June 12, 2016: On this date, St. Paul baseball did something it hadn’t done since the first term of President Richard Nixon.
The Falcons knocked off The Morgan School, 4-2, and won the Class S state championship at Middletown’s Palmer Field. It was the first state title for St. Paul since 1972, when it captured the second of back-to-back crowns.
Connor Crean worked his way through control issues in the final start of his high school career, wracking up 13 strikeouts against eight walks. Crean struck out the last three batters he faced.
Another senior, co-captain Mike Dombrowski, drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly. The fly ball scored fellow co-captain Jackson Hines. Another senior, Ben Mazzone, scored on an error to give Crean a two-run cushion. Hines singled to lead off the seventh, then the Falcons worked their way to a two-run lead.
Here is my original story.
Here are my game photos.
Here are my celebration photos.
Here is my video of the final out.
And here are links to the other stories I wrote about this championship team.
Senior co-captain Mike Dombrowski did his job, came through when St. Paul needed him most
St. Paul senior Connor Crean able to dig deep, escape trouble on the mound
St. Paul assistant coach Jarrett Stawarz gets the monkey off his back
St. Paul seniors realize their potential, get their state championship
