Junior Legion Heads to Postseason Play

A bizarre scenario unfolded at Trumbull High School on Tuesday afternoon.

The Ridgefield Post 78 Junior American Legion team had just routed Trumbull, 12-4, but the team wasn't immediately sure of its postseason status because a second game scheduled for Tuesday against Bridgeport was cancelled.

But a few minutes later, the team got the good news: the Bridgeport game was officially ruled a forfeit, enabling Ridgefield  to clinch a berth in the state tournament.

The Ridgefield players were ready to make the 15-minute trip to Bridgeport's Seaside Park to play the nightcap of what would have been an odd doubleheader.

"I think we should go down there and just play," said right fielder Bryce Maher before learning of the forfeit.

While Ridgefield (15-12)  would have prefered not wrapping up a state tournament berth via a forfeit, the club certainly earned its way into postseason play by winning its last four games and five of the previous six (technically, the streak is five, counting the forfeit).

"We're going to the dance!" one Ridgefield player shouted.

With a lot on the line, Ridgefield came ready to play, pounding out 15 hits and jumping to a 7-1 lead in the second inning.

Winning pitcher Devin Martin led the way offensively with four hits and three RBI. On the mound, he allowed two runs and three hits with two walks and six strikeouts over four innings.

"We got some extra guys (from the senior Legion team) for the past couple games, and it helped us hitting-wise to score a lot of runs," said Martin, a rising sophomore who has won six straight decisions after starting the Legion season 0-3.

Maher (three RBI) and Collin O'Meara added three hits apiece for Ridgefield, which scored in each of the first five innings and cruised to an easy win.

But that was the last thing on the mind of Post 78 coach Anthony Forcelli. In the sixth inning, he got word that the second game—scheduled for 6 p.m.—wouldn't be played because Bridgeport couldn't get the field and wouldn't have enough players to field a team.

The Trumbull contest concluded by 5:15, giving Ridgefield plenty of time to get to Bridgeport by 6.

According to Legion by-laws, any game not played in a season is ruled a double forfeit, essentially a "no-contest." In that event, Ridgefield would have finished 14-12 and missed the state tournament by one win. It also would have been punished for something that wasn't its fault.

According to Forcelli, Ridgefield made three attempts to play the game, only to be rebuffed by Bridgeport each time.

The contest initially was scheduled for last Wednesday at Brideport's Veterans Park, but was rained out, even though  Forcelli said the field was dry and the umpires were on hand.

According to Forcelli, Zone Four officials asked Bridgeport to play the game in Ridgefield the following day, but Bridgeport never made the trip. Ridgefield was under the impression the game was a forfeit, but that decision apparently was reversed on the weekend.

Zone four commissioner Mike Curley, who was in attendance at Trumbull, refused to comment when approached by a Patch reporter.

While Ridgefield will enter the state tournament with a low seed, the team does have momentum. It also has the  distinction of winning two out of three against the top three teams in the zone—Greenwich (23-4), Stamford (21-6) and Trumbull (17-10). In its previous game, Ridgefield pounded Stamford, 12-2.

"We're having a lot of confidence in ourselves and we got some quality wins," Maher said. "We started hitting. We've been hitting the ball good the past couple games."

The 15-12 record may be a bit deceiving, as Ridgefield lost a number of close games, including two in the seventh inning. Also, Ridgefield surrendered only 98 runs, the fewest allowed in the 10-team zone.

"Our pitching has been real good during this streak, we hit really well," Forcelli said. "It was just all the way around. It was really a team effort to get here."

Forcelli credits assistant coaches, son Tim and Kyle Miller, with keeping a positive attitude when the team was struggling. 

"The boys kept playing and all of a sudden they started clicking, playing a little bit better down the stretch," the elder Forcelli said. "We ended up getting to this point."