Play Ball!

(Sharing Information from City of Ansonia's Facebook page)

ANSONIA – With MLB spring training camps now open, what better time to think spring and baseball!

Mayor Dave Cassetti, in conjunction with the Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics, announce that the City of Ansonia will host a regular season Division I college baseball game this spring at Nolan Field.

This is the first-ever event of its kind at Nolan Field.

The game will feature the Sacred Heart University Pioneers vs. University at Albany Great Danes and is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15, 2018 with a May 16 rain date. Game time is yet to be determined but will likely be a late afternoon start with Nolan Field’s lights taking effect for the final innings.

“This is an original idea developed by my Constituent Services Director Greg Martin,” said Mayor Cassetti. “It certainly has the potential of becoming a signature event for Ansonia. We plan to offer up our finest hospitality to both teams.”

This inaugural game will be treated as a “pilot” and based on its success, SHU is considering making it an annual “home” game tradition here that could bring in other marquee opponents such as Yale or UCONN to the Copper City.

A nominal admission will be charged for the game.

“This is a great sporting event for families, kids and senior citizens from throughout the valley and beyond to attend and enjoy high caliber Division I college baseball talent,” said Cassetti.

Ansonia 6th Ward Alderman Joshua Shuart, a professor of sports management at Sacred Heart, assisted in bringing both sides together to facilitate the idea along.

SHU has had many players professionally drafted by Major League Baseball, with several continuing their MLB aspirations in the minor leagues. This past summer, Troy Scribner made his MLB debut with the LA Angels, becoming the first Pioneer to appear in “the show.” Scribner, a 2013 graduate of the University, went 2-1 with a 4.18 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 23.2 innings of work in 10 outings with Los Angeles.

SHU is a member of the Northeast Conference and Albany is a member of the America East Conference. Both clubs have qualified for NCAA national tournaments over the past 10 years, with the Pioneers making four trips and the most recent in 2015.

“This is the next best thing to bringing a professional ball game to an intimate, hometown backyard setting,” said Martin. “It’s a unique sporting event opportunity that offers interesting growth potential.”

Nolan Field, considered one of the finest high school facilities in the state for both football and baseball, has previously hosted a Philadelphia Phillies tryout camp in 1948, and even a Major League exhibition game in 1922 featuring the National League St. Louis Cardinals against an Ansonia amateur team that attracted 4,000.

The second largest crowd to watch a baseball game here was in 1972 when Ansonia High School hosted Naugatuck near the end of the Grey Hounds vaunted 64-game winning streak. On a warm Saturday afternoon in May, a crowd estimated by The Evening Sentinel as over 3,000 watched a 15-inning thriller as Naugatuck prevailed 3-2 to keep their streak alive. AHS pitcher Dennis Lee hurled the entire 15 innings.

In 2014, as part of the Ansonia’s 125th anniversary celebration, Martin produced a vintage baseball game set in the 1880’s between the mythical Derby Osbornedales and Ansonia Coppermen played by era rules, uniforms and equipment. The game attracted 1,200 fans.

Nolan Field’s baseball capacity can accommodate up to 5,000 fans.

Martin is a former minor league general manager with the Pittsfield Colonials of the CanAm League and has also co-developed two nationally televised live vintage baseball games for ESPN.