Fairfield and Trumbull and Greenwich (and more), Oh My

Trumbull/Waterford Babe Ruth Baseball 2023 

People ask why I post about other towns and people when I'm such a Fairfield person. 

Sure, that's my home base and where I spend most of my time. That said, I root for and support good people. Whether that's people in Fairfield (Ludlowe or Warde, or other groups, youth, etc.) Greenwich, Trumbull, Newtown or Waterford just to name a few. There are others. 

These friendships develop in large part because of sports but go beyond that. I'll support these people always. It's about supporting them in life. And for life. 

It's work, coaching, working games, and covering games where these friendships happen. You meet so many people doing what we do. 

I'm not going to name names, because I'll probably leave people out, but those who I'm talking about know.  

That's why I talk about my Trumbull guys, or my Waterford guys, for example, or post about things from some of these towns and people who play sports in these towns. 

Even with the Fairfield and Ludlowe guys. It's not because of their school/town affiliation. It's just how I get to know them. The relationships go way beyond that. 

In addition, I am more involved with certain sports and programs. That doesn't mean if you aren't a part of that program, I don't care. In fact, in some ways, I can be more supportive of certain people if they aren't involved directly in a program I am involved in. 

There's also the case where I get to know people because of a sport they are involved in, then they are no longer involved in that program, but I am still always there to support, in whatever their endeavors are. 

There are also cases where I get to know people because of one sport but get to watch them in other sports also. 

It's more than just the student-athletes/young people. It's coaches, teachers, staff, parents, and other friends. It's more than just school involved people. It's "media friends" who are so much more than that. And many others. 

And most importantly, family, and those who are close like family. 

It's people in life. The above are just the people I deal with often. 

It's about supporting good people, in good times and bad. And just in everyday life. 

It's about being there for them. Even if that's just being if they need to talk or giving them words of encouragement. 

Being there for them in person and being accessible for them to reach out to online. It's showing that you are acknowledging them and that you care about what they are going through or what they are saying. 

In some cases, it's people we may not see often, but follow-on social media. It's wishing them good luck and congratulations and just following what they do in life. 

It's also about not cherry-picking who you support. Especially when you support an industry or a brand. You should be inclusive, not exclusive. 

Overall, where people are from doesn't really matter. Character of the people do. 

Support good people. 

Fairfield Graduation Day 2024

The high school graduations in Fairfield were held on Thursday. 

As you can assume, I was at the Ludlowe for their ceremony. (Wouldn't it be great if they weren't at the same exact time. I know that won't happen. The only time that happened were the COVID graduations at the beach.)

With that being said, congratulations to everyone at Warde as well who graduated. This is a class, especially the baseball seniors, who I have gotten to know decently well. I'll never know the Warde students, especially the baseball players, as well as I do the Ludlowe students. It's just the way it is. That's not to take anything away from the Warde people. 

As for the ceremony at Ludlowe, it went well, in my opinion. 

It was different because of the setup of the stage and the field. The stage was closer to the parents and families and the staff and faculty were faced in the opposite direction as we have been in the past. 

I've made it very clear on social media and on previous blog posts how special this Ludlowe class is for me. It's the baseball seniors, the basketball seniors and so many others. Obviously, mostly athletes, but even some non-athletes. 

I know I've used the word "special" to describe other classes throughout the years. Each one is special in a different way. 

I realize I am saying a lot of what I have said and am saying I said in my posts about the Ludlowe basketball and baseball seasons, but it extends beyond just those guys. 

It's just so many great kids. Respectful, caring young men and women. 

A lot of the students who I have gotten to know just from their high school time, but many I have known before they were in high school. With the number of years I was a camp counselor, there are so many kids every year who I had as campers when they were younger. It's awesome to watch them grow as people. 

Even those who I have only known in high school, friendships and bonds developed that will last a lifetime. 

As much as I want to give shoutouts, there are just too many people to name, and I don't want to leave anyone out. 

It's also the parents and families. We get to know so many of the parents and siblings and they are terrific. Some of them help out with events, and others we just talk to at games and other events. 

Then it's The Nest leaders, Scotty, Stuart, Freddy, Kiera, Katherine and Kayleigh. They had to not only lead the student section but deal with me asking them to post things and get information out about games, fan buses and things like that all year long. 

To this group as a whole, you have been through a lot. Coming in as freshman in the fall of 2020 having to wear masks as we were still in a pandemic, changes and losses of teachers and coaches, personal issues, some more documented than others and so much more. 

As was mentioned in one of the speeches at graduation, everyone's path isn't always a straight line. There are ups and downs. It's not about how you got to the finish line, it's that you persevered and got there. 

You are a resilient, caring group of individuals. 

Because of this, and so much more, you will go on and do great things in life. 

I probably rambled a little too much here, but I felt like I needed to note this class. 

Such special individuals that make up a special group. 

Super Saturday - FCIAC Boys Basketball Style

During intros before Ludlowe/Ridgefield

One of the best, if not the best, days of the high school sports year is the FCIAC boys' basketball quarterfinals. That was this Saturday, also known as Super Saturday. 

Eight teams, four games. All at Fairfield Warde. 

Lots of great players and coaches. 

Tremendous job by those running and working the day. From Dave Schulz and Matt Narwold to Jack Kelly, Franey Donavan, Art Cockerham, and so many others. A total team effort for a long day. 

On the court, the first game saw an upset, with the six-seed Danbury, knocking off the three-seed Stamford, 50-46. 

In game two, Trumbull got out to a 15-3 lead over Warde after a quarter and came away with a 57-38 victory, despite Warde cutting the deficit to four in the fourth quarter. 

The third game, much like the previous one, saw a team jump out to a convicting first quarter lead. Staples led Wilton 19-5 after one period, in route to a 60-43 win. 

The nightcap saw the number-eight seed Ludlowe get out to a strong 12-6 lead after the first quarter, before the top seed Ridgefield outscored the Falcons 20-9 in the second quarter to take a halftime lead. The Tigers would eventually go on to win by a score of 55-37. 

Trumbull will meet Danbury in the first semifinal on Tuesday at 5:30pm at Wilton High School. Staples and Ridgefield will face off in the nightcap at 7:15pm. The winners head to Thursday's championship. 

Listen to the semifinals and championship on Robcasting Radio with Rob Adams on the call. 

Final Home Game

It was the final home game of the season for Ludlowe football on Friday night. 

That means the final night of me on the scoreboard for the season....So I can't mess up anymore for the time being...I hope. 

Ludlowe came away with a 49-6 victory over Norwalk on senior night to improve to 6-2. 

With Ludlowe playing Norwalk it was the a reunion for a few Bears. Norwalk Head Coach Mike Forget is a current Ludlowe PE teacher and former Ludlowe head coach. Norwalk Athletic Trainer Sydney Ciuffo is the former athletic trainer for the Falcons. 

Lots of contributions tonight including a touchdown reception and INT from Ryan Menozzi and a pick-six from Justin Toothaker. Senior John Kleinbeck also had a touchdown as did freshman Brady Morison. Not trying to forget anyone as there were a lot of points scored. It's tough to track everything while doing the scoreboard. Not enough time to jot scoring down. 

The Falcons have two games remaining as they look to make the playoffs for the first time in school history. Next Friday night, they play at Wilton at 7pm in a matchup of two teams fighting to get in the playoffs. They finish the regular season on Thanksgiving against cross-town rival Warde at 10am. Always a great game and atmosphere. 

In terms of the scoreboard duties for me....it was definitely an eventful time all season. You never want to be a part of the story. Luckily, while some of the ways I did things impacted the score, it never impacted the final outcome of any of the games. 

Good to work with both Paul Piorek and Phil Simpson who both had PA duties on select games this season. Thanks to the Ludlowe students, including Nick, Luca, Luca (yes, two different Luca's) and others for their help as spotters for both myself and the PA while they were doing the film for the team. 

Congrats to all the seniors. A successful senior night leading into next week's big game. 

Exciting times ahead. 

Two Game Weekend

I know I said I wouldn't write about high school football every week, but here we are again. 

On Friday, I was asked to fill in and  do the scoreboard at Brien McMahon for their game with Warde as their usual scoreboard operator couldn't make it. 

Happy to help out McMahon Athletic Director John Cross as he needed someone to work and always good to pick up side gigs. 

Nice to work with cross country head coach Patrick Bradley, who was on the public address. Appreciate Patrick's help. It's always weird to work in a new spot and with new people, so his friendliness was very much appreciated. 

Whether it's Paul Piorek or Phil Simpson at Ludlowe, or Patrick Bradley on Friday, it's always great to work together with the PA announcer so we help each other and are in sync on down-and-distance and ball spot.  

It was a different controller than the one I used for football at Ludlowe, but one I've used for basketball in the past. That was good as I was somewhat familiar with it and just gave myself a quick tutorial before the game. 

Don't worry, I don't think I messed up the clock this week. It made it somewhat easier that the end of the third and all of the fourth quarter was running time, due to the score. 

As for the game, McMahon led from start to finish and came away with a 49-7 victory. 

It was good to see Warde play since I have not seen them yet this season. Often because their games conflict with Ludlowe and the home games specifically, where I am working the Ludlowe games. 

Saturday, I went to Darien to watch the Blue Wave take on Ludlowe. 

I was pretty sure some of "The Nest" (the Ludlowe student section) was going to come, so figured we'd need to watch them. Overall, they were pretty well behaved.  

I also always want to support my guys. Bunch of baseball, basketball and other players on the football team who I'm close with. I'll obviously support them all. 

Ludlowe took an early 7-0 lead on a touchdown catch by John Kleinbeck from Chris Bellentoni but after Darien tied it up and then took a 14-7 lead after one, they did not relinquish the lead. The Blue Wave defeated Ludlowe 34-21. On the defensive side of the ball for the Falcons, Ryan Torello came away with a well-played interception in the loss. 

On the scoreboard, not a great weekend for the two Fairfield teams. 

Warde falls to 0-6 and will host Bridgeport Central on Friday at 6pm. 

Ludlowe falls to 4-2 and will be back in action on Friday at home at 6pm vs McMahon. 

A couple added factors of this weekend were the weather and traffic, due to road work. Fortunately, at least for me, neither were bad at all. I worried all week about the traffic and alternate routes. Like usual, I worried for no reason. 

Another weekend down. Regular season for many fall sports (other than football) wrapping up and playoffs starting soon. We've got football until (at least) Thanksgiving. 

On to a new week. 

Boys Of Summer 2023

Barnums Team Photo (Missing some)

Summer's over. 

Ok, it's not actually over. 

Just summer baseball coverage for me. As far as I am concerned though, that means summer is over. Get me to Fall and Fall sports. Or even better, get me to basketball and baseball season, selfishly. 

The baseball coverage consisted of The Bridgeport Barnums, Fairfield Legion and Babe Ruth. I wish there was more and I am always open to any opportunities (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram @ShawnSailer). 

The Barnums were my main coverage, as they were the actual "job" for the summer. That's not to say I cared about any less of the others, it's just when there were conflicts, the Barnums took priority. 

The Barnums were in their inaugural season and are part of the Connecticut College Baseball League (CCBL). Members of the team (and league) are those who are playing baseball in college or recent high school graduates who are planning to play in college. 

My work with the Barnums consisted of GameChanger scorekeeping during games, Instagram and writing game stories after, along with whatever else was needed. I enjoyed doing post-game video interviews with the players, as they got to have some fun and even more promotion. 

The Bridgeport team consists of players from Fairfield, Bridgeport and other surrounding Fairfield County towns including Darien, Trumbull and Easton.  Fun to watch the guys I already knew from Ludlowe, Warde and Prep and get to know others. 

The Barnums had a strong season, making it to the CCBL semifinals in year one. Terrific job by the coaching staff of manager Chris Bugyi and coaches Jim Chaves and Mark Keeney and everyone involved. 

I was also able to get to watch some of the Fairfield Legion team. Not as much as I wanted due to conflicts, but tried to get to as much as possible. It was mostly just watching and not too much coverage, but coverage where I could. Wish it could have been more. The kids deserve the coverage. Lots of current Ludlowe and Warde players on the team. Great group who played hard, despite the results not being what they wanted. Great job by the coaches and staff involved here. 

I've already written about the Babe Ruth broadcasting Rob Adams and I did in Trumbull. Rob went on to broadcast the New England Regional in North Providence, Rhode Island, which Trumbull won. Good luck to them in the World Series. 

It seems sort of odd that it's all over before August, but that's the way it is. 

It was a fun summer. Love covering the athletes, coaches and teams. Getting to know and talk with the families is also something that makes it enjoyable. 

We will see what next summer brings. 

On to high school sports. 

But first....

Enjoy the rest of the summer! 

Local Baseball Weekend

Ed Hogan delivers a pitch during the Barnums doubleheader on Saturday

It was a busy weekend of local baseball. 

Four games. Two doubleheaders. 

I'm doing some media work for the Bridgeport Barnums, who are in their first year as a team. They are a member of the Connecticut College Baseball League. Their home games are at Seaside Park, Diamond 1, which is the home of University of Bridgeport. 

My role with them is basically to keep score via GameChanger, run the Instagram and write game stories. It's fun to watch a lot of the former Ludlowe baseball players I know, many I am close with. 

In addition, the team also includes former Warde players, as well as players from other schools and towns. 

Due to conflicts and vacation, I hadn't been able to get to any games in a couple of weeks. Everyone was great about me missing*, but I felt bad, due to my care about commitment. 

*I was told by a couple of players, jokingly, that I was the reason they were on a four-game losing streak. They split the Doubleheader. You can go here to read the game story. 

On Sunday, I went to watch the Fairfield Legion team play. That team in mostly made up of current Ludlowe players, so I enjoy watching those guys, as well as others I've gotten to know. 

While I was involved from a media perspective with them the last couple of years, due to the Barnums role (they have some affiliation due to management), I haven't gotten to that many games this year. 

That being said, I've tried to get to games when I can. While the results haven't been great team-wise, good group of kids working hard and getting better. 

I want to watch all of Ludlowe guys, regardless of summer program, but watching the Legion team is easy, as it's so local. I've been following other guys on other programs via social media. 

I don't want to rush summer and all of the others sports for everyone, but excited for the spring of 2024. I'm sure I'll say this on many other posts going forward. 

There will be more Barnums, Legion, and likely some other baseball in the coming weeks. 

It's always a good day watching baseball. 

Fairfield Champions

Note: I started writing this post on Saturday afternoon with plans to finish it Saturday night. Got back too late, so I'm finishing Sunday morning. 

This weekend is spring sports state championship weekend around Connecticut. 

Warde baseball and Ludlowe softball were both playing in championship games on Saturday. 

Warde was playing Staples at Palmer Field in Middletown, while Ludlowe played Southington at UConn. 

I went to the softball game, but not baseball. I should have gone to both, but for numerous reasons, did not. 

I did however, follow intently on Twitter. Thanks to Scott Ericson of GameTimeCT and Dave Ruden of The Ruden Report for the updates. 

Warde defeated Staples 2-1 in 10 innings in a classic game. The game-winning hit came from senior starting pitcher Griffin Polley, who threw a terrific game to finish off a great season. Polley was named Championship game MVP. 

The Mustangs are now back-to-back Class LL State Champions to go along with three FCIAC Championships in a row. 

On the softball side, Ludlowe defeated Southington 5-2 to capture the school's first softball title. 

The last out and the celebration as Ludlowe softball won the Class LL State Championship #ctsb pic.twitter.com/UgbVw1pldS

— Shawn Sailer (@ShawnSailer) June 11, 2023

The loss for Southington snapped a 40-game win streak. 

Chelsea Villar was named Championship game MVP for the Falcons, who got the job done with small ball, defense and great pitching. 

Of Ludlowe's five runs, four came off squeeze bunts. 

On the mound for the Falcons Alex Lewey was dealing, allowing just one hit through the first four innings. 

In the fifth, she ran into some trouble. Southington homered to get on the board and then loaded the bases with nobody out. Anna Gedact came in in relief and got out of the inning, allowing just one more run to score and preserving a 4-2 Ludlowe lead. 

Gedacht would shut Southington down the rest of the way. 

Ludlowe got an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Villar doubled to lead off the inning, Later in the inning, with Villar now at third, Katie Tournas laid down a squeeze bunt to push Villar across the plate. 

This was the third time Ludlowe and Southington had met in the last three years late in the postseason and the second time in the championship. The third time was indeed the charm for the Falcons. 

It was a great day for Fairfield public school sports, with both Warde and Ludlowe picking up the championships. 

This concludes not only the spring sports season, but the 2022-2023 sports year for high school sports. 

As with every season, lots of great moments and many tough moments as well, But there's no better way to end a year than with championships, and Warde and Ludlowe did that. 

Long Saturday Of Baseball

I always think, when the Ludlowe baseball season ends, my games will slow down. Most of the time, I'm wrong. I'm just at games in different capacities. 

Today, I was at two baseball games. 

First, I was at Warde as the Mustangs hosted Southington in the Class LL quarterfinals. It was a terrific baseball game, with Warde coming up with the 2-1 win on a base hit by freshman Jimmy Dobbs. 

Southington took a 1-0 lead in the third inning and the game remained that way until the sixth. 

Warde tied the game on a home run by Garrett Larsen in the sixth. The Southington left-fielder attempted to "rob" the homerun and went over the mesh fence. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the home run, whether it was a home run, a catch, or a ground rule double. It was controversial in terms of the umpires had to discuss it and both coaches had to get explanations. I'll be honest, from where I was standing, I couldn't see the play, so It wouldn't be fair for me to give an opinion. I've seen pictures but it's different in real time.

The game then remained tied until the bottom of the inning. Aidan Dowd reached on a leadoff walk. He moved to second on a bunt and third on a flyout. That left it up to Dobbs to be the hero. 

Jimmy Dobbs walk-off single. Warde 2 Southington 1. Mustangs advance to Class LL semifinals #ctbase @GameTimeCT pic.twitter.com/JNQYOWTzkQ

— Shawn Sailer (@ShawnSailer) June 3, 2023

Warde will face Newington on Tuesday in the Class LL Semifinals. The time and location are to be determined.  

So after Warde it was over to Seaside Park for the Bridgeport Barnums of the Connecticut College Baseball League and the Danbury Westerners of the New England College Baseball League in a scrimmage. 

I am doing some social media/writing for the Barnums this summer. Lots of great players and coaches who are part of the team. Plenty of former Ludlowe and Warde players, among others. Today's scrimmage did not go in Bridgeport's favor, but it's just a scrimmage and early in a long season. 

More baseball tomorrow and during the week. Plus other work-related events. 

It's never boring. And that's a great thing. 

Playoff Craziness

The Fairfield student section at hockey. The Nest and Stampede together #OneTown

It was another busy week of sports and a crazy last couple of days. Whenever I think things are going to be quiet, they aren't. 

We will start with Friday night. I wish I could have been in multiple places at once. 

The Ludlowe girls basketball team was playing at home vs East Hartford in the second round of the state tournament. The Warde girls basketball team was also playing in the second round of the state tournament at Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden. Finally, the FCIAC boys basketball championship between Danbury and Staples was taking place in Wilton. 

Well, I stayed in Fairfield. 

The Ludlowe girls, coming in with a 23-0 record (including playoffs) and coming off an FCIAC Championship, had a touch battle with East Hartford. Ludlowe trailed after one quarter 5-2, and 12-6 at halftime. 

The third quarter saw Ludlowe hit some big shots, including two three's by Kate Cimador and the Falcons led 22-18 after three. In the fourth, Ludlowe was able to increase their lead and come away with the 10-point victory 35-25. 

Ludlowe will host Conard on Wednesday at 7pm in the state quarterfinals. 

After getting home from Ludlowe, I followed Warde and SHA through texts I was getting and then I turned it on via NFHS. Warde took down No. 6 Sacred Heart 46-44 on Emmy Carley's buzzer-beating layup. 

pic.twitter.com/FIW4pCdWs9

— Ethan Fry (@ethanfry) March 4, 2023

The Mustangs will travel to Newtown for the state quarterfinals on Wednesday. 

In the game I didn't make, Danbury defeated Staples for the FCIAC boys basketball championship. You can watch it on demand here with Rob Adams on the call on Local Live. 

To today we go. 

It was the FCIAC boys ice hockey championship. 

Fairfield was returning to the championship game for the second year in a row after falling to Ridgefield in OT last year. 

Once again, regardless out of outcome, it would be the final game of the season for Fairfield as they are not eligible for the state tournament. 

Darien would come away with the victory by a 3-0 score. 

The Blue Wave got on the board with 8:24 to play in the first period on a goal by Aidan Elders. 

In the second period, Darien would extend their lead as Elliott Lancaster netted a goal 6:27 into the second period. 

Darien would get a late third quarter goal as insurance. 

It's a tough way for a tremendous season for Fairfield to end. Congrats to Darien on the FCIAC Championship. 

Next week sees more basketball before baseball starts next weekend. 

Shout out to "The Nest" for a great turnout at girls basketball on Friday and to "The Nest" and "The Stampede" for the turnout at hockey today. The student support is so important. 

FCIAC Playoff Girls Basketball and Special Night At Hockey

Warde and New Canaan basketball action

It seems like winter Saturday's often end up being busy sports days around these parts. 

Well, today was no different. 

It started out at Staples with Warde girls basketball playing New Canaan in the first game of "Super Saturday," the FCIAC girls basketball quarterfinals. 

Warde defeated New Canaan 46-32. The Mustangs will face St. Joseph, who defeated Danbury, on Tuesday at 7:45pm at Trumbull High School in the FCIAC Semifinals. 

After the Warde game, I went home for a stretch, missing St. Joes and Danbury. I went back for the last of the four, as Ludlowe played Greenwich. 

Getting there early, I got to see the end of Trumbull and Ridgefield, a really good game that Trumbull won. 

As for Ludlowe and Greenwich, The Falcons got out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 62-36 victory. 

Ludlowe will play Trumbull on Tuesday at 6pm at Trumbull in the first FCIAC semifinal. 

After the Ludlowe game, it was off to Wonderland of Ice for Fairfield and Greenwich in hockey. It was Charlie Capalbo Night as the late Fairfield goalie was honored and his number was retired. Charlie passed away from Cancer in April after a long battle. 

The retired jersey. No. 30

I'll be honest, due to basketball, I didn't get there in time for the ceremony, but from what I've seen, seems like it was well done. Lots of Charlie and "30" items around the rink. 

As for the game, Fairfield won 2-0, which secures them the No. 2 seed and a first round bye in the FCIAC tournament, which begins next Saturday. 

Lots of Basketball

GHS during the freshman game on Tuesday 

I love busy weeks of local sports. 

Some weeks are crazier than others. This week was both busy and crazy. 

Three overtime basketball games and a hockey game. 

It began with Ludlowe boys basketball's game on Tuesday at Greenwich. Greenwich won in overtime 47-43. 

You can read Dave Fierro's game story on his Greenwich Sports Beat site. 

Rob Adams, along with Sean Adams, decided to stop by, and it was good to see them, as always. 

Thanks to Rob for the photo of me doing the Ludlowe book. 

What do I do when there is no basketball? Find another game/event to go to. 

On Wednesday, it was over to Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport for hockey. The Fairfield (Ludlowe/Warde combined team) played Ridgefield in a rematch of last season's FCIAC Championship. 

After Ridgefield won the championship in overtime last year, Fairfield came away with a 2-0 victory. The Mustangs goals came from Charlie Swanson and Owen Gibbons. 

After a day of no games on Thursday (but still the normal work and basketball practice), it was back with a game on Friday. 

Ludlowe basketball hosted Norwalk. The game was back and forth, especially in the fourth quarter. The game would go to overtime, which remained tight before the Bears did enough to seal the victory. 

Finally, today. Ludlowe boys basketball would be back in action against Maloney of Meriden in a non-league game. 

This was the final of the three overtime games, as Maloney sent the game to the extra session with a banked in three-pointer. Ludlowe came out strong in overtime to secure the win and finish the week on a high note. 

Tate Mahoney led Ludlowe with 25 points, including four three-pointers. Ryan Torello added 13 of his own. Nine of the 13 came from the free throw line. 

It was a much needed victory for the Falcons after two tough losses earlier in the week. 

Now we rest and watch football. Another big week ahead. 

I love sports craziness.  

Legion Communications

For the second summer in a row, I was involved with Fairfield American Legion baseball as the communications director. 

What does that fancy title really entail? Well, handling social media including Twitter, Instagram, as well as doing GameChanger for the games, and then writing story recaps on a Blogger site that I created for Fairfield Legion. I've also sent my recaps in to Sean Barker of Hearst for publication in their chain, per the suggestion of Fairfield Legion General Manager Sars Ford. 

In terms of GameChanger, the last two summers are the first time I have used it. I am still a paper scorebook person, however, I see a lot of advantages of it. There are also some disadvantages, like some scoring decisions are tough to mark, as there don't appear to be unlimited options. It also is always running so drains phone battery and it's tough to Tweet, take photos and pretty much do anything else while doing GC. One major advantage is the detailed statistics it gives you automatically.  

In addition, I am currently working on a feature article related to a couple players. 

Sure, were there things I wish I did better or more of, yes. There were other things that we didn't do at all, that I wish we did. There are many items for me to think about to improve the public relations and promotion of the program going forward. 

The Senior (19U) team finished the regular season with an 11-10 record. They then entered the double-elimination state tournament by facing Hamden. They defeated Hamden 2-1 in 10 innings in the opening game of the tournament. They fell the next day to Greenwich in nine innings, 5-4. They would head back to Hamden facing elimination and their season came to a close with a 6-2 loss in the semifinals of the POD portion of the state tournament. 

The Junior (17U) team ended the regular season at 7-16. They then dropped back-to-back games to Stamford to conclude their season. 

It was fun getting to know a lot of people who I didn't know before (Warde and Prep students) and watch them play and watch the Ludlowe players I know more. There's too many guys to name without forgetting someone, but they are all great kids with bright futures. For those I coach at Ludlowe, I can't wait until the spring season to coach you. For those at Warde or Prep (or elsewhere, I think there's at least one), I look forward to coaching against you. And Ludlowe and Warde guys, stop by my office at the schools and say hi every now and then. 

It was also good to chat with some parents, the little bit I was able to. Lots of great parents supporting their children. 

Thank you to all the coaches for having me a part of it and for all your help. Chris Bugyi, Jim Chaves, Mark Keeney, Ethan Szabo and John Finan. Thanks to the aforementioned Sars Ford as well. There were other staff members who were helpful also and I enjoyed talking baseball with. 

Lots of fun to watch and cover baseball and summer and be a part of the program. 

Fairfield Little League Baseball

Watching though the wind screen because we always make it work and respect space where we are guests.  

Little League baseball was back on Robcasting Radio on Tuesday. 

I was honored to join my friend Rob Adams for Fairfield National and Fairfield American in the final game of district two pool play at Unity Park in Trumbull. 

Fairfield National asked Rob to broadcast it, and well, it's Fairfield related, so I'll often be there. 

We all know how much I love sports involving Fairfield, so a all-Fairfield matchup is very enjoyable. #OneTown 

We have done little league broadcasting for Fairfield American three times, 2018, 2019 and 2020. We also did some National in 2020 after they won district two over American. 

It's been a blast every time. So great getting to know the players, coaches and families. 

Tonight, American came out of top 12-2. Both teams will be playing in the double elimination portion of the district two tournament beginning Friday at Unity. Rob will be back on Friday when National plays Trumbull at 7:30pm. Listen on Robcasting Radio. 

We had to watch the game tonight through the wind screen. We made it work. Like always. We can see enough and Rob was able to look though where two pieces of the wind screen were zip tied to the fence. 

It rained off and on at points in the game, but Rob is prepared and brought a pod to keep the equipment dry. He also had a tarp to keep the power strip hopefully dry. Safety is no accident, you know. #Preparation 

Sure, we got a little wet, but that was fine. Knowing the equipment was dry and safe, the only other real issue was keeping our scorecards as dry and possible so we could: 1) Read what they said and 2) continue to write what was happening; I gave up on my scorecard with an inning to go, to be honest. It was a losing cause. 

Rob trying to keep his scorecard dry. 

I'll be bouncing between a number of things this summer, including little league when I can. My main priority will be the communications work for Fairfield American Legion baseball I am doing. I've also got some basketball coaching. 

After Legion, it's somewhat wide open, little league baseball, Babe Ruth baseball, AAU baseball, anything else I can think of. Basically, if Rob is there, there's a decent chance I will be there at some point if I can. And even things Rob isn't at, I'll go watch and/or cover in some way. 

I also want to watch as many of the Ludlowe baseball guys as I can who are playing on various teams this summer. I'm always going to support those guys especially, as well as all the others playing. 

Here is the full broadcast from tonight. 

Warde Baseball Captures State Title

Warde Baseball is the 2022 CIAC Class LL State Champions. 

The Mustangs defeated Southington 7-5 on Saturday afternoon at Palmer Field in Middletown to claim the title. Tremendous season for the Mustangs, capturing both the FCIAC and State title. 

It's the third state title in Fairfield baseball history. The first for the current Fairfield Warde High School. Andrew Warde won the title in 1981 and Fairfield High School (when there was one high school in town) won the title in 2002. 

Warde got on the board in the bottom of the first on a Griffin Polley two-out suicide-squeeze bunt to score Roman DiGiacomo. 

Southington tied it with a suicide-squeeze bunt of their own when Jaden Maia laid one down in the third inning. 

Warde took the lead right back in the bottom half of the third. A ground out and error led to one run to make it 2-1. Later in the inning with the Mustangs up 3-1, Jack Andrews hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate another run and make it 4-1 Warde after three. 

Warde added another in the fifth to go up 5-1. 

In the sixth, John Heitzman and Zach Broderick each had RBI singles to extend the Mustang lead to 7-1. 

Broderick, in his final high school start, was great on the mound once again. He came out with Warde holding a 7-1 lead and two on base and one out in the seventh. 

As has been well documented by the local media, Broderick's father, Mike, was a part of the 1981 Warde championship team. Also on that team was John Swaim, whose son Carson is on the Mustangs squad this year. 

Paddy Galvin came on for the Mustangs, and ran into trouble, but ultimately was able get through the inning and leave the tying run at the plate. 

Final: Warde 7 Southington 5. Mustangs are Class LL State Champions! #ctbase @WardeBaseball @WardeAthletics @FWHSMustangs pic.twitter.com/69wy3aC9pG

— Shawn Sailer (@ShawnSailer) June 11, 2022

Congrats to all the Mustang coaches and players on the championship and on an overall incredible season. 

Mustang players run over to celebrate with their fans

Warde celebrates with "The Stampede"

Charlie Strong

Charlie Strong

Capalbo Strong

Those were a couple of the phrases and hashtags on social media used for Charlie Capalbo in his fight against cancer. 

Unfortunately, Charlie's fight came to an end up Sunday night. I will not phrase it as Charlie lost his fight because he fought an incredible five-plus year fight. 

Charlie was a 2017 graduate of Fairfield Ludlowe and a member of the Fairfield Co-op ice hockey team. 

Charlie battled four cancer diagnoses over those five years. A true warrior.

Heartbroken for his family, parents Anthony, Jenny, brother Will and girlfriend Peyton. 

Heartbroken for his extended family and friends. 

Heartbroken for the CT hockey community and the Fairfield community. 

A Fairfield community that has seen too much loss of young people over the last few years with Jake Panus, Kevin Kuczo and now Charlie. 

All different causes. All tragic. 

There may be others that I am missing. No disrespect intended. 

Back to Charlie. Only 23 years old. Any age is too young, but this is way too young. 

The way the community bonded together to support the family over the years was tremendous. From events at local sports, to other events set up around town. Fairfield showed how it will support one of their own. And it wasn't just Fairfield. People came from near and far to support the family. 

We have seen that a number of times over the years when families have been in need of support (emotional, financial and more). I think of the examples I listed above, as well as others, where there may be been other issues and outcomes. 

The news of Charlie's battle ranged far and wide. So many people showing support for him and the family. 

For Charlie, his fight is over. He can be at peace. The community will now (and already is) rally around the family. Charlie will be honored and never forgotten. 

People are hurting tonight. 

Hopefully, people come together and support one another. 

Life is confusing. 

Life isn't fair. 

Crazy Week of High School Sports

Seems like I've been blogging on weekends a lot. That's when I have the time, plus when I lot of games have been happened. I need to blog more about things other than high school sports, even though so much of my life is that. 

This was the end of a long week of games. I love weeks like this with lots of games, unfortunately, the end results weren't as good as we hoped. 

Yes, I still have the reporter in me, but as a member of the Ludlowe and Warde Athletic Departments and the co-advisor for The Nest, the Ludlowe student section, there is definite rooting interest for me. 

I had initially thought with the Ludlowe boys basketball season ending last weekend, my week would be lighter. Boy was I wrong. To be fair, some of it was just games I want to go to, but I also feel an obligation to others, for numerous reasons. 

Let's start with Tuesday, when the FCIAC boys basketball semis were held in Wilton. Warde was playing the second game of the doubleheader, so I went to that. Ridgefield defeated the Mustangs 67-59 6o advance to the FCIAC Championship. 

On Wednesday, the Fairfield Co-Op boys hockey team played New Canaan in the FCIAC semifinals at Wonderland of Ice. Fairfield defeated NC 7-0. The Mustangs would advance to play Ridgefield on Saturday in the FCIAC Championship. We'll get to that. 

Then, on Thursday, the Ludlowe girls basketball team played Wilton in the second round of the state tournament. It was Ludlowe's first state tournament game as they had a first round bye. The Falcons fell in overtime 41-37. 

Finally, to today. The FCIAC boys ice hockey championship. The game was held at the Danbury Ice Arena. It was a terrific game played by both teams, Fairfield and Ridgefield. Both goalies were tremendous, keeping the game scoreless through regulation. 

In OT, both teams had multiple chances to win before James Ahern scored with 2:08 left in the extra session to give the Tigers the FCIAC Championship. The Ridgefield goaltender, Henry Ertl had 37 saves in the win. For Fairfield, Tommy Adams was also terrific, with 25 saves. The season ends for Fairfield as they are not eligible for the state tournament. 

Great job by The Nest and The Stampede during the hockey game. The great thing about the hockey team being a co-op is that it's all about #OneTown. It's two rival schools coming together to support one team. Sure it takes away the rivalry, but I love the aspect of everyone pulling for the same team and the town in general. 

Oh and one more thing. Local Live is the official broadcast partner of the FCIAC and the EXCUSIVE home of the FCIAC Postseason. Interesting that others are allowed to broadcast, especially on video. 

It was a crazy week. I THINK next week will be quieter, but I'm sure things will come up. There are some more winter postseason performances to go, including Warde boys basketball in the state tournament, and then we get spring sports going soon. I can't wait for Ludlowe baseball and more. 

Basketball, Including a Record, and Hockey

Ludlowe's Cooper Dailey and team after setting single game scoring record. 

I had something similar to what I am going to write about planned, but the events of the day changed it somewhat. 

Today is FCIAC quarterfinal Saturday for boys basketball. Also known as "Super Saturday." It's the four quarterfinal games all at Fairfield Warde. It's always a fun day of basketball, one of my favorite days of the high school sports year. 

However, I had a decision to make. Ludlowe boys basketball was playing Maloney in the regular season finale as it was a makeup from a game that was postponed due to snow in January. 

Well, I did think briefly, but my loyalty to my Ludlowe guys won out. I was disappointed to miss the FCIAC games, but felt I should be at the Ludlowe season finale, as I'm around all season helping out. 

Well am I happy with my decision! 

Not only did Ludlowe win the game, but senior Cooper Dailey, in his final high school game, set a new school record with 38 points. The previous high was set by Kevin Bentivegna, who had 35 points against New Canaan as a senior during the 2010-2011 season. 

Dailey had 20 in the first half, just two in the third quarter, and then 16 in the fourth quarter. He was able to get to the rim and convert. A lot of that off the dribble, but some off of off-ball cuts to the hoop and great passes from his teammates. 

As I mentioned, this game was the senior finale for Ludlowe. Best of luck to the seven seniors, Cooper Dailey, Charlie Began, Matt Vivona, Lucca Iannone, Michael Loya, Stephen Keating and Ronny Labraciano, as well as senior manager Blake Kleinberg. Great kids who have bright futures ahead of them. 

In the FCIAC games, Westhill defeated St. Joe's and Wilton took down Danbury in the early games. In the nightcap, Warde edged Staples and Ridgefield beat Greenwich. 

Westhill will play Wilton in the FCIAC semifinals on Tuesday at 6pm at Wilton. Warde and Ridgefield will face off in the later game at Wilton at 7:45. The games can be seen on Local Live. 

Cooper Dailey sets the new @LudloweHoops school record with 38 points. The previous high was 35 set in 2010-2011 season. #ctbb @GameTimeCT @DaveRuden @double5 pic.twitter.com/sL6LMe6UyI

— Shawn Sailer (@ShawnSailer) February 26, 2022

My nightcap consisted of the Fairfield/Stamford FCIAC boys hockey quarterfinals. Fairfield won by a 4-1 score. 

The Mustangs got on the board first with a goal by Charlie Swanson. Stamford tied it up at one after the first period. Fairfield got a goal back in the second on a power-play goal by Noah Kingsly to take a 2-1 lead heading to the final period. The Mustangs added two insurance goals in the third, both by Matt Jankovsky. 

Fairfield will be back in action on Wednesday as they host New Canaan in the FCIAC semifinals at 7:30pm at Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport. 

Coming Together for a Cause

Saturday night's Fairfield co-op vs Greenwich boys ice hockey game at Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport was a special one for the team and the community. 

The Fairfield program honored one of their own, former Fairfield goalie, Charlie Capalbo who is battling cancer for the fourth time. 

There was a good turnout from the community, both adults and students. There were a number of items for Capalbo Strong night. All proceeds from the game went to Charlie and his family. 

• The admission charge went to the family
• There was a silent auction 
• There were Capalbo Strong items to purchase

Prior to the game, there was an pre-game ceremony to acknowledge what the night meant. 

Around the rink, there were also a number of Capalbo items. 

There were cutouts of Charlie and his family sitting in the stands. 

There was Charlie's No. 30 jersey with a sign that said "Capalbo Strong - Playing for Charlie" along with the Capalbo Strong logo which includes a hockey goalie mask. The jersey and sign were at mid-ice during the ceremony and then moved to the Fairfield bench when the game began. 

A #CapalboStrong sign hung in the left corner of the rink, near the Fairfield bench. 

During the game, the students from both The Nest (Ludlowe's student section) and The Stampede (Warde's student section) (with it being a co-op team), started a "Play for Charlie" chant. 

Hopefully a lot of money was raised for the family, and even more importantly hopefully Charlie beats this awful disease once and for all very soon! 

Everyone talks about how the hockey community is a special one when it comes to supporting one of their own. This was shown Saturday as well and has been shown though out Charlie's battle. 

Fairfield as a town has had many situations over the last number of years where a member or members of the community needed support, often is being a young person. This town has always stepped out to support their own. 

Continued prayers for Charlie and the entire Capalbo family. 

Two Sport Saturday

It was a two-sport Saturday for me today with the high school sports world. The results were split. 

It began with Ludlowe boys basketball's game at Stamford High and ended with Fairfield boys Co-Op Hockey's game against the Stamford-Westhill co-op at Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport. 

In the basketball game, Ludlowe fell to Stamford by a 66-53 score. Before that meant watching the end of the freshman game an then watching/helping with the JV game. During the varsity game, I often do the scorebook, which I did today. 

Even though I Tweet score updates, I felt the reporter in my as we were on the way down to Stamford was police activity on I-95 so I felt the need to Tweet it with the CT traffic hashtag. Did I need to Tweet it? No. But the reporter in me felt I should. I was on the bus, so I felt I could. 

In the nightcap, Fairfield boys hockey came away with a 5-2 win on senior night. 

It was fun to watch the hockey. Even though for my job, I don't have to go to games, the sports person in me feels like I should go to more than just basketball when I can. Hockey also works well since it's a co-op I cover both Ludlowe and Warde by going to those. I'm sure Warde people say I should come to more Warde games (basketball, etc). 

However, another large reason I was there, was to supervise the student section as a co-advisor of The Nest, the Ludlowe student section. Overall, the students were pretty well behaved. There weren't as many students there as I anticipated. 

From what I've heard, a lot of the previous games, both home and away, have had a lot of student fans. The hockey team is having a terrific season, sitting with a record of 11-3. Hopefully they are able to make a run in the FCIAC tournament.*

*They are not eligible for the state tournament due to co-op rules. It's a longer story that's not worth getting into. There has been a lot of talk about this the last couple weeks from players, parents, fans, etc.