Darien/New Canaan Falls in Second Round of Tourney

Despite blanking Middletown, 3-0, in Saturday's opener of the Junior American Legion baseball state tournament, Darien/New Canaan couldn't get past host Windsor Locks in the nightcap, falling 8-2 to end its season.

Darien/New Canaan, which tied Ridgefield for fourth place in zone four, concluded the year at 16-13. Had it won both games Saturday, Darien/New Canaan would have played Sunday for a spot in the main junior Legion state tournament.

Saturday's doubleheader was forced by a rainout Friday in the first round of play-in action.

Starter Tyler Aprea earned the win for Windsor Locks, allowing only three hits in five innings. He also helped his cause with an RBI.

Windsor Locks only had three earned runs, as a worn-down Darien/New Canaan team committed a slew of errors on an extremely hot afternoon. The high humidity pushed the heat index over 100 degrees.

"The amount of errors we  made was understandable considering we had to play two games in this weather," Darien/New Canaan coach Tommy Harkins said.

Darien/New Canaan had a few chances to come back. In the sixth inning, the team had runners on first and second with no outs. Chris Smith and Nick Scott then struck out and Nick Pelli popped up to end the threat.

In the seventh, Darien/New Canaan had runners on the corners with no outs, only to have Tommy Carruthers hit into a double play which all but ended the game.

In the opener, Chris Smith pitched a complete game three-hitter for Darien/New Canaan.  Smith walked two and had six strikeouts while hitting  three batters.

 "All of Chris' pitches have natural movement," Harkins said. "The key to his success is that he walks very few batters."

 All three of Darien/New Canaan's  runs came in the first inning.

Carruthers got a base hit down the first-base line, which allowed Tucker White to score on an error. After Kyle Mangan was hit with the bases loaded to force in a run, Gordon "Go-Go" Jones singled in Darien/New Canaan's third run.