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Local roundup: ECSU baseball team to play for Division III national title

the day, new london, conn.
·4 min read

Jun. 7—CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. — Second-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University advanced to the championship round of the NCAA Division III Baseball World Series with an 8-1 victory over LaGrange (Ga.) on Monday at Perfect Game Field.

The Warriors (47-3) will play defending national champion Salisbury (Md.) in a best-of-three series for the title starting Tuesday. Game 1 will be played at noon, Game 2 will follow at 3:30 p.m., and a deciding game, if necessary, will be played on Wednesday at noon.

Both teams finished 3-0 in their double-elimination brackets, with fourth-seeded Salisbury (39-10) beating No. 5 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 5-2 in Monday's first game.

Eastern, meanwhile, used four pitchers who combined on an eight-hitter against LaGrange to advance with its 21st straight win. Griffin Pontbriant, a freshman from Bozrah and Norwich Free Academy, saw his first action in the World Series and allowed no runs over 1.1 innings while scattering three hits.

Senior Matt Malcom of East Lyme had a pair of hits and scored a run for the Warriors, who are seeking their fifth national championship. ECSU had 15 hits and scored seven runs over the first four innings to take control. John Mesagno had three hits, drove in three runs and scored a run to lead Eastern's offense.

Michael Menhart, the son of ex-Fitch High School great Paul Menhart, pitched the final 2.1 innings for LaGrange, allowing just one hit while walking one and striking out one.

H.S. baseball

— A pair of Fitch stars, Cam McGugan and Matthew Robinson, were named to the Connecticut High School Coaches' Associated Class L all-state team. They led the Falcons to the ECC tournament championship last month and were two of 11 ECC players honored by the CHSCA.

McGugan and Robinson were joined on the Class L team by East Lyme's Gavin O'Brien, New London's Derrel Mitchell and Woodstock Academy's Ethan Davis, while Bacon Academy's Jack Novak, Ledyard's Zion Fraser, Montville's Chas Terni and Waterford's Evan McCue made the Class M team and Lyman Memorial's Josh Person and St. Bernard's Joe Basso made the Class S team.

H.S. boys' golf

— Killingly and Stonington were the two top Eastern Connecticut Conference finishers in the CIAC Division II tournament championship at Tallwood Country Club in Hebron, placing third and fourth, respectively.

RHAM won the team title with 311 strokes, beating runner-up Ellington (325), which was led by medalist Bradley Sawka who fired a 3-under 69. Killingly (328), Stonington (333) and Watertown and Tolland (tie, 334) rounded out the top five.

In the individual competition, Killingly's Cameron Seiffert tied for third with a 77 while Stonington's Brandon Tavares tied for seventh with a 78. Andrew Zanghetti led Waterford, which placed ninth, with an 85. Connor Tuttle's 83 was the best score for Bacon Academy, which finished 10th.

— In the Division I tournament, Norwich Free Academy's Kyle Sikorski fired an 80 to finish tied for 19th at at Stanley Golf Course in New Britain. The Wildcats took 12th overall in the team competition.

Fairfield Prep won the team title with 304 strokes, with Cheshire (312) taking second. Michael Rothberg of Fairfield Prep was the medalist with a 2-under 69.

Nathan McCormack had the low score for Fitch, shooting an 85. The Falcons finished 13th. East Lyme's Tyler Moore had a team-best 82.

Sun's Jonquel Jones honored

— Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week. It was the 12th weekly honor during the 2021 WNBA MVP's five-year career.

Jones averaged 19.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game, as the Sun went 3-1 on a difficult West Coast trip. Through 12 games, Jones leads the Sun in scoring (15.6) and blocks (1.0) per game and is second in rebounds (8.3).

Pointers' AD Kobylanski resigns

— Michael Kobylanski, athletic director at UConn Avery Point for four seasons, has resigned to become the athletic director at Albertus Magnus, a four-year NCAA Division III school in New Haven.

"I want to thank the entire UConn Avery Point community for embracing me from day one," Kobylanski said in a release. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time leading the athletic department over the last four years."