By Michael Letendre 

BRISTOL – After what seemed to be a season-ending 13-3 loss at Enfield on Monday afternoon, the Bristol American Legion 19U baseball team met after the game with head coach Jerry LaPenta in the squad’s typical postgame meeting. 

The players took a knee and intently listened to what the coach had to say, and it appeared the players were contemplating the end of a long season – finishing up at 10-11 and out of the playoff picture. 

The mood was a bit somber with the realization that the year was over and for the first time since 1993, there would not be a postseason for Post 2. 

Boy, was everyone wrong. 

Clarification is King 

After basically talking about a season wrap-up with LaPenta, the Bristol players and coaches left the field at Powder Hollow Park as the summer would continue on for some of the players, like Caleb Molinsky and Gabe White, who would be competing with the junior team – a squad with the ability to make a run in the 17U State Tournament field. 

And then at 9:35 p.m. that same night, an email from Bristol General Manager Paul LaFleur changed everything. 

“According to the state chairman, Dave Greenleaf, Bristol is in,” said LaFleur via the email. 

And just like that, the season continued for the senior crew from Post 2. 

How did this exactly happen? 

There was a little confusion with the inclusion of Bristol in the 19U Tournament, ranked 18th out of the field of twenty-four teams. 

From the average eye, Bristol and Simsbury were fighting for the final qualifying slot allotted for Zone 3 (American division). 

Simsbury, who also finished at 10-11 (.476) off its 5-3 home loss to Tri-County on Monday night, would have been the likely fifth team candidate. 

Bristol and Simsbury split their season series 1-1 this year which included a huge 10-1 thumping by Post 84 from Muzzy Field on June 11. 

Post 2 claimed a 3-1 victory over Simsbury on July 11 and if a certain tiebreaker was needed, Bristol was outscored 12-4 by the former Zone 1 team and that seemed to end the discussion. 

However, in terms of tiebreaking criteria, that scoring formula was not used by Connecticut American Legion baseball. 

That’s not exactly correct 

During the day on Tuesday, several people – including a couple former Bristol American Legion baseball coaches – wanted to know how Post 2 qualified for the postseason. 

It was a mystery only former Bristol Eastern Algebra II teacher Dave Greenleaf (the long-time teacher once told me he never wanted to leave BEHS but went back to Bristol Central after a one-year stint in 1992-93) could solve. 

In his email, the ultimate tiebreaker was the two squad’s records against Zone 3 American division winner Ellington (14-7 overall, ranked seventh in the state field). 

The tiebreaker component was a simple one and ended up favoring the squad from Bristol. 

“[Simsbury] had the same record and were 1-1 against each other,” said Greenleaf about Bristol and Simsbury, acknowledging the deadlock. “So, you go to the top of the standings until you find a team where they were different [against]. Bristol was 1-1 versus Ellington and Simsbury was 0-2.” 

With that news, Bristol was off to the postseason – about to tackle a very familiar opponent. 

18 versus 15 

Last Saturday, Bristol’s Declan Schenck threw an amazing no-hitter against Zone 3’s South Windsor but gave up an unearned run in the sixth inning as Bristol lost a tough 1-0 game from Rotary Field. 

And four days after that remarkable event, it’s time for a rematch. 

It will be No. 18 Bristol at No. 15 South Windsor at 6:30 p.m. in the biggest first round matchup you’ll find in the state this year. 

The squads split the season series 1-1 with Post 2 capturing a big 4-3 come-from-behind victory after trailing by three runs on June 17 from Muzzy Field. 

This will be a tremendous rubber match between the programs. 

Chippy 

Bristol’s one-run win was a contest in which Ryan Maglio was hit-by-a-pitch and the South Windsor squad insisted he was not. 

And after two meetings by the officials, Maglio was awarded first base under the protest of the opposing team. 

That squad wasn’t very happy after the 4-3 setback and after this Saturday’s bout, in which there was tension after the completion of that game – somewhere around third base area – that had people talking. 

And don’t forget, Bristol left nine men on base last Saturday and was just one hit away from breaking open the game from Rotary Field. 

With the series split, the squads combining for four runs apiece over two hotly contested games and state tournament advancement on the line, this is going to be a good one from South Windsor. 

Again, there won’t be a more charged first round showdown in the state than the South Windsor/Bristol bout. 

Call in the man! 

Schenck, who will be with the senior group for the rest of the campaign, threw just 71 pitches on Saturday over his no-hit effort against South Windsor. 

He chucked 44 strikes, fanned four and walked just two batters over an amazing effort. 

Will LaPenta call Schenck’s number in the rematch? Can lightning strike twice? 

South Windsor has just seven hits against Bristol over the two games this season and between the efforts of Maglio and Schenck, all four runs the opponents scored were unearned. 

This is a game for the taking if Post 2 can play error free ball. 

It doesn’t get any bigger than this and, by the way, the winner of Bristol/South Windsor advances to play Stamford – the top seed in the Southern bracket – on Friday from the city that’s the home of Worst Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). 

Stamford finished the season at 21-3 (.875) and went 10-2 from home this year. 

That game will be played under the lights at 8 p.m. from Cubeta Stadium. 

The 2023 Bracket 

Here’s a breakdown of the 2023 19U Tournament and the seeding for both the Northern and Southern brackets: 

2023 Connecticut 19U – Tournament Seeding  

Northern Division Regional
Wednesday, July 19
First Round Play-in games – Single elimination

Game 1: No. 17 Orange at No. 16 Northeast

Game 2: No. 24 East Hartford/Manchester at No. 9 Middletown
Game 3: No. 20 North Haven at No. 13 Tri-County

Game 4: No. 21 Enfield at No. 12 RCP

Friday, July 21
Double elimination
Game 5: Winner game 1 at No. 1 Waterford
Game 6: Winner game 2 at No. 4 Ellington
Game 7: Winner game 3 at No. 2 West Hartford
Game 8: Winner game 4 at No. 3 Willimantic
Saturday, July 22 

Southern Division Regional

Wednesday, July 19
First Round Play-in games – Single elimination

Game 1: No. 18 Bristol at No. 15 South Windsor (6:30 p.m.)

Game 2: No. 23 Westport at No. 10 Norwalk
Game 3: No. 19 Windsor Locks/Windsor at No. 14 Norwich
Game 4: No. 22 Ridgefield at No. 11 Danielson
Friday, July 21
Double elimination

Game 5: Bristol/South Windsor winner at No. 1 Stamford (8 p.m.)

Game 6: Winner game 2 at No. 4 Milford
Game 7: Winner game 3 at No. 2 Naugatuck
Game 8: Winner game 4 at No. 3 Danbury