By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Special to the Post
SIMSBURY, July 15, 2004 – It took the Simsbury American Legion about six weeks and being backed into a corner to learn how to summon up the extra resolve that is needed to play as a defending state champion.
Many of the players from last year’s magical team that battled and overcame Bristol all season long returned. A shiny new state championship sign proudly stands in right field.
But there was a bit of a championship hangover. It wasn’t much but it was just enough. “Earlier in the year, teams were playing with a lot of enthusiasm against us and I think it caught a few of us by surprise,” said Post 72 pitcher Mark Peterson said. “But we got used to it.”
Southington beat Simsbury, 3-1 in the opening game of the zone campaign and Unionville nipped Post 72 in an eight-inning thriller, 2-1 on June 20. After a 4-2 loss to Bristol on June 29, Simsbury was 7-5 in the zone. In contrast, Simsbury had lost only 10 zone games the last two seasons (46-10).
Pitching has been solid but the key hits were eluding Post 72 early in the season.
“We’ve been getting good pitching all year and we’ve played defense pretty well,” long-time Simsbury coach Tom Vincent said. “We’ve just been a little short on hitting and executing offensively. The league is very competitive this year. Every team has at least one very good pitcher.”
After losing to Bristol on June 29, Simsbury fattened up on some of the weaker teams in the zone by winning four in a row. But a disheartening 3-2 loss in eight innings to Southington put Simsbury’s back to the wall. Simsbury blew a two-run lead in the sixth and lost the game in the eighth.
Post 72 responded with a solid 3-0 win over Bristol on July 7 behind Serafin’s four-hit performance. Four days later, they swept a hungry Unionville team looking to establish themselves as zone contenders.
Pitcher Joey Serafin, last year’s state tournament MVP, outdueled Unionville ace Shawn Haviland in a 1-0, eight-inning victory. Serafin allowed only four hits and fanned five keeping his team in the game until they broke through.
In the eighth, Pete Bourdon singled and moved to second on a single from Taylor Meehan. After a successful bunt sacrifice from Tim Bourdon, Rich McGraw drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Catcher Dan Hood ripped a RBI single up the middle for the win.
“I was looking for a fastball,” said Hood. “I knew (Haviland) would throw one sooner or later. I was just waiting for the right pitch. It’s tough to shut us out.”
In the nightcap, Peterson had his most dominating performance of the season. The Canton resident fanned a season-high 15 and tossed a two-hitter in a 10-0 rout.
“Everything was on and everything felt good,” said Peterson, who started a game for Central Connecticut State as a freshman in the NCAA Division I tournament against Oklahoma State in May. “It was probably the best game I’ve pitched (this summer). I could hit any spot that I wanted to.”
The sweep of Unionville gave Simsbury eight wins in nine zone contests.
“Ever since we went to Bristol, we had a mission and it has carried through,” Simsbury’s long-time coach Tom Vincent said. “The kids have started to respond a bit.”
Peterson said. “We’re starting to focus a little more and are starting to hit the ball on the head of the bat.”
As it has been in recent years, Simsbury has a bit of diversity on its roster. Three Canton players and two Granby players are on the squad. Ten players are in their last year of eligibility, too.
“We still have tons of fun. That’s why we are playing,” Hood said.
DIAMOND DUST: Simsbury’s Jason Alexander made a nice diving catch in left field in game 1 against Unionville, diving for tailing ball off the bat of Jared DeMichiel. … Alexander made another nice sliding catch on one knee of a foul ball by Trevor Chaves. … Unionville’s Shawn Haviland fanned nine against Simsbury but was the tough-luck loser in game one. … Peterson fanned eight of the last 11 batters in game two against Unionville, including the final four of the contest. Unionville batters struck out seven times watching strike three sail past them. In game two, Alexander had a three-RBI triple while Alex Maulucci and Taylor Meehan each had two hits. Meehan had two RBI. … Simsbury has qualified for its ninth state tournament appearance and fourth in the last five years. … After sweeping Unionville, Simsbury had a disappointing 4-3 loss to Winsted.
This first appeared in the Farmington Valley Post on July 23, 2004
