Todd Williams said Thursday he has stepped down as baseball coach at Foran.

“It was just the right time,” the 35-year-old Williams said. “My kids are 3 and 5. I just don’t have the time to commit to it anymore.”

Williams said his assistant coach Ken Catino also stepped down for similar reasons.

Williams, who lives in Guilford, spent seven seasons at the helm for the Lions. He guided them to a Southern Connecticut Conference Hammonasset Division title in 2006 and to the SCC final in 2009. The Lions also reached Class M semifinals in 2008 under Williams.

“I’ve always been proud of our pitching staff,” Williams said. “We’ve had some excellent hitters, too. We’ve had numerous kids go off and play college, from Eric Smith to Brian Ward. It’s been great.”

Dennis Sweeney announced Monday he is stepping down as Law baseball coach after nine seasons.

“I felt it was the right time,” Sweeney said. “My son is 11 and I want to teach him the game of baseball like I’ve been doing for the past nine years. I was coaching since before he was born. I put my heart and soul into it and I want my son to have that as well.”

Sweeney, 40, has guided the Lawmen to plenty of success. He leaves Law with a 137-73 record. Under Sweeney, Law won five division titles, two league titles and the 2008 Class L state title.

Law posted an 18-7 mark and reached the Class L quarterfinals this season, following its third straight Southern Connecticut Conference Hammonasset Division title. Also, 21 of Sweeney’s former players have went on to play in college.

“The parents, players and umpires have been great,” said Sweeney, who teaches health at Law. “It’s been the best nine years of my baseball experience. It’s something you dream about.”

CLASS M BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 6 Waterford (20-5)
vs. No. 4 Montville (22-3)
*WHEN: Today, noon
*WHERE: Palmer Field, Middletown
*ON THE AIR: www.sportingnewsct.com
*WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Waterford has only allowed three runs during their tournament run and will send Gatorade's Connecticut Player of the Year Colin O'Keefe to the mound. But if any team is going to hit O'Keefe it will be the Indians. Montville has scored 35 runs in its four state tournament games. The Indians have one of the best lineups in the state, featuring hitters like Ty Contillo and Jess Sutherland.
*CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: This is the Indians fourth title game, winning the Class M championship in 2006. This is Waterford's 14th appearance in the state finals. The Lancers have nine state titles.

CLASS S BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 Northwest Catholic (20-3)
vs. No. 1 Cromwell (21-4)
*WHEN: Today, 3:30 p.m.
*WHERE: Palmer Field, Middletown
*ON THE AIR: www.sportingnewsct.com
*WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Northwest Catholic has coasted to the title game. The Indians have outscored their opponents 22-1 during their run. They feature one of the top players in the state in center fielder Tom Bourdon. As for Cromwell, it has not allowed more than three runs in a tournament game and senior Bobby Jordan was this season's the Shoreline Conference player of the year.
*CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: This will be Northwest Catholic's third title game. It has yet to win a state championship. This will be Cromwell's ninth appearance. Cromwell has last won in 1967

CLASS LL BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 8 Xavier (19-7)
vs. No. 3 Pomperaug (25-2)
*WHEN: Today, 7 p.m.
*WHERE: Palmer Field, Middletown
*ON THE AIR: www.sportingnewsct.com
*WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Falcons will likely send ace Shaun Coughlin to the hill and Brett Koliani is expected to pitch for the Panthers. Look for players like Hayden Stanton, Oliver Hart and Alex Pace to lead Xavier's offense. Koliani, Adam Cherry, Brian Fay and Andrew Clements will be the big bats for the Panthers. The Falcons have knocked off some tough teams on the way to the final, including New Britain, Amity and Bristol Central. Pomperaug is the hottest team in the state, having not lost since April 19.
*CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: Xavier is making its second championship appearance. The Falcons won the Class L title in 1980. This will be Pomperaug's third title game. The Panthers are still looking for their first state championship.

Check out these impressive numbers...
Law senior Brett Michael Doran finishes his career with 101 hits (only played three years of varsity baseball) and hit .532 this season.
Doran's batting average this season breaks Steve Hine's city of Milford 18-year-old, single-season record. Hine batted .519

It was a balanced offensive attack for Xavier.

The Falcons finished with 13 hits and every spot in the lineup got at least one as No. 8 Xavier knocked off top-seeded Amity 9-7 in the Class LL quarterfinals.

The Falcons move on to face No. 4 Bristol Central in the semifinals.

Read the game story here.

Sheehan advances in Class L with a win over Law.

Morgan moves on to the Class S semifinals with a win over Derby.

Updated brackets...

Class LL

Class L

Class M

Class S

Dan Paolini, Siena sophomore

High school: Bunnell 2008

Position: OF

Games: 53

Avg.: .368

Runs: 62

HR: 26

RBI: 64

Hits: 78

*Paolini was named this year's MAAC player of the year.

For more on Paolini, click here.

Momentum certainly wasn't on Hamden's side entering the Class LL state tournament. The Green Dragons lost seven of their final eight games of the regular season.

They managed to beat Crosby in the play-in game, and their reward was No. 2 Staples and ace left-hander David Speer in the opening round.

With a pair of Division I pitchers, complemented by a lineup that was just as talented, Staples was expected to challenge for a Class LL title. Especially with some added motivation, after falling in the opening round of the FCIAC tournament as the top seed.

Instead, No. 31 Hamden shocked the Wreckers with a 7-3 win Wednesday.

The Green Dragons led 5-1 in the fourth when the game was suspended due to lightning on Tuesday.

Hamden picked up right where it left off though.

"We have good hitters, who were patient," Hamden coach Tony DeAngelo said.

And playing on the road at Staples - a smaller field than most - worked to Hamden's advantage.

Jordan Teague had two hits, including a two-run home run (his first of the season), to lead the Green Dragons' offense.

On the mound, P.J. Scott has emerged as a reliable arm on a pitching staff that was a concern for Hamden for most of the year. He picked up the win against Crosby and came in during the fourth inning to hold off the Wreckers.

"That play-in game really turned things around for us," DeAngelo said. "The kids are ecstatic. They can't wait to get back on field."

Hamden travels to face No. 15 Manchester in the second round today at 3:30 p.m.

Waterford senior Colin O'Keefe has been named this year's Gatorade Connecticut Baseball Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound lefthander is 5-2 with a 1.59 ERA and 93 strikeouts this season. At the plate, O'Keefe is batting .417 with 22 RBIs.

O'Keefe will pitch at Virginia Tech next season.

He is the first player from Waterford to win the award.

Here's the game story from Sheehan's 11-6 win over East Haven on Tuesday.

Shelton senior Eric Christensen is three hits shy of tying Matt Memoli’s school record of 108 career hits.
Christensen, a senior who will play at Westfield State next season, has 105 hits entering Saturday's SCC title game against Amity. Memoli, a former standout for the Gaels, who now coaches Newtown, set the record in 2002.

Click here for the game story from Thursday's SCC semifinals.

Check out the game story from Thursday's semifinals here.

Notre Dame-West Haven senior catcher T.J. Shea suffered a wrist injury in the Green Knights’ regular season finale against North Haven.

Notre Dame coach Lou Kessler said originally Shea’s wrist looked to may have been broken, but turned out to be just a deep bruise. He did not play in Notre Dame’s 7-0 loss to Shelton in the opening round of the SCC playoffs, but Kessler said he is expected to be back in time for next week’s Class L state tournament.

Mark McCormack, UMass-Boston

High school: Shelton 2008

Position: OF

Games: 47

Avg.: .359
Runs: 57

HR: 7

RBI: 52

SB: 23

For more on McCormack, click here.

As its offense goes, so does Montville this season. 

The Indians are averaging over 10 runs in its 18 wins and under four runs per game in their three losses.

Amity heads into the postseason in the same spot it began the year — at the top.

The Spartans’ 8-1 win over Law Friday finished off an undefeated regular-season campaign and Amity remains the No. 1 team in the Register Top 10 poll for the seventh straight week.

In hopes of capturing their fourth conference title, the Spartans open up the Southern Connecticut Conference playoffs today against North Haven.

So what does it take to knock off the top team in the state?

“You have to play a perfect game against them,” Shelton coach Scott Gura said. “You have to have a superb pitching performance and hope they make a mistake. They don’t have many weaknesses. Dan St. George pitched one of the best games of his career against them and we still got beat by two runs.”

TOP 10 BASEBALL POLL

Even a gem like the one St. George threw isn’t enough, because runs are so difficult to come by against the Spartans right-handed tandem of Joe Ciancola and Louis Concato. Amity’s nearly untouchable pitching has allowed it to squeeze out wins like their 2-0 victory over the Gaels and Foran, along with their 3-2 wins they pulled out against Branford and Notre Dame-West Haven.

The Spartans haven’t given up more than five runs in a game this season.

“Our pitching has kept us in games,” Amity coach Sal Coppola said. “We’ve been able to have an off day and still come out on top.”

Meanwhile, the Spartans lineup isn’t one to overlook. There may not be one name that highlights the order, but from one through nine, there are no easy outs. Amity has proven it could put runs on the board. The Spartans scored 38 runs during one three-game stretch and also scored 12 runs in a win over the Green Knights and a season-high 15 runs against Lyman Hall.

So will Amity lose this season?

Law coach Dennis Sweeney, whose team saw its eight-game winning streak snapped by Amity Friday, took a long pause.

“You have to go out hard,” Sweeney said. “Sal does a great job and prepares his team for success. It will be very difficult, but it could happen.”