
Avon’s Max Raha slides into third base with a stolen base in Thursday’s Zone 1 win over Simsbury, 9-3. Raha stole four bases along with teammate Christian Boudreau.
SIMSBURY, June 17, 2021 – Avon American Legion baseball manager Miles Borenstein said his Post 201 squad would be aggressive on the basepaths this season. He wasn’t kidding.
Post 201 stole nine bases in 10 attempts and had some timely hits as Avon Post 201 won their second straight game with a 9-3 Zone 1 victory over Simsbury at Memorial Field Thursday night.
Max Raha and Christian Boudreau stole four bases each for Avon while Emmett Borenstein swiped one as well. Raha was 2-for-3 with a RBI while Dylan Love was 2-for-3 with a two-run single in the sixth inning.
On the mound, Luke Coppen, who just finished his freshman year at Avon High, earned the first American Legion victory. He went five innings, allowed four hits and struck out two. Reliever Danny Galliher, who was a junior at Northwest Catholic this spring, got out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning and pitched a scoreless seventh inning to lead Post 201.
“The pitching was great,” Miles Borenstein said. “Luke came out here and competed with these guys at this level. It was awesome to watch. Danny came in and got out of a tough shot and then pitched strong in the seventh inning.”
“I thought we did a lot of the little things (well), “ the skipper said. “We were backing up bases (defensively). We threw strikes. We made the plays in the field and ran the bases well.”
Simsbury Post 84 (0-2) had five hits but struggled with six errors, giving up five unearned runs.
“We have a lot of veteran players. We have a lot of young players,” Simsbury manager John Carew said. “So, they will need to come together as a team and do some damage. They will surprise a lot of people. They will have fun and play good fundamental baseball. Most of all, they will stick together and support teach other. That is how this team will win.”
Daniel Gorham was the only Simsbury played with multiple hits. He was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI in the second inning.

Only one Avon runner was thrown out trying to steal a base Thursday. Danny Bae (8) was caught leaning off second base and was thrown out at third base.
Avon took a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a passed ball and an error. But Simsbury took a lead with three runs in the second inning.
With two outs in the second inning, Simsbury put two runners on thanks to a hit batter and walk. Gorham’s single to center field drove in two runs to tie the game at 2-2.
Avon quickly regained the lead with three runs in the third inning. Post 201 quickly loaded the bases when Raha walked, Boudreau had a bunt single and Emmett Borenstein walked. With one out, Danny Bae’s sacrifice fly to centerfield drove in a run.
Dylan Love followed with a two-run single to center field for a 5-2 lead. Avon extended the lead to 6-2 in the fourth thanks to another error.
Emmett Borenstein and Love each had RBI singles in the sixth inning for Avon.
Avon returns to action on Saturday when they host Meriden in a Zone 1 contest beginning at 11 a.m. at Buckingham Field. Simsbury returns to the diamond on Sunday when they host West Hartford beginning at 11 a.m. at Memorial Field. Post 201 has won eight of the last 10 games between the two rivals.
Avon 9, Simsbury 3
At Simsbury
Avon (2-0) 203 103 0 – 9-6-0
Simsbury (0-2) 020 100 0 — 3-5-6
Luke Coppen, Danny Galliher (6) and Emmett Borenstein, Jacob Wirth (3); Dylan Scudder, William Smith (4), Riley Carew (6) and John Daily; WP: Coppen (1-0), LP: Scudder (0-1); 2B: Jacob Wirth (A), Matthew Ferro (S)
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.


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