Foran baseball swings into the final part of the 2021 season with many players returning from two seasons ago along with a ton of new freshmen. Head coach, Garrett Walker looks to bring his team to another playoff appearance. The last time Foran made the playoffs was 2019.

     Leading the team this year are seniors and Aidan Deschaine and Michael Simonelli. Their record is currently 4 and 8 heading into a game today and two later on this week with Branford and Law. Foran must win four of the next six in order to make this year’s playoffs. 

     Walker states, “It’s a tough challenge but my guys are excited and ready to face that challenge. If we play good Foran baseball, everything should take care of itself.” 

      Pitching tonight against Fairfield Prep is Brandon Payne. Walker notes that today’s game is more of a team effort to beat Prep and “will take every man on our roster to get the job done.”

     The team’s center fielder,Simonelli is having a phenomenal year. Simonelli is leading the team in hits and is one of the fastest players on the team being one of the leading players in stolen bases. Getting pumped for the last few games Simonelli says, “I am excited for all the games we have left because they are my last high school games and we need every win we can get, but I am most excited to play Law for obvious reasons being our cross town rival.”

     With a walk off 4-3 win against Guilford on Tuesday, May 11, Foran is now only four wins away from clinching a playoff spot. They still have six games remaining. Junior Kyle Zarnoch says, “It felt good. Off the bat I knew that it was going over the fielders head for a hit so right away I was pumped…. To get a huge hit in a situation like that to steal off our first home win felt amazing.” 

     With few remaining games, Simonelli plays a major role in what’s up ahead for the team and the potential playoff run. Simonelli says, “I’m just trying to do my part and keep guys motivated moving forward, it’s a big stretch coming up and we need some guys to come through, and I know they will.”

     Foran has a solid four wins this season, two against Guilford, one against Law, and one against Shelton. They look to beat Prep at home today at 3:45 and will later take on Law on Saturday May 15 at home as their next two opponents and keep the win streak going, Freshman Gavin Kaminski, says “Law is the most important game to everyone on the team, nobody wants to lose to them especially when the wins mean so much.” The team is riled up for their upcoming games, with a playoff berth within reach.