In an impressive indicator of how strong the FCIAC is in baseball this spring, No. 1 Staples, Fairfield Warde and Trumbull are the top three ranked teams in that order in the current GameTimeCT Top 10 Baseball Poll which was released April 25.
The next seven teams ranked 4-10, in order, are Newington, previous No. 1 Xavier, Notre Dame-West Haven, seventh-ranked Windsor, Woodland, Hamden, and Southington.
Xavier dropped down from No. 1 to No. 5 after losing three games during the week just before the voting for the current poll took place.
In three of this season’s polls, a team was voted No. 1 and just after the voting took place that top-ranked team was beaten.
In another indication of the strength and balance of the FCIAC, such was the case once again with this poll.
Staples senior Chase Siegel pitched a perfect game with four strikeouts to lead the Wreckers to their sixth straight victory with a 10-0 home victory over Danbury on April 21. That improved them to 7-1 and enabled their ascension from No. 4 in the April 18 poll to No. 1 now.
Then this past Monday, April 24, Westhill’s senior ace Kyle Kipp struck out 10 batters in five innings while overcoming five errors by Westhill’s Vikings to lead them to a 5-4 home victory which snapped Staples’ six-game winning streak. The Wreckers also committed five errors in that game.
So, there may once again be a new No. 1 when the next poll is released.
Each of this week’s top three ranked teams from the FCIAC received a first-place vote. Staples, now 7-2 after Monday’s loss at Westhill, received eight first-place votes.
Second-ranked Fairfield Warde received a pair of first-place votes and Trumbull got one first-place vote.
Fairfield Warde’s defending FCIAC and state Class LL champion Mustangs cruised to a 10-1 home victory over Greenwich on Monday to improve to 7-3 with their third straight victory.
Trumbull’s Sean Francoeur also had a pitching gem on April 24. Francoeur struck out a dozen batters while leading the Eagles to a 1-0 home victory over Fairfield Ludlowe. That improved them to 8-2.
Staples has two road games within three days against the other conference teams ranked among the top three next week.
A No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdown is scheduled for May 1 when No. 1 Staples plays at No. 2 Fairfield Warde at 4 p.m. Two days later Staples travels to Trumbull (4:30 p.m.).
Monday’s No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchup is a rematch. Fairfield Warde was voted No. 1 in the preseason state poll but the Mustangs were nipped at Staples, 5-4, on April 10. Staples and Warde each ascended three spots from where they were ranked in the previous poll released April 18.
Fairfield Warde will host Trumbull on May 15 (4 p.m.). Trumbull is ranked third for the second straight week.