by Howard Rebhun

The Bristol Shock took on the CCR Angels in the Connecticut Twilight League Championship Monday night at Muzzy Field. This marked the 6th time the Angels and Shock met in 2025, and the 5th time the score resulted with a 1 run difference.

On the mound was Joe Christiana who had pitched to a .37 ERA in the regular season and a 7 inning shutout in his first playoff outing last week. He was dominant again going 9 innings allowing 0 runs on just 3 hits while walking 1. He even went back out for the 10th inning. After a leadoff double that was just out of the diving reach for left fielder Anthony Santilli, Christiana was at 118 pitches for the night. That was it for him, and Bristol called on Mason Glickman to come in and get out of it. Glickman had pitched to a 2.00 ERA in the regular season and then throwing 5 innings allowing just 1 run last week in his start vs the Angels in the semi-finals earning the win. It was a well trusted arm they were bringing in and the move panned out. He ended up stranding the runner at 3rd base to end the inning. He went on to throw 2 scoreless innings in relief and earn the win.

On the mound for the Angels was their ace left hander Brian Johnson. Brian, who has been one of the leagues very best for many years now, had a spectacular regular season ERA of .22 and a playoff ERA of 1.40 across 2 starts. He dominated as well going 9 innings allowing 0 runs on 8 hits while walking 3. The 10th inning came and the Angels went to the bullpen calling on Connor Gileau. Throwing a scoreless 10th inning made it seem like this game was never going to end. The shock had just faced Gileau on Thursday and got to him for a run while he recorded only 2 outs.

There was always confidence for Bristol. It took 11 innings to find a winner, and the Shock finally would get it done in grand style. After back to back singles by Eric Galarza and Kaige Garrity, the moment was set for Colby Jones. After the veteran Knights/Shock 3rd Baseman worked it to a full 3-2 count, Jones ripped a single into right field. Galarza got the wave and it was a close play, but his foot just got in there before the tag. A walk off single by Colby Jones ended the game in the bottom of the 11th inning and the entire Shock dugout came storming out to celebrate.

A great regular season of 12-6-2 and a dominant undefeated postseason going 4-0 beating the Bucks, Dodgers, and the Angels twice in both the semi-finals and championship games. The shock were champions for the 5th time in franchise history, and 1st time since 2015 when they were known as the Bristol Knights. Earl Oakes, Chris McGrath, Marco Ross, Kyle Lentini, and Julio Ortiz-Rivera were members of the 2015 championship team who have stuck around the last 10 years to once again win it all, this time as the Bristol Shock. Scott Dickens remains the only Shock coach still around helping the team in all 5 team championships. Additionally the Knights won the NABA Fall Championship in 2008, and the Aftershock won the NABA Fall Championship in 2017. So with the merged franchises, this is the 7th combined championship across both leagues. There were 45 different men who put on the shock uniform this year and contributed to this outstanding year. It took a lot of strategizing by the coaches Howard Rebhun, Kyle Pileski, and Tommy Stagis. While it was always about finally bringing the trophy back to Bristol, they wanted to keep everyone happy at the same time. Thanks to all who took the field with us this year and helped win us one more.

Pictures of the CTL Championship Game on Google Photos (Click Here)