West Hartford’s American Legion 19U baseball team is 8-1 as they look for a three-peat state title.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Grant Davidson and  Max Hanawalt combined on a seven-inning three-hitter as West Hartford Post 96 Senior Legion baseball improved to 8-1 with a 3-0 shutout of Ridgefield Post 78.

Davidson, Myles Fournier, and Burke Reynolds picked up the RBIs for West Hartford.

The visiting Thunderbirds had the better of things in the early going. But Davidson erased Carter Ivens from the base paths when he caught him stealing and he was out on the 1-3-4 play in the first. In the second, Adam Rosenfeld led off with a double, and went to third on fielder’s choice, but Davidson set down the next two batters to keep the game scoreless.

West Hartford got its second runner of the game in the second on another walk by pitcher Lachlan Ellis. Ridgefield’s defense picked up a fielder’s choice and an Ellis strikeout to end the inning.

In the third, Davidson was in trouble as he gave up a leadoff single to Slade Palmer and then a one-out walk to Ivens before inducing a pop-out to second base and fly ball to right to end the top of the frame. West Hartford then used  a one-out rally to score the game’s first run.

Calvin Cianflone walked and Tyler Redden was hit by a pitch before Fournier stroked a single to drive in Cianflone from second. Kaiyo Sharkey followed with a ground ball to second. Fournier and the Ridgefield second baseman collided, resulting in Fournier being called out, resulting in Redden who had come around to score being sent back to second and Sharkey being awarded first base on the interference call.

A pop out to first ended what could have been a bigger inning, but the home team had the 1-0 lead.

“We knew this would be a chess match as Ridgefield has an older roster,” said head coach Sean McCann. His team has just five returning players from the team that won the second of two back-to-back state titles a year ago. “The veterans are not about whose name is on the (championship) banner. They are as hungry as anyone.”

Ridgefield threatened again in the top of the fourth with a leadoff single by Rosenfield, then Joseph Sementilli reached on an infield error. Davidson got the next batter on a fly ball to right, but walked Dominic Bafundo to load the bases with just one out.

The West Hartford defense bailed out their pitcher when Fournier started an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to keep it a 1-0 game.

“Our brand of baseball this year is some pitching, good defense, and just trusting each other,” McCann said.

West Hartford put things away in the bottom of the fourth using just one base hit, three walks, and a sac fly to plate two more runs. Nick Keegan led off with a walk then stole second. Reynolds drove him in with a single to center, chasing Ellis from the game. A stolen base and a wild pitch – around a walk to Calvin Borio – set up Redden’s sac fly to drive in Reynolds with the third and final run of the game.

Hanawalt came in for Davidson in the fifth and had a 1-2-3 inning in both the fifth and sixth innings. With one out in the top of the seventh, he gave up a double, but then got a pop out to third and a game-ending strikeout to seal the win in the first game of the doubleheader.

“We are in the toughest stretch of our season right now, “ McCann said. “We have 13 games in 15 days and it will test our pitching depth, leadership, and energy. How we get through that will determine how far we go this year.”

Last season Post 96 won the state title and moved on to the Northeast Regional Championship before losing to eventual champion Hudson, MA, 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning of their semifinal. McCann and his players would like to go at least one step further this summer and make it to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, NC.

“This is a family,” said the coach. “They believe in each other and our ability to reach our goal of NC.”

The last time a team from West Hartford won the NE Region was in 1973.

Going back to the start of the World Series in 1923, no Connecticut team has reached the final. In 23 appearances in the Legion World Series, Connecticut has had one third-place finish for its top effort with an overall record of 18-46 for 12 Connecticut cities.

West Hartford has reached the World Series Tournament three  times (1959, 1961, 1973) – second most for any Connecticut city behind Bristol and Branford with four trips each.

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