The Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League is just under halfway into the regular season, and it is close at the top of the standings.
The defending champion Watertown Blaze are off to a 7-0 start with the Terryville Black Sox (7-1) and Bethlehem Plowboys (6-1) hanging right behind them. Watertown has Chris Callahan (Holy Cross) and Darryl Wilson (Sacred Heart) on its roster.
One of Terryville’s leading players is pitcher Kenny Kerski, who made his name in the high school ranks at Crosby. Kyle Skidmore played for Holy Cross, Kyle MacLean at St. Paul.
At Bethlehem, former Holy Cross standout Mike Chiovitti is one of the top hitters in the lineup, but he’s far from the lone local. There’s also Shea Dooley (Kaynor Tech), Matt Mancini (Sacred Heart), Tyler Erickson (Holy Cross), Kevin McDonnell (Bristol native) and Dennis Poulter (Wilby).
The runner-up Naugatuck Dogs are not far behind at 5-2. Their roster has several Holy Cross grads, including Ryan Plourde, Devin Murphy, Kyle Murphy and Christian Cuevas.
As far as the local teams go, Blasius Chevrolet (formerly Brass City Brew) has the best record at 5-3. Blasius was scheduled to play the Burlington Hunters (1-7) today at 10 a.m. at Lewis Mills High School in Burlington. Blasius has won four straight games since starting the season 1-3.
The Wolcott Scrappers are 3-4 entering today’s 11 a.m. contest against the Winsted Whalers (3-5) at Walker Field in Winsted. Wolcott battled its way to an 8-7 win over the Litchfield Cowboys (3-5) on Thursday at the BAW Complex.
The East Mountain Cougars sit at 2-5 entering today’s 6 p.m. road game against the Southington 66ers (3-4) at Recreation Park in Southington. Southington has several players known to the Sports on CT-69 area on its roster, most notably former St. Paul standouts Kyle Dube, Connor Crean, Josh Dobratz and Matt Santovasi.
The Bristol Greeners are having a tough season so far at 1-7. Bristol plays the Torrington Rebels (4-3) today at noon at Fuessenich Park in Torrington.
There are other players from Sports on CT-69 schools throughout the Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League, and here’s just a sample:
TRIBURY TWISTERS — Ben Brown (Holy Cross), Jeff Cappa (Holy Cross), Ben Guisto (Wolcott), Dom Mascolo (Holy Cross)
VALLEY THUNDER — Nick Forino (Kennedy), Zach Goldberg (Wolcott), Matt Meier (Wolcott), Tyler Pelletier (Wolcott), Tom Rinaldi (Holy Cross)
These are the names I pulled off of the Tri-State website. If I’ve missed someone, please let me know: sportsonct69@gmail.com, Twitter: @SportsonCT69, Facebook: Sports on CT-69
