NEW CANAAN – In a special ceremony celebrating a storybook season, members of the 2013 New Canaan Rams baseball team reunited Friday night at the Nature Center to unveil the new CT State Championship banner that will ultimately hang in the high school gym.
In what might have been the New Canaan sports story of the year, the Rams finished the 2013 regular season campaign at 15-5, qualifying for the Class L playoffs. Led by captains Andrew Casali and Casey Ouellette, the team proceeded to roll through the postseason, reeling off 5 victories in a row culminating in a 3-0 win over Waterford in the final for the Rams’ first State title since 1950.
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Showcased at Friday’s event was a poignant short film, “That Championship Season 1950/2013” produced by Craig Anderson (father of current Ram senior J.R. Anderson). The film tied the years together, perfectly capturing the significance of the accomplishment by interspersing photos and interviews of members of both championship squads.
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1950 teammates Paul Torpey, Dinny Lapolla and Gene Ready recounted how their experiences on that team led to lifelong friendships. And although the current Rams are only in their teens, through the course of the film it was evident that they seemed to understand their own bonds with each other had already been forged.
“How we started four years ago was that they’re going to build something special and everyone is part of it,” said New Canaan head coach Mitch Hoffman. “I think the video was a culmination of all of that, to have them understand how special it was to those guys about what they did 63 years ago.”
“In the bigger picture it was really about New Canaan baseball,” said Denis LaPolice of New Canaan, father of Ram junior Alex LaPolice and one of the organizers of the event. “I think there is a lot of energy right now in the community and we have a lot to build on at all levels. 63 years is a long time, and we wanted to celebrate.”
In attendance were several alumni of past NCHS teams including Lee Jones (’76), Robert Jones (’80), Jeff Mellick (’93), Willie Ouellette (’10) and current Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer Curt Casali (’07).
Casali recently completed a successful 2013 campaign, hitting .316 with 10 HR and 53 RBI while splitting time between the A-Advanced Florida State and AA Southern Leagues. Casali gave his endorsement to a plan to renovate the playing fields for future generations of New Canaan ballplayers to enjoy.
“Curtis is one cog, and he’s a special cog because of what he’s accomplished,” said Hoffman. “He’s one that’s come up to me numerous times, and he’s going to give his time back to the program.”
It’s a program that in 2013 saw substantial growth and accomplishment, not only at the high school level, but in the youth program as well. The newly formed New Canaan Pride travel program won Cal Ripken district titles in both the 10u and 12u divisions this past summer.
“Baseball is one sport in a big sports town, but I think we can all work together for the common good of the kids,” said Hoffman. “Whether they’re playing baseball, football, lacrosse…the parents should know to support it, and the kids should know to support it. It only helps build community, leadership and family.”
The members of the 2013 New Canaan Rams were:
Andrew Casali - Captain
Casey Ouellette - Captain
Brandon Abate
Connor Altman
Grady Amrhein
J.R. Anderson
Nick Cascione
Jeffrey Chen
Alex Curto
Ned Galluzzo
David Giusti
Griffin Donnelly
Erik Jager
Alex LaPolice
Henry Lavieri
Luke Montgomery
Brian Moran
Dan Rajkowski
Zach Smith
Matthew Toth
To make a pledge to help fund the baseball/softball field renovations, contact Denis LaPolice at denis@rmgfinance.com or click here to donate.
