West Hartford American Legion U19 Begins State Title Defense – We-Ha

West Hartford’s Senior Legion baseball team defeated Naugatuck in the first round of the state tournament on Tuesday night.

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John Kane hits the pitch as Naugatuck catcher James Crilly leaps for the ball. West Hartford vs. Naugatuck. American Legion State Tournament. July 23, 2024. Photo Credit: Paul Palmer

By Paul Palmer

The West Hartford Post 96 Senior American Legion baseball team began its quest to repeat as a state champion with a 5-3 victory over Naugatuck on Tuesday night.

The game started off as well as it could for the host team playing at Conard High School, but some sloppy defensive play nearly cost them the win.

In the first inning, John Kane drove in Calvin Cianflone ​​and then came around to score when Chase Hanawalt singled to right field. The ball bounced past the Naugatuck fielder and it was a 2-0 lead.

Catcher Trevor Tanis scores three strikes. West Hartford vs. Naugatuck. American Legion State Tournament. July 23, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

With two outs in the bottom of the second, singles by Owen Ludgin and Cianflone ​​were followed by a walk to Matt Santoro to load the bases. John Kane followed with a two-RBI single to right-center field before Hanawalt hit another RBI single to make it 5-0.

Matt Santoro takes his part. West Hartford vs. Naugatuck. American Legion State Tournament. July 23, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

“We try to fabricate something early,” West Hartford head coach Sean McCann said. “We want to make that first inning as long as possible for the other pitcher and we had success tonight in the first and second.”

Unfortunately for Post 96, that would be the only offense they would get from Naugatuck pitcher Kevin Sestari. Add in some sloppy play in the third by West Hartford, and what looked like an easy tournament opener for the No. 3 seed suddenly turned out to be anything but.

Naugatuck’s James Crilly dives safely back to first base. West Hartford vs. Naugatuck. American Legion State Tournament. July 23, 2024. Photo Credit: Paul Palmer

Catcher James Crilly led off with an infield single. Damon Abate then hit a ball to the shortstop for what appeared to be a tailor-made double play. But the pitch eluded Cianflone ​​at second, putting two runners on base. After a pop out to first, another ground ball to shortstop appeared to end the inning. Myles Fournier got the power at second, but his throw to first was in the dirt and bounced off Hanawalt, and Crilly kept running, sliding home head first just ahead of the throw for the run.

Two batters later, first baseman Alex Teixeira drove in the second run for the visitors.

One inning later, Naugatuck struck again. Ludgin walked and doubled before being replaced by Brendan Grady. Crilly dribbled one down the third base line for one run. Crilly was then intercepted first and Grady struck out Abate to end the inning at 5-3.

Owen Ludgin takes his lead first. West Hartford vs. Naugatuck. American Legion State Tournament. July 23, 2024. Photo Credit: Paul Palmer

“This team killed its own momentum,” McCann said of his team’s play in those two innings. “It really took the air out of us and Owen (Ludgin) had to throw more than he should have.”

Trailing by 2, Naugatuck threatened again in the top of the fifth. Sestari led off with a huge fly ball to left that nearly cleared the fence. He had to settle for a double, but put his team in position to score at least one more run. Grady then got a short fly to right and got Teixeira to turn a huge 4-6-3 double play to make it 5-3.

Manager Sean McCann talks business with pitcher Brendan Grady and his defense. West Hartford vs. Naugatuck. American Legion State Tournament. July 23, 2024. Photo credit: Paul Palmer

An inning later, Grady was knuckle down again on a leadoff single, causing a sacrifice bunt and then retiring the next two batters.

Grady got two quick outs to open the seventh and final inning before hitting Colton Hoffman in the foot. That’s when the West Hartford defense showed they could do it.

Matt Santoro takes a breather during a timeout. West Hartford vs. Naugatuck. American Legion State Tournament. July 23, 2024. Photo Credit: Paul Palmer

Kyle Donion hit a ground ball wide of first, pulling Hanawalt off the base. The ball went past him, but Cianflone ​​and Fournier made a heads-up play, putting the power on the runner going to second, to end the game at 5-3.

When asked after the game how important Grady’s performance as a reliever was, McCann said it’s all about confidence. “He’s been with us for three years now and he’s built a lot of confidence in his own craft,” McCann said of the rising sophomore from Trinity College.

Post 96 will now have to wait an extra day to see who they play next. The game between Danbury and Tri County was canceled on Tuesday due to rain. They will try to play tomorrow, with the winner coming to Conard on Thursday for a 5:30 start in the next round.

Game Notes:

• Post 96 won the Zone 1 regular season title for the third consecutive season. They posted an 18-3 record, outscoring their opponents 174-57.
• In Tuesday’s game, Owen Ludgin struck out 4 and gave up just one earned run.
• Brendan Grady struck out 2 and allowed no runs.
• Jack Kane was 2 for 3 and had 3 in.
• Chase Hanawalt was also 2-for-3, with 2 RBIs.

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