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Windsor advances to Class L baseball final

kyle maher, journal inquirer, manchester, conn.
·4 min read

Jun. 8—HARTFORD — Mason Glickman had not yet been born when the Windsor High baseball team last lifted a state championship plaque in 1991, but 31 years later, the senior offered the program an opportunity for a championship rebirth Tuesday.

Glickman threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings as top-seeded Windsor topped No. 12 Daniel Hand 8-0 in a Class L state tournament semifinal at Dunkin' Donuts Park.

Windsor (23-1) will look to snap its championship drought when it plays No. 10 Maloney in the state title game Friday at Palmer Field in Middletown. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

"It's quite a feeling, to say the least," Glickman said. "I envisioned this quite a long time ago, I had a dream of being at Palmer Field, and it's crazy to think it's coming true."

Windsor is making its fourth appearance in the championship game. The Warriors won the title in 1979 and 1991 before falling short in 2018.

Maloney beat No. 14 Notre Dame-West Haven 2-1 Tuesday in the game preceding Windsor-Hand.

Maloney is making its third championship game appearance. The Spartans are still searching for their first title after falling short in 1989 and 1995.

Glickman struck out 10 and allowed only four hits in the victory. Hand (15-10) starter David Antonetti took the loss.

"We had to be gritty, we had to be blue collar, and (Glickman) was a bulldog," Windsor coach Joe Serfass said. "He checked off all those boxes. He kept us in the game, zero-zero game until we could finally break through. And he made pitches."

The game began as a pitcher's duel, as Glickman and Antonetti traded zeroes through the first three innings.

Glickman held the Tigers scoreless in the top of the fourth and Windsor broke the stalemate in the bottom of the frame.

Glickman led off the rally with a single to left. Jonathan Lattimer worked a walk and Eli Fangiullo singled to left to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

"When I got to two strikes, I was just thinking, 'Do your job, put the ball in play anywhere. Do everything you can. Choke up, get closer, because if it's relatively close, you have to get it down,'" Fangiullo said. "He put it outside and I poked it through to get the scoring started, which is always a big momentum booster."

Brandon Cosgrove then hit a ground ball to short that the Tigers tried to turn into a double play. But Cosgrove beat out the throw, allowing Lattimer to score to double Windsor's lead.

After a walk to Nason Busca, Aiden Serrano hit a ground ball to third. The Tigers got an out at third but then made two throwing errors, allowing the Warriors' third run to score from second.

Windsor tacked on four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Lattimer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to put the Warriors up 4-0.

Windsor scored its fifth run on a passed ball. Cosgrove extended the Warriors' lead to six with a RBI single to right and, two batters later, Serrano was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, driving in their seventh run.

A Lattimer RBI single to left in the sixth gave Windsor an 8-0 advantage.

"They forced us to make some mistakes with the pressure they put on us," Hand coach Travis LaPointe said. "But I thought our errors were effort errors and I can't fault them for that."

Glickman retired Hand in order in the fifth and sixth innings and got the first two outs of the seventh before having to be pulled due to pitch count regulations.

As Glickman walked off the mound, the large contingent of Windsor fans rose as one to give him a standing ovation.

"It all starts with the fans in this program and it's so nice when they come out and support us," Glickman said. "And they're going to be supporting us at Palmer Field (on Friday). I just love everyone who is a part of this community."

Ryan Cramer entered the game and got a pop-out to close out the Warriors' victory.

"We try not to talk about pitch count but he had an idea he was getting close and Ryan Cramer has been a reliable guy out of the bullpen," Serfass said. "A little change in velocity, and he did his job."

For daily updates on high school sports in JI's coverage area, follow Kyle Maher on Twitter: @KyleBMaher, Facebook: Kyle Maher, and Instagram: @KyleBMaher.