American Legion All-Star Game Returns to Farmington

Five members of the Unionville American Legion senior division team have been chosen to play for Zone 1 in the annual Legion All-Star Game against Zone 8.

David Kerlejza, Matt deVaux, Brian Schweighoffer, Jeff Schweighoffer and Jimmy Mulpeter represent Unionville. The Junior Legion squad will be represented by Matthew LeBlanc and Justin Rappaport.

Jeff Schweighoffer will be unable to play due to injury.

The game will be played at Tunxis Mead’s John P. Grocki Field on Tuesday, Aug. 9. The Junior Legion contest begins at 4 p.m. and the Senior Legion game is slated for 7 p.m. Admission is $3 with proceeds going to the Veterans Hospital of Rocky Hill.

“This is the first time Unionville has ever placed more than two players on this team,” Post 32 general manager Jeff Cohan said. “This is icing on the cake for a great season when we went further than ever before.”

Unionville was eliminated in the state quarterfinals after beating Waterbury and East Haven in the preliminary round, and upsetting Oakville in the Round of 16.

The game was originally scheduled for Rotary Field in South Windsor, but Cohan said conflicts over field usage opened the door for the event to come to Farmington for the second straight season.

“The town gave us a great effort last year. This year we have two games so I think we’ll have a good crowd,” Cohan said.

In addition to the Unionville representatives, the following will make up the Zone 1 roster: 

Avon – Connor Doyle, Brendan Telfer, Matt Jadovich, Tyler D’Onofrio

Bristol – Connor Hayes, Austin Howard

Burlington – Bob Martinotti

Simsbury – Jason Byers, Kyle Decker, Nick Quattro

Southington – Joe Sullivan, Alex Roger, Kyle Lentini, Dylan Danko

Terryville – Tom Parkes, Matt D’Onofrio

Torrington – Pat Austin

Winsted – Austin Brochu

Wolcott – Mike Meyer 

Vacation and injury will prevent the following nominees from participating:

Chris Frask of Avon; Matt Blandino, Joey Randall and Steve Chamberland of Bristol; Mike Bahlman of Burlington.

The Zone 8 all-stars will come from the following teams: Ellington-Somers; East Hartford; Manchester; Rockville; South Windsor; Tolland; Windsor; Enfield; Willimantic; Windsor Locks.

The game is the second Legion-based all-star gathering. The Futures Game, organized by Simsbury sportsman Tim Vincent and sponsored by Rawlings Sporting Goods, was held on July 30.

The event was attended by representatives from 27 colleges, the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau and scouts from three major league teams.

“It’s probably the single best thing the Legion does for the kids all year,” Cohan said. “It’s a great venue for kids looking to play baseball at schools in the Northeast. What Tim Vincent does is amazing. He does it largely on his own.”