The Terryville Black Sox rejoined the CTL in 2022 after playing with us in the pandemic 2020 season. That year the Black Sox lost to the Rockies in the 2020 CTL Championship Series (at the time they were still called the Indians). In our unscientific preseason coaches poll voted on by any team representatives in attendance at the final coaches meeting at Willibrew, the Black Sox suprisingly landed with a preseason 3rd place vote. It definitely stuck in a few players minds. The Black Sox came out this year and proved themselves, winning top seed in the playoff tournament by finishing 16-4 (best in the league), and sweeping through the playoffs without losing a game. This was not without challenges. The Black Sox play in an annual CT Stan Musial Tournament around playoff time, and between their first and second playoffs games, had to play 5 games over the FRI-SAT-SUN span. Unfortunately the Black Sox lost in the finals and 5th game of the Stan Musial tournament. So in the span of 8 days, the Black Sox played 9 games. They were a bit beat up, suffered some injuries, and definitely weren’t as fresh as they could have been. Regardless, the Black Sox got huge performances from Taylor Donofrio and Billy Armstrong on the mound, when mainstay pitchers Andrew Hinckley and Kody Kerski weren’t as ready to go. Kyle Dube, Armstrong, Donofrio, and Kerski all threw fantastic. The only real blemish on their pitching staff was the 2 Run HR by Will Ramos in the bottom of the 6th in gm2 of the finals. At the plate, lots of players contributed in their CTL Playoff Championship run. In game one of the finals, Justin McCullough had a big 3 RBI day. In the game vs New Britain at Beehive Field, Billy Armstrong hit a bases loaded liner that upon the rightfielder diving for the catch, it missed his glove by the smallest amount and got past him for an inside the park grand slam. In game 2 of the finals, multiple players hit and drove in runs off of Game 2 Starter Anthony Alicki (on short rest), and relievers Mike Rigdon and Will Ramos.

Huge congratulations to the Black Sox on their first CTL Championship. If their wasn’t a big target on their back already, their is one now for next years season. Winning one championship is hard, winning 2 is very tough to do… and winning 3 is practically impossible in this league with the turnover of teams and the changing of dynamics in the league year to year. The Rockies themselves came very close to the coveted 3-peat, but ran into the Black Sox who did everything right this postseason. Congratulations are in order also to the Wethersfield Dodgers and Southington Aftershock who each made it further than they ever have in the playoffs and knocked out multiple teams along the way.

– Scott Dickens (CTL Board of Directors)