By Michael Letendre

DANBURY – It’s a big finish for the Bristol American Legion 19U baseball team as the last week of the regular season has arrived.

And Post 2 must play six games from Tuesday through Sunday – weather permitting of course.

If the season ended today, Post 2 (8-7-3) would be in the playoff mix as one of the representatives from the bloated Zone 3 lineup.

Bristol could move up the standings a little bit with some luck as the squad has three make-ups over the week and a regular season showdown against Simsbury to start things off.

The Post 2 squad is down a little pitching but if the team can press all the right buttons, a postseason date will be in Bristol’s future.

“Now, we’ve got six games left,” said Bristol coach Jerry LaPenta. “If we go .500, we’re in [the postseason].”

Injury and missed games has zapped a little of Post 2’s depth over the past couple weeks or so but some callups from the Junior program have helped to keep the 19U team in line with a postseason date.

It won’t be easy as all six games are, amazingly, on the road with a trip to Simsbury (9-8 overall), and a little revenge, on tap for Tuesday.

Danbury split

When Connecticut American Legion Baseball State Committee Chairman David Greenleaf hears the word ‘split’ he’s probably thinking about ice cream (in terms of banana).

But in Bristol’s case, a split is what the program accomplished this past weekend in two hazardous trips to Danbury at the 2023 Stars and Stripes Tournament.

Battling the weather, tedious travel down Interstate 84 and a couple rag-tag lineups, Post 2 was able to go 1-1 which included a huge 6-2 win over Ridgefield from Rogers Park in Danbury on Sunday.

“To get a split this weekend is huge,” said LaPenta of the recent trips.

Bristol dropped the first game of the tournament on Saturday by a 15-5 final to 2022 champion Danbury but the kids who showed up battled and battled to keep that first game as close as possible while coming away with the big win over Ridgefield the following day.

Turn back the clock

What more could be said of Jayden Churchill’s pitching performance against Ridgefield on Sunday?

The chucker was not 100-percent but he threw a near flawless game that led to only four hits and a couple earned runs as Ridgefield batters could not sort out the former Bristol Eastern All-Conference player.

Churchill hasn’t thrown since seeing a couple innings in what turned into a ridiculous 7-6 win over two days and 14 innings against NCL earlier in the campaign.

But against Ridgefield, he needed only 75 pitches to shut the door against a quality team, showing superb control (think of former Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux for reference).

In terms of players like Elliot Norris and Churchill, those veteran leaders have meant everything to the Bristol program over the past few years.

Foot on the gas

The next six or so days won’t be easy for Post 2 as the team might not have its full complement of players but here’s the schedule in a nutshell to close out the year:

*Tuesday, at Simsbury (6:30 p.m. from Memorial Field)

*Wednesday, at Torrington (5:30 p.m. from Fuessenrich Park in a continuation game)

*Thursday, Day off (weather permitting from the previous two days)

*Friday, two games at Northeast (starting at 4:30 p.m. from Cross Farms B. One game is a continuation)

*Saturday, at South Windsor (noon from Rotary Field)

*Sunday, at Enfield (noon from Powder Hollow Park in a makeup game)

Going 3-3 would ensure Bristol of a postseason berth in the single elimination tournament though Post 2 could sneak with a different finish depending on where other teams around Bristol end up record-wise.

There’s a ton of parody in Zone 3 this season and anything is possible during the final week.

What’s the bottom line?

Bristol certainly has the chance to end this coming week at .500 if the team can play up to its abilities and have as full a lineup as possible.

Pitching will be at a premium until the end of the year but this is what the team signed up for in the first place before the season had a chance to commence.

“Hopefully, we’ll see what we can do,” said LaPenta of the remaining schedule.