Trojans have their sights set on a Tri-State Three-Peat

Copyright Kevin Roberts Waterbury Rep-American June 29,2023

The Tri-Town Trojans are rolling again in the Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League, and they have their eyes focused on a championship three-peat.

Tri-State is down to 10 teams through attrition, and the Trojans improved to 13-0 with a road rout of the Canton Crushers on Wednesday evening at Bowdoin Field in Canton. “It’s definitely weaker than it has been, the league, but we don’t care about that. We just care about going for the three-peat,” longtime Tri-Town player/manager Danny McCarty said following the Canton win. “That’s our goal this year. We have one goal and that’s to win three.” What Tri-Town is trying to accomplish hasn’t been done since the mid-1990s. That’s when the now defunct Torrington Rebels won four straight Tri-State championships from 1992-1995.

Several teams have won two straight championships, then came up short in the third season. The Bethlehem Plowboys, which lost to Tri-Town in last year’s World Series, were the only one of those teams to the final in their attempt at a three-peat. After winning in 2001 and 2002 against the Winsted Thunder, Bethlehem was knocked off by the Thomaston Spoilers in 2003. As for the others: The defunct Litchfield Cowboys won titles in 2011 and 2012 but didn’t make the championship series in 2013. The Rebels claimed championships in 2006 and 2007 but didn’t reach the finals in 2008. The Plowboys won the series in 1998 and 1999 but didn’t make it to the championship series in 2000.

Before the Rebels pulled off their four-peat, the only team to win three or more in a row since 1968 was the Amenia Monarchs, who claimed championships from 1982-1985. So how can Tri-Town buck the trend and win its third straight Tri-State championship?

“Since I’ve played on the Trojans, we’ve stuck with pitching and defense. Hits will come. Same thing, that’s been our repertoire,” McCarty said. “If we can hold a team to 2-3 runs per game, I’m pretty confident that we’ll win the game.” Veteran left-hander Bobby Chatfield settled in against Canton after giving up a leadoff homer to Ben Sullivan, along with some other sharply-hit balls in the first couple frames. While Chatfield found his groove, the Trojan offense lit up Crusher pitching. Connor Gannon, one of the young arms McCarty counts on to finish up games, filled in as the extra hitter and blasted a three-run home run over the left field fence and onto Symonds Avenue. Gannon finished his senior season at Western Connecticut State last month.

Another young right-hander McCarty relies upon is Aidan Donohue, who pitched for the High Point University (North Carolina) club baseball team this spring and was first team all-region as a reliever. McCarty also has his usual suspects on the bump in Chatfield, Miles Scribner and 46-year-old Dan Livingston.

There’s also a second Scribner in the mix, older brother Evan, 37, who suited up in center field against Canton and looked good playing out there. Evan Scribner pitched in the major leagues for the San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners. “We had the same team coming back. The same exact guys, added Evan,” McCarty said. “He is finally back to play. I literally have the same guys back, so my expectations are just as high as they were last year.”

McCarty expects plenty of fight from Bethlehem (8-4), which Tri-Town has to play two more times in the regular season. “They can beat anyone. A bunch of younger guys, and (manager Rich Revere) really wants to win this year,” McCarty said.

Amenia and the Burlington Hunters were also 8-4 entering Thursday’s action. All 10 teams make the Tri-State playoffs, and the Winsted Whalers (2-8) are one team McCarty wants to avoid. “They have a 2-8 record, they don’t have a 2-8 team,” McCarty said. I don’t want to face them in the playoffs, that’s for sure.” Tri-Town is aiming to be the playoff’s top seed, and anything less than a three-peat would be a letdown. After a break for the Fourth of July, the Trojans are back in action on July 6 against the Valley Ducks a 5:45 p.m. at Wolcott High School.