Branford Cinches Zone 2 Title, Defeats Orange 6-0

Branford Post 83 hurler Jeff Stoddard is going to Division I Sacred Heart University on a baseball scholarship in September. Thursday at Brinley Field, the hard-throwing Branford High right hander showed why the Pioneers invested so heavily in him on. He struck out 10 Post 127 of Orange batters, walked 1, hit 1 with a pitch, and allowed only 1 hit (a first inning infield single by losing pitcher Mark Boland) as Post 83 completed its 3 game sweep by defeating Orange 6-0. The victory gives Branford a 19-1 record, extends its winning streak to 15 consecutive games, officially clinches the Zone 2 title, and raises its winning percentage to .950, which is tops in the state.

“He’s O.K.” Post 127 Coach Bob Mirto said with a bit of a grin.

Mirto added, “Obviously, the kid throws hard and has very good control, but we had some good swings.”

Once again, the Orange leaky defense spoiled a solid mound effort by Boland. Of the 6 runs he allowed, only 2 were earned runs.

In the top of the second inning, Jesse Castaldo led off by slugging a bases-empty home run over the fence in left centerfield. The visitors took advantage of a 2-out error by third baseman Brian Speer to add a pair of fourth inning unearned runs. Following the Speer bobble that put Janotta on base,  Connor Moriarty ripped a triple into the right field corner that easily  drove in the Branford catcher. Shortly thereafter, Moriarty raced home on a passed ball charged to Post 127 catcher Jim Martino.

The top of the fifth began with an error by Orange shortstop Nick Baviello. Joe Perez advanced a base on another Martino passed ball and he came home on the front end of Anthony Pellegrino’s single that gave Post 83 a 5-0 lead.

Branford added its final tally in the top of the seventh. Oliver Hart drew a lead off walk. He moved around to third base on an infield out and get another Martino passed ball. After Mike Cattazura also walked, Alex Veladi singled home Hart. Now leading 6-0, Branford Coach Rick Balzano had Catraruzza and Velardi pull off a double steal, but Boland got Janotta to wave at and miss an inning-ending third strike.

“You can’t give a team like that 4 cheap runs,” Mirto added.

Turning to Boland’s full game performance where he gave up only 2 earned runs on 10 hits, Mirto said, “Mark has worked very hard this summer to improve his overall game and become a really good player.  When he is at bat, he runs everything out.”

Noting that his team now lost 7 of its last 9 games and saw its record dip to  7-13, Mirto went on to say, “We’re a young team and have had some key injuries this summer.  We have everybody back next year except (center fielder) Brian Kernan. In addition we have a good crop of 13-14 years olds on our Junior Legion team that won the Zone 2 championship and also several good kids coming up from the Senior Little League programs in our 3 towns.”

Hart doubled, singled, and scored a run for Branford. Moriarty tripled, singled, scored a run and added an RBI. Castaldi chipped in with his solo home run.

Post 127 hosts last place Stratford Post 42 tonight at 7 in its final Brinley Field appearance of the summer and then closes out the season with a 9:30 AM  double header at Penders Field in Stratford.