2-0 behind a crafty outing from Lawson, who effectively mixed his fastball, changeup, and breaking ball to keep Milford off-balance for 5.1 innings. Candelora used his heater to shut down Milford for the final 1.2 and get the save. Branford scored a run in the first when LaCroix walked, took second on a Botte sacrifice bunt, moved to third on Suppa’s single, and scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, Coleman and Criscuolo walked and Coleman come home on a LaCroix single for an insurance run.

Post 83 put another sweep in the books by topping Milford 13-5. Branford led 6-0 and then Milford (5-7) cut it to 7-5 before Post 83 blew it open with four in sixth and two in the seventh. Mike Keinz pitched two hitless innings and struck out three, Beaudin threw the third and fourth, Spencer allowed three runs in the fifth and also pitched the sixth, and Caron closed it out in the seventh. LaCroix was 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored, while DeRenzo went 3-for-4, drove in three runs, and scored four times.

A Look at the Roster

Going around the horn for Branford, Barbash is his first year as the team’s starting catcher, DeRenzo is back at first base, Coleman plays second, Candelora starts at shortstop, and Criscuolo returns to third. In the outfield, Trevor Brown and Kilfeather are platooning in left, Botte is the man in center field, and LaCroix plays right.

On the pitching staff, Branford features returning hurler Keinz, along with Beaudin, Caron (also a backup infielder), Lawson, Suppa, and Spencer. Alexander Luhn is the team’s backup catcher. Mason Traca is another catcher on the squad, Nick Mancini is a backup outfielder, and both athletes are also on the Post 83 Junior Legion team.

This is season No. 12 for Balzano’s as Branford’s skipper and he’s joined on the coaching staff by assistants Frank Forgione and Kyle Heins, plus team manager Chet Santoro