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STAMFORD, Conn. The Stamford American Legion Junior team held off a furious Norwalk rally Sunday for a 6-5 win and its first Zone 4 championship. The victory sends Stamford to the state tournament beginning Monday with a home game at Cubeta Stadium.
Stamford (20-6) finishes its regular season Tuesday at Cubeta Stadium against Westport.
Andrew Oakes pitched six strong innings in Sunday's win. Logan McCullough worked out of trouble in the seventh to earn the save. Bryan Pieschel, Billy Dreuhl and Nick Palumbo sparked the offense.
The victory over Norwalk capped a busy week for Stamford. On Saturday, it crushed Bridgeport, 20-2, behind the pitching of Billy Murphy (eight strikeouts in five innings) and offensive punch from Chris Soule (three doubles), Brian Pollack and Simon Handler.
Earlier, Stamford whacked Wilton, 18-0, behind McCullough. Nick Palumbo hit a two-run triple and stole two bases to lead the attack. Brandon Curto fell a home run short of the cycle, while Bryan Pieschel scored two runs and stole three bases.
Stamford also fell to Ridgefield, 5-4, despite strong pitching by Peter Dawson. Ridgefield took a 4-2 lead into the sixth before Stamford tied it on Billy Druehl's two-run single. Ridgefield responded with a run in the bottom of the inning and held on.
Stamford also beat Darien, 5-3, behind pitchers Murphy and Pieschel. Jeff Cortese had two hits and Pieschel had two hits, stole two bases and scored a run.
The Stamford roster includes Andrew Puccella, Chris Soule, Andrew Oakes, Brandon Curto, Brian Pollack, Billy Murphy, Bryan Pieschel, Logan McCullough, Pete Dawson, Simon Handler, Nick D'Allesandro, Nick Della Jacono, Josh Slutsky, Jeff Cortese, Nick Palumbo and Billy Druehl.
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