Branford Baseball Club Heads to Cooperstown Again

As a part of The Branford Baseball Club, twelve, 12-year-old boys from Branford have been invited to play at the prestigious Cooperstown Dreams Park Invitational Tournament during the week of August 6. The team will be competing against a field of over 100 teams from all over the country, in the home of baseball, Cooperstown, New York. In addition to participating in this tournament, the members of the team will be inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame.  The players and coaches will be spending the entire week inside the state of the art baseball facility know as Dreams Park, along with over 1,000 other players, coaches and umpires.  The team will first play six games, and then be seeded into the single elimination tournament where an ultimate champion will be crowned.  In addition to the games, other highlights of the week include team and individual skills competitions, opening and closing ceremonies, with a ring presentation, fireworks, and the ever popular pin trading. They will also be visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

This past fall, this group played as 11 year olds in a 12U league at the Connecticut Sportsplex, coming in first place with a 15-1 record, as well as being the only Connecticut team to advance to the semi-finals of a regional Triple Crown Tournament. The players on this team have been chosen because of their combination of talent, sportsmanship, and general love of the game of baseball.  Over the next year, they and their families will put in a lot of time, money and hard work to make this once in a lifetime opportunity something that they can all enjoy and be proud of.  The team is led by Head Coach , assisted by Paul Derenzo and Bill Lordan.

S&S Paving and New York Bituminous Products have stepped forward as major sponsors.  The team is still looking for additional sponsors.  Also the team will be holding a fundraising Pasta Dinner on Sunday March 6, 3- 6 p.m. at the . Raffles, door prizes and silent auctions will be held at the dinner.  Tickets will be sold at the door.  If you are interested in sponsorship or donating auction or raffles items, please contact Rob Sember at sember5@aol.com.