Darien Senior Legion Hands Greenwich First Loss Of Season

Even if the Darien Senior American Legion baseball team doesn't make the state tournament, it can take some satisfaction in becoming the first club to defeat Greenwich this season.

On a day when the temperature reached close to 100 degrees, Mike Miller allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings Tuesday, lifting Darien to a 5-3 victory over Greenwich in a Zone Four contest at Mead Park.

Darien improved to 9-9 and Greenwich dropped to 16-1. Greenwich is in a battle with Norwalk (16-2) for first place in the zone.

Ryan McDonald, who started the game in right field, earned the save, working around a pair of hits in the seventh.

"It was really hot out," said Miller, who will attending High Point University in North Carolina in the fall. "I drank lots of fluids. It was tough to pitch in. I just had to deal with it."

Miller and his teammates were a loose bunch after a day off Monday. Darien coach Mike Petrona bypassed batting practice, instead taking his players on a bowling excursion. It turned out to be a wise move.

"A team bonding exercise," said catcher Scott Dempsey, who drove in two runs. "If we didn't go bowling, I don't think we would have won today."

"I think the bowling helped us more than the batting practice," added Miller, the No. 3 starter on Darien High School's staff this past spring.

Of course, Miller expertly mixing an array of fastballs, sliders and curves also had a lot to do with the victory.

He wasn't overpowering, failing to strike out a single batter, but the righthander issued only two walks.

"I pitch to contact," Miller said. "I let my defense take it on. They generally do."

Darien played flawless defense behind Miller, committing no errors and turning two double plays.

The hosts also swung the bats well, pounding out nine hits, as Greenwich starter David Telling was pulled after surrendering five runs in three innings.

Greenwich grabbed a 1-0 lead on Kevin Collins' RBI single in the top of the first, but Darien answered with a pair in the bottom half.

Mik Alifieri led off with a double and later scored on Matt Anderson's groundout. Alex Pettee followed with a single and came home three batters later on Dempsey's RBI single to center.

In the third, Darien stretched its lead to 5-1 on Will Preziosi's two-run double and another RBI single by Dempsey.

Darien has endured an up-and-down campaign largely because it seldom has had a full compliment of players in uniform due to other commitments.

"This is the lineup that we think can be dangerous because a lot of guys can hit," Petrona said. "This was one of the  first times where we had everybody, and we had some timely hits."

Miller said Darien was fired up to hand Greenwich its first loss.

"[A] huge win for us," he said. "I was really into it. Usually, summer ball, you have fun, but this one I was really  into. We really wanted to beat Greenwich. Hopefully, this can spark something for the rest of the season."

Greenwich didn't go quietly, however, and began chipping away at the deficit.

After pulling within 5-2 on Greg Bayliss' RBI single in the fourth, Greenwich put runners on the corners with no outs in the fifth. But Miller got Brendan Hardin to ground to second baseman Chris Bruno, who stepped on the bag and threw to first for a double play. Darien gladly traded a run for two outs.

Greenwich made Darien sweat in the seventh, as a double by Andrew Coffey and a single by Collins left runners on first and third with two outs. But McDonald struck out Ricky Riscica swinging on a blazing 3-2 fastball to end it.

Fifteen wins are required to qualify for the state tournament in Zone Four. With nine games left, including two more against Greenwich, Darien needs to win six.

"It's definitely doable for this team," Petrona said. "It's going to be challenging, but it's a feat this team is more than capable of, especially if we have everybody."