Connect with us

Canton

Enns, Simsbury Legion sweep past Hartford into Northern Division finals

Chris Enns and his Simsbury American Legion teammates are all smiles after sweeping Hartford to advance in the 2014 state tournament.

Chris Enns and his Simsbury American Legion teammates are all smiles after sweeping Hartford to advance in the 2014 state tournament.

SIMSBURY – A year ago, Simsbury American Legion baseball pitcher Chris Enns could only watch and dream of a day he would take the mound again. At the conclusion of an All-State campaign with Canton High, Enns underwent Tommy John surgery with famous surgeon Dr. James Andrews to repair his injured arm. 

On Thursday, despite being limited to just 90 pitches, Enns pitched a complete game, limiting Hartford to just four hits and striking out seven to help lift Simsbury to a 10-0 victory in seven innings and into the Northern Division finals on Saturday at Muzzy Field in Bristol. 

Zone 1 champion Simsbury (20-6) swept the best-of-3 series, 2-0 and will join Zone 6 champion Waterford, Zone 7 champion RCP (Rocky Hill/Cromwell/Portland) and Zone 8 champion Tolland in the double-elimination event. The Northern Division final winner earns a berth in the best-of-3 state championship series with the Southern Division champion and secures a bid to the Northeast Regional in Middletown in August. 

Enns underwent surgery last June and has been recovering since. He played his senior season with Canton and stayed off the mound, throwing just three innings all season. When the 6-foot-3 lefthander began the American Legion season with Simsbury in June, he was limited to just 30 pitches a game. But he’s been growing stronger as the season has progressed. 

Enns (3-1) was limited to 90 pitches Thursday. He threw 89. 

“This is the best I’ve done so far,” Enns said. “I was throwing fast and accurately. I felt better this week I’m getting back to normal.” What does that mean for Enns? “Throwing strikes, throwing consistently and hitting my spots,” he said. 

Simsbury helped Enns by giving scoring six runs in the first inning on six hits. Post 84 added another run in the second inning to extend its lead to 7-0. They finished the game early thanks to the mercy rule of leading by 10 runs or more after seven innings. 

Enns pitched a complete game just as teammate Jamie Coen did in Simsbury’s 7-0 win over Hartford on Wednesday. That helped preserve the arms in the Simsbury bullpen for the next portion of the state tournament this weekend at Muzzy Field. 

“Chris was unbelievable,” Simsbury manager Tom Vincent said. “He pounded the strike zone and had a good breaking ball. He’s pitching harder and his breaking ball is much sharper. He’s pitching with much more confidence.” 

Simsbury was merciless to Hartford starter Angel Moreno, who could only get out two of nine batters that he faced. Simsbury’s Jake King opened the game with a walk and E.J. Lavoie hit the first of his two doubles. Jake Cassano had an RBI single and Andrew Girard singled to load the bases. 

Ryan Gothers’ RBI single to right field made it 2-0 for Post 84. Dakota Hunter followed with a three-RBI shot to centerfield for a 5-0 lead. Brendan Reilly scored on a RBI single from Chris VandeBogart for a 6-0 advantage. 

In the second inning, Girard reached base on a two-out single to left field. He stole second base and scored on a RBI single by Ryan Gothers for a 7-0 lead. 

“They played with confidence, strength and length,” Hartford manager Glynn Baron said about Simsbury. “They did what a better team does. They took care of business.” 

For Simsbury, Lavoie was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Girard had two singles, one RBI and a sacrifice fly. Gothers had two singles and two RBI while VandeBogart had two singles and one RBI. 

Simsbury's Brandon Reilly safely gets back to first base under the tag of Hartford's Juan Resto Thursday in Simsbury.

Simsbury’s Brandon Reilly safely gets back to first base under the tag of Hartford’s Juan Resto Thursday in Simsbury.

Simsbury 10, Hartford 0 (7)
At Simsbury
Hartford (13-12)       000  000  0 – 0-4-1
Simsbury (20-6)       610  003  x – 10-11-1
Angel Moreno, Merlyn Herrera (1), Neify Mercedes-Delacruz (5) and Ed Rosado; Chris Enns and Ryan Gothers; WP: Enns (3-1); LP: Moreno; 2B: E.J. Lavoie (S) 2

 

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Canton