With Zone Title Secure, Post 96 Believes a State Title is Possible

With the Zone 7 championship in hand after Tuesday’s 7-2 win over Tri-County, West Hartford Post 96 can look forward to the American Legion State Tournament riding a wave of confidence.

The confidence emanates from the usual places.

The local Legionnaires have talent nurtured by an attentive coaching staff. With eight college-age players, the squad has experience, and at the core of its experience are a group of players who were part of Post 96’s last postseason endeavor in 2009.

That year, West Hartford won the zone but was eliminated when it lost to perennial state powers Branford and Bristol in succession. Long-time friends and teammates Dan Minnes and Chris DeMorais were among a core of 17-year-old first-time Legionnaires. So were Nick Sanford, Chris Colleary, Wil Francis and Mac Venora.

They’re joined by Sean Packard and Chad Smedberg, forming the veteran nucleus that has West Hartford at 19-3 with two regular-season games remaining.

They’ve been united with a nucleus of recently graduated high school seniors and a sprinkling of rookies bound for future Legion glory, and as Minnes says, the chemistry is remarkable. The right fielder and his mates are not inclined to go two and out this time around.

“I was a lot younger [in 2009] so it was a different feel,” Minnes said. “We were getting used to the coaches and the older kids who I hadn’t played with. A zone title feels good no matter what age you are, but being older and having been with some of these kids since we were 10, it feels better than 2009.”

Each of Minnes’ reasons are based as much on West Hartford’s interpersonal relationships as they are on a tendency to pitch effectively and play strong defense – necessities in a league using wooden bats.

“It could be the team chemistry or our increased passion for the game over the years,” said Minnes, who started nine games as a freshman this spring at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. “I’m not exactly sure what it is but I think this team has something special.”

Minnes went 3-for-3 with a suicide squeeze bunt in Tuesday’s win, which assured West Hartford of no worse than a first-place tie with the tiebreaker secure. On Wednesday, Glastonbury informed head coach Rick Sanford that it could not field a team and West Hartford gained a forfeit win.

Post 96 visits Newington Thursday in the final game of the Meucci Series, pitting West Hartford co-head coach Steve against his twin brother Tom, Newington’s mentor. The final regular-season challenge comes Friday at home against Wethersfield.

Sanford said victories in those games could propel West Hartford as high as third in the tournament seedings. The play-in games, for which the locals have a bye, begin July 19 and the Legion “Sweet 16” is four days later.

“Back [in 2009] we were satisfied with winning the zone,” said third baseman DeMorais, now playing at the University of New Haven. “Now we’ve been to the Sweet 16 and it’s nothing new. We’ve had a taste of it and now we’re hungry to win.”

Against Tri-County Tuesday, lefthander Matt D’Orsi pitched a complete-game four-hitter to complement timely hitting and defense. Nick Sanford had two hits and two RBI. The infield defense turned three double plays and catcher Andrew Mullin prevented several wild pitches and threw out a runner trying to advance.

“D’Orsi’s number two pitch was in the dirt,” Coach Sanford said. “He didn’t have his best stuff but nobody really hit him solid.”

Assistant coach Elliott Lane said the win over Hebron was West Hartford’s finest moment.

“It’s been awhile since West Hartford has won a game in the state tournament but this is the team that’s going to do it,” Lane said. “Two years ago the kids were just happy to be there. This year they’ve got the confidence.”

This year, DeMorais and company want more.

“The best part about winning the zone is that we’re in the Sweet 16 so it makes winning easier,” he said. “It always feels good to win something, but there’s still a ways to go.”

Sanford, Meucci and Lane now must ensure that the kids keep their edge through what will be a solid week without a game.

“The hard part now is that fine line between resting and staying sharp,” Sanford said.

Sanford expects to start Colleary in the opener of the tournament, in which games are nine innings instead of the seven played throughout the regular campaign.

“We’ll probably go Colleary, D’Orsi and maybe [George] Lund, and use some of our other guys as long relievers,” Sanford said. “Right now, probably our most steady guy has been Nick Miceli. He throws the hardest and just wants to throw it down your throat. I’d love to have our guys get to six, have Nick throw a couple innings and use a closer.”

He said Francis or D’Orsi could inherit that role. Zach LaRosa and Matt Leach are also expected to see mound time out of the bullpen.

West Hartford last won a state championship in 1973.