Post 176 Punches Tournament Ticket With Sweep

Monroe Post 176 American Legion pitcher Steven Buckley was a mix of excitement and nerves coming into the first game of a doubleheader against Ansonia American Legion Saturday at Nolan Field in Ansonia.

After blasting Prospect Legion 10-4 Friday night, the Monroe team needed to win at least one of its next three games to qualify for the American Legion State Tournament.

The pressure situation suited Buckley as the right-hander twirled a two-hitter and struck out four in a 5-1 win for Post 176.

With the stress of playing for their playoff lives relieved, the locals drubbed Ansonia 10-1 in the second game to improve their record to 16-10 in Zone V.

"I was excited and just ready to go get them," Buckley said of his pitching performance. "I had confidence in the team and we did what we had to do. I was a little nervous at first, but I pulled myself together and just threw strikes and let my defense do the work."

The Monroe bats were also excited to pounce on Ansonia in the first game. Brendon Buckley led off the first inning with a double. He stole third and then crossed home on a sharply hit grounder by Tim Allen.

Steven Buckley held up the 1-0 lead and Monroe took charge of the game in the second inning. Joe Baron led off with a walk and moved to third base with two steals. Peter Perimenis drove Baron in with a single. J.D. DiGirolamo followed with a walk and Lenny Bonina moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt.

Ansonia pitcher Jim Huber cracked under the mounting Monroe pressure as a wild pitch scored Perimenis and Brendon Buckley roped a single into the outfield to score DiGirolamo for a 4-0 Monroe lead.

Steven Buckley helped his own cause in the seventh with a leadoff single. He stole second and moved to third on a groundout by Drew Accomando. The smart base running paid off with a score on a passed ball for a 5-0 Monroe lead.

The Monroe defense proved mortal in the seventh when Steven Buckley walked Ansonia's Julian Sobin to start the inning. Sobin stole second and moved to third on a groundout. Another grounder forced in Sobin to give Ansonia its only score. Steven Buckley forced a pop-up to second base to seal the 5-1 win and a trip to the tournament.

"Steven threw a two-hitter today and he also gave us a great performance of seven innings, which is huge," said Post 176 General Manager Kevin Buckley. "Our pitchers get stretched out being that we play so many games, so it was nice to have a kid go out there and throw a complete game for us. He has done that three times this year."

Joe Baron took the mound for Monroe in the second game and expertly twirled a complete game four-hitter, but his offense made sure it was a relaxing game for their pitcher.

Allen and Brendon Buckley led the 10-hit parade with two runs scored and an RBI a piece.

Ansonia struck first with a run on a strike-three passed ball in the bottom of the first. Tyler Perimenis quickly erased that deficit with a leadoff double to left. Brendon Buckley drove him home with a two-out single and Tomas Milone pushed Brendon Buckley home with a double into the left centerfield gap for a 2-1 Monroe lead.

Baron worked out of a jam in the second inning with runners at second and third with the first of his two strikeouts and a fly ball to right field. It was the only real threat Ansonia would pose for the rest of the game.

Monroe went up 4-1 with Steven Buckley bashing a leadoff triple and then coming home on a passed ball. Al Anzalone singled on a bunt, stole second and came home on a line drive single by Baron.

Anzalone plated Allen in the fourth inning with a fielder's choice RBI for a 5-1 lead. Monroe effectively salted the game in the fifth inning as Baron chased Ansonia pitcher Cody Maida from the mound with a leadoff double and his reliever struggled in the 90-degree weather.

Baron, Frank Scarpello and Brendon Buckley scored three consecutive runs on passed balls. Allen then drove in Milone with a double to centerfield before coming home on another passed ball for the 10-1 lead.

Coach Buckley said the sweep was indicative of how hot his team has been recently and he hopes to see it continue in the postseason.

"We have to keep the roll going and we have Danbury tomorrow," he said. "We are 1-1 with Danbury and it would be nice to win the series with them and then take that into the playoffs."