Hall Erases Seven-run Deficit to Dethrone Southington in CCC Championship

Muzzy Field with Southington at the plate against Hall AJ ANGELILLO PHOTOS

BRISTOL — Southington put seven runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning at Muzzy Field on Wednesday, and for three innings, the Blue Knights looked every bit like a team about to win their third straight CCC Baseball Championship.

Then Hall decided that was not going to happen.

The Warriors erased the entire deficit and pulled off an 8-7 comeback to win their first CCC Championship in program history. Hall entered the game at 17-5 and had already lost to Southington twice in the last 13 months, falling 6-2 in last year’s CCC final and 13-9 in a regular-season meeting on April 10.

The first inning was a disaster for the Warriors’ pitching staff. Junior center fielder Drew Kelly worked a walk to lead off the bottom of the frame against senior right-hander Grant Davidson and the Blue Knights’ aggressive baserunning took over from there.

Kelly stole second during junior second baseman Mason LeFort’s walk and junior shortstop Domenic Zigmont beat out a grounder that brought Kelly home. Senior right fielder Connor Lentini roped a double into the left-center gap to plate LeFort. After senior left fielder Mitchell Zielinski drew a walk to load the bases, Davidson was done after recording just one out.

Senior reliever Alexandre Rebours came on and walked in a run before freshman designated hitter Bryce Zielinski lined into a tag at first by senior first baseman Matthew Panarella. Kelly came back around and hammered a two-run double into the gap in center to cap the frame and by the time the inning was over, Southington led 7-0.

Junior right-hander Luke Prozzo backed that offensive explosion with three no-hit innings. He struck out eight through four frames and had Hall’s lineup completely off balance, looking every bit like a pitcher capable of carrying his team to a title.

The fourth inning cracked the door open. Senior third baseman Quinn O’Neill picked up Hall’s first hit with a single, stole second and scored on a base hit from Panarella. A hit-by-pitch on senior catcher James Alerte forced in another run and a bases-loaded walk to junior shortstop Joshua Gertner cut the lead to 7-3. Prozzo stranded the bases loaded with a strikeout, but the momentum had shifted.

The next inning flipped the entire game as Head Coach Stan Switala pulled Prozzo and went to sophomore right-hander Tyler Tortora, and Hall jumped on the change.

Junior second baseman Kaiyo Sharkey lifted a sacrifice fly to score junior designated hitter Maxwell Hanawalt and Panarella singled to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. A wild pitch from Tortora scored O’Neill and made it 7-5 and after junior right-hander Cole Kosko came on and hit Alerte with a pitch to load the bases, Gertner lined a two-run single through the left side to tie the game at 7-7. The Hall dugout erupted and their fans behind the backstop matched every bit of their energy.

Senior right-hander Matthew LaBreck deserves much of the credit for making the comeback possible. He entered in the third inning after Hall burned through three arms in two frames and tossed 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three. He grounded a pitching staff that desperately needed stability and without his presence on the mound, the Warriors may never have gotten close enough to tie the game.

Hall took the lead for good in the sixth when O’Neill reached on an infield single, advanced to third on a ball that deflected off LeFort’s glove and scored on Sharkey’s fielder’s choice. Bryce Zielinski settled in on the mound for Southington and limited the damage, but the Blue Knights could not answer in the bottom of the frame despite senior catcher Max Pierce getting hit by a pitch and stealing second.

Junior right fielder Louis Sauer came on in relief and closed the door, retiring all four batters he faced over 1.1 innings with two strikeouts. When junior Tyler Guerrette flew out to center to end the seventh, the Warriors swarmed the mound in a celebration that many would have considered unthinkable three hours earlier.

For Southington, the loss drops the Blue Knights to 20-3 and snaps a two-year hold on the CCC, a remarkable run for a program that entered the season ranked ninth in the preseason GameTimeCT poll after losing 11 seniors from last year’s roster.

For Hall, now 18-5, senior captains LaBreck, O’Neill, Panarella and senior left fielder Thomas Hussey leave with a conference championship no group before them could claim. Both teams now turn their attention to the CIAC state tournament.

Town Council Considers Plans for Future Developments

Representatives from the Winter Guard team show off the proclamation. PETER PROHASKA PHOTO

Back in April, the Southington High School Winter Guard took home a gold medal at the Winter Guard International Sport of the Arts World Championship. Their program, called “Paris ‘24,” beat out 19 others for the top prize in the Scholastic A group. The team traveled to the event in Dayton, Ohio by car and managed to outclass its competition despite the 14-hour drive. The Southington Town Council kicked off its May 26 meeting with an official proclamation saluting the group’s outstanding achievement.

Following that ceremony, the Council proceeded to an agenda lighter than recent ones associated with the budget, but which still had plenty of important news to digest, especially as it pertains to coming developments in town.

Apple Harvest Festival

Planning for the Apple Harvest Festival this autumn is “in great shape,” according to a report from Councillor Chris Palmieri, who chairs that committee. 29 of 32 vendors are returning, and there is interest in the remaining spots as well. The theme for the festival will be decided by the public, and more information on how to vote can be found here.

Former Councillor Victoria Triano was named Grand Marshall for the Festival. Triano was in attendance to accept the honor, and also to deliver a report from the America 250 Committee she chairs. She highlighted several events coming up to celebrate the semiquincentennial. On June 4, district schools will have lesson plans dedicated to the American Revolution. On June 20, in cooperation with SoCCA, the town green will be the site of musical performances, a reading of the Declaration of Independence and other events, as well as SoCCA’s annual pottery sale.

Development at 682 Curtiss Street

A report from Councillor Mike DelSanto’s Economic Strike Committee touched on the question of how much the town can contribute to a private development. Local businessman Kurt Holyst had approached the group earlier in May about a potential development of 60 acres of land that he owns, currently zoned for industrial. Holyst said that the land on 682 Curtiss Street would be more attractive to developers with the addition of an access road; he is asking for Southington to assist with covering that expense, which would likely be more than $1 million. The town would stand to reap the rewards for its investment in terms of higher property taxes once the parcel is subdivided and sold. A development at 1601 West Street was cited for comparison: it went from being taxed at roughly $3,000 per year to $280,000 over the past three years after improvements were made.

The requested assistance would be of two sorts. First, the town would apply for a STEAP (Small Town Economic Assistance Program) grant from the state, which could cover 80% of the road construction costs, with the town responsible for the remainder. During discussion, Town Manager Alex Ricciardone raised a concern that the grant might not cover the full 80%.

Holyst’s second request was for the town to cover the initial costs of creating an engineering plan. This support would effectively be a loan, to be repaid to the town upon the sale of the first property.

Ricciardone, with the blessing of the Council, said that he would ask Town engineers to begin preliminary planning for the road project so that it could be “shovel-ready” should grant monies become available. The Council tabled the matter for later discussion after requesting more specifics on possible costs.

Plan of Conservation and Development

Every ten years, Connecticut communities must adopt a new Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). A draft of Southington’s latest plan received Council approval at the meeting after Todd Chaplinsky, Chair of the POCD committee, presented an overview of the document. The POCD sets forth goals and visions for the Town in areas such as housing, open space preservation, recreation and infrastructure. Chaplinsky highlighted the public input of some 674 survey respondents, the work of the committee, and the contributions of SLR Consulting, the engineering firm which guided the process.

The draft document, said to be 94% complete, is available for review on the Town website. There will be a public hearing on July 21, prior to official adoption of the POCD.

PCB Remediation at Sewer Plant

Ricciardone also reported on the matter of PCB remediation at the Sewer Plant. Consulting engineers Tighe and Bond came up with a plan to store the materials securely on site rather than trucking them away, something Ricciardone said would save the town “millions.” The Council voted to approve up to $375,000 for the project, some of which will be ultimately reimbursed by the companies responsible for the pollution.

Southington Survives Glastonbury 4-3 to Earn Shot at Third Straight CCC Title

Senior Max Pierce at the plate AJ ANGELILLO PHOTOS

BRISTOL — The chants of “Rocco, Rocco, Rocco” echoed through Muzzy Field as Rocco Davino walked off the mound for the final time Tuesday night. Eight days after throwing a no-hitter on Senior Day against Plainville, the senior right-hander gutted through a completely different kind of start in the CCC semifinal against Glastonbury.

Davino tossed 6.2 innings and junior left-hander Luke Prozzo recorded the final out as the No. 6 Southington Blue Knights held off the No. 4 Glastonbury Guardians 4-3 to advance to Wednesday’s CCC Championship against Hall at Muzzy Field.

The win gave head coach Stan Switala his 100th career victory at Southington, a milestone reached in just his fifth season leading the program.

The Blue Knights jumped on senior right-hander Daniel Wallace from the start. Junior center fielder Drew Kelly and senior catcher Max Pierce opened the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles before junior second baseman Mason LeFort worked a walk to load the bases. Junior shortstop Domenic Zigmont struck out looking, but senior right fielder Connor Lentini grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Kelly.

Senior left fielder Mitch Zielinski then delivered the big blow, working the count full and lining a two-RBI single to left that brought home Pierce and Lentini. Senior left fielder Bennett Bedard’s throw from the outfield came up short and Southington led 3-0.

Glastonbury got on the board in the third when senior shortstop Jack Westergren scored on a throwing error by Zigmont to make it 3-1. The Blue Knights answered immediately in the bottom half when Lentini singled with two outs and Zielinski dropped a liner in front of junior center fielder Cooper Saunders as Lentini advanced all the way to third.

When Wallace caught Zielinski in a rundown between first and second, Lentini timed the play and broke for home. Glastonbury could not get the tag at the plate and Zielinski reached second safely without ever being touched. The play stretched the lead to 4-1.

The Blue Knights' dugout

The Guardians clawed their way back over the next two innings. Wallace doubled into the gap in left-center to lead off the fourth and senior catcher Dylan Woodworth lined an RBI single down the left field line to cut the deficit to 4-2. Davino loaded the bases later in the frame by walking senior Ryan Sansoucy with two outs, but escaped when Bedard flew out to center.

In the fifth, junior designated hitter Connor Smith singled and stole second and third before scoring when a popup dropped between Lentini and freshman first baseman SJ Switala. Saunders reached second on the play and the deficit was down to one.

But Davino and the defense bent without breaking, when sophomore third baseman Ethan Herens recovered from a pair of errors earlier in the game to make throws when they counted.

Then LeFort delivered the play of the night in the sixth, diving to snag a liner off the bat of Bedard with senior Nathan Hill standing at third and two outs. The Southington dugout erupted and Davino walked back to the dugout more fired up than he had been all game.

Kelly nearly blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth, launching a fly ball to the center field wall and sliding in safely for a triple that sent the bleachers into a frenzy. Pierce fouled off five pitches in a long at-bat before lining out to second with Kelly left stranded.

Davino came out for the seventh, looking to finish what he started. He retired Smith on a flyout and froze junior first baseman Zachary Bernabeo on a slider for a called third strike to bring Glastonbury to its final out.

But Wallace worked a walk and Saunders singled through the left side to put runners on the corners. Switala went to the bullpen with Davino, who received a standing ovation as he was greeted by his teammates. Prozzo would then come in to finish the job as Woodworth grounded out to second and the Blue Knights stormed the field.

Kelly led the offense with two hits and four total bases. Zielinski went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Lentini added a hit, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Davino finished with six strikeouts on 87 pitches, allowing seven hits and two earned runs.

Southington won the CCC Championship in both 2024 and 2025. On Wednesday, the Blue Knights will face Hall at Muzzy Field with a three-peat on the line. First pitch is set for 6pm.