SIMSBURY, July 17, 2023 – Two Tri-County pitchers combined to limit the Simsbury American Legion baseball team to five hits and beat Post 84 on Monday night, 5-3 in Zone 3 action at Memorial Field. It was the final regular season of the season for both squads.
The victory by the Tri-County team that pulls players from seven towns (Andover, Colchester, East Haddam, East Hampton, Hebron, Lebanon and Marlborough) kept Simsbury from qualifying for the 24-team American Legion state tournament.
Simsbury and Bristol both finished the Zone 3 seasons with records of 10-11 but Post 1 got the post-season bid. According to state Legion officials, the tiebreaker was that Bristol was 1-1 against Zone 3 American Division champion Ellington while Simsbury was 0-2.
Simsbury struggled in the last two weeks of the season, going 1-6 in their final seven games with their only victory coming in a 5-1 win in nine innings a week ago over Middletown.
Bristol wasn’t much better but it was enough. Post 1 went 3-4 in their final seven games but one of those victories was a 3-1 win over Simsbury last week. The American Legion tournament begins on Wednesday with Bristol participating in a play-in game. They will have to win to enter the double-elimination portion of the tournament.
Tri-County’s James Quinn was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI for the winners on Monday night against Simsbury. Tri-County reliever Chace Davidson picked up the win, throwing three innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit.
Chas Orluk, Kyle Anthony and Luke Guyer each drove in runs for Simsbury. Colby Wilhelm and Matthew Fagnant each had doubles for Post 84. Evan Odegard went the distance on the mound for Simsbury, allowing five hits and striking out five. Only two of the five runs by Tri-County were earned.
Last Thursday, Simsbury had just four hits in a 3-1 loss to South Windsor on the road.
Tri-County 5, Simsbury 3
At Simsbury
Tri-County (12-9) 000 104 0 — 5-5-1
Simsbury (10-11) 100 100 1 — 3-5-1
Ben Darrow, Chace Davidson (5) and Josh Person; Evan Odegard and Matthew Fagnant; WP: Davidson; LP: Odegard (2-3); 2B: Nathan Cone (T), Colby Wilheim (S), Matthew Fagnant (S); HR: James Quinn (T), Chris Lusignan (T)
South Windsor 3, Simsbury 1
At South Windsor
Simsbury (10-10) 010 000 0 — 1-4-1
South Windsor 200 010 x — 3-7-1
Kiernan Beman and Patrick Matyczyk; Goulet and Glatt; WP: Goulet; LP: Beman (3-2); 2B: Sinacola (SW), West (SW); Mitch Wallman (Sim), Luke Guyer (Sim)
Final Zone 3 standings
American Division: Ellington 14-7, Middletown 13-8, Tri-County 12-9, Northeast 11-10, South Windsor 11-10, Bristol 10-11, Simsbury 10-11
National Division: x-West Hartford 17-4, RCP 12-9, Enfield 10-11, Windsor Locks/Windsor 10-11, East Hartford/Manchester 6-15, Torrington 6-15, Glastonbury 3-18
x-overall Zone 3 champion
