Canton Seeks to End 32-Year Baseball Drought

CANTON, CT — The last time Canton High School won a state baseball championship, Ronald Reagan was president, the country was reeling from the space shuttle Challenger disaster and Mookie Wilson's harmless little ground ball went through Bill Buckner's legs and shattered the dreams of Red Sox fans throughout New England.

The Warriors seek to win it all for the first time since 1986, as pairings were announced Friday. Canton, the No. 15 seed in Class S, hosts No. 18 Sacred Heart Tuesday.

Top seeds in the four divisions are Fairfield Prep (LL), Windsor (L), Haddam-Killingworth (M) and Shepaug Valley (S).

Here are the opening contests scheduled for teams from Patch towns in Hartford and Tolland counties. Click the class header for the complete bracket.

Class LL

Qualifying - May 26

• No. 34 Stamford at No. 31 Farmington

1st Round - May 29

• Farmington/Stamford winner at No. 2 South Windsor
• No. 17 Southington at No. 16 Trumbull
• No. 25 Brien McMahon at No. 8 Simsbury
• No. 24 Wilton at No. 9 East Hartford
• No. 20 Shelton at No. 13 Glastonbury
• No. 18 Enfield at No. 15 New Britain
• No. 23 Manchester at No. 10 Newington
• No. 30 Hartford Public at No. 3 Ridgefield
• No. 19 Conard at No. 14 Hamden

Class L

1st Round - May 29

• Weston/Bunnell winner at No. 1 Windsor
• No. 28 E.O. Smith at No. 5 Cheney Tech
• No. 18 Berlin at No. 15 Bethel
• No. 22 Stratford at No. 11 Wethersfield

Class M

1st Round - May 29

• No. 32 Rocky Hill at No. 1 Haddam-Killingworth
• No. 17 Northwest Catholic at No. 16 Valley Regional
• No. 24 Ellington at No. 9 Seymour
• No. 20 Suffield at No. 13 East Catholic
• No. 31 Brookfield at No. 2 Granby Memorial
• No. 18 Ledyard at No. 15 Rockville
• No. 22 Goodwin Tech at No. 11 University/Classical

Class S

1st Round - May 29

• No. 17 East Windsor at No. 16 Griswold
• No. 25 Somers at No. 8 Parish Hill
• No. 20 Windsor Locks at No. 13 Lyman Memorial
• No. 21 PSA Civic Leadership at No. 12 Portland
• No. 18 Sacred Heart at No. 15 Canton
• No. 23 SMSA at No. 10 East Granby

File photo credit: Tim Jensen

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