New Canaan Baseball Tops Trinity Catholic for Second Walk-Off Win of the Week

On Monday it was Robbie Jones who came through with a two-run home run to help the Rams complete the come-from-behind win against Greenwich in extra innings. On Thursday, it was Brandon Abate’s turn to be the hero as with the game tied and the bases loaded, he connected on a single to right field to score Robbie Jones from third and cap off an incredible week for New Canaan Baseball. “I’m just trying to think of it as any other at-bat,” the senior co-captain told NewCanaanite.com. “You just gotta relax your nerves. You get a little bit jumpy out there—your heart starts pumping , and if you get anxious you’re gonna ground out or something. I was just thinking about hitting the ball up the middle.”

Comeback Kids: Robbie Jones’ Walk-Off HR Gives New Canaan Baseball Extra-Inning Win Over Greenwich

New Canaan sophomore Robbie Jones began the game on the mound for his first start there in his high school career. He finished the game watching the ball sail off his bat and over the right field wall to cap off an extra inning, come-from-behind, 8-7 Rams victory over the Greenwich Cardinals. “In the beginning of the at-bat, I can’t lie, I was a little nervous being in that spot,” Jones told NewCanaanite.com. “But I was still really confident. When I hit that ball I was so pumped.” Also pumped were Jones’ teammates, who mobbed the hero at home plate.

NewCanaanite.com Athlete of the Week: David Giusti

The NewCanaanite.com Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, Connecticut Sandwich Co., Joe’s Pizza and Mackenzie’s. David Giusti’s four-hit, 13-strikeout performance against Trumbull last week was one of the best individual New Canaan pitching performances in recent memory. What made the 1-0 Rams win even more remarkable is the fact that the senior right-hander sat out all of 2014 with a stress fracture in his back. “As he got off the bus I could sense something special,” Rams head coach Mitch Hoffman told NewCanaanite.com.”Last season sucked for him, it just hurt so bad and we hurt so bad for him.” Giusti solidified his position as the Rams go-to pitcher against a team that has evolved into one of New Canaan’s most formidable foes over the past couple of seasons.

LaPolice and Newlove Stymie McMahon’s Offense in Baseball’s 6-1 Win

 

On a picturesque spring afternoon at Mead Park, the first home game of 2015 for the Rams, a pitcher’s duel occurred. Senior co-captain Alex LaPolice took the hill for the Rams, and after they scored two runs in the bottom of the first, LaPolice made that enough to get the W for New Canaan (3-0; 2-0 FCIAC) over Brien McMahon. “It felt good,” LaPolice told NewCanaanite.com when talking about his outing. “I was getting ahead of kids which was huge. [Felt] really good early on.” LaPolice helped his cause when the Rams put up two runs in the 1st.

The Boys of Mead: 2015 New Canaan Rams Baseball Preview

The snack shack got back to business at Mead Park a couple weeks ago. Now the boys of the New Canaan Rams baseball program are getting ready to do the same. After a 2013 season that culminated in the program winning its first state championship since 1950, it was going to be tough for the 2014 Rams to follow such an act. But while 2014 didn’t include any championships (14-6, 12-6 FCIAC) it did feature continued development of some top talent and leaders that are ready to create their own story in 2015. That story begins with the team’s four senior co-captains: outfielder/pitcher Alex LaPolice, pitcher/outfielder David Giusti, shortstop Brandon Abate, and All-State catcher Zack Smith.