By Chris Villani

Sports Writer

After a 21-win regular season, Milford Legion had its season ended quickly in the postseason when Post 59 dropped back-to-back games against Hudson and Northboro.

“We just ran into a buzzsaw,” Milford manager Steve DiVitto said. “I think it doesn’t take anything away from how well our kids played all year long, but it happened, and it is what it is.”

Milford grabbed an early lead against Hudson but saw it slip away after some uncharacteristic defensive miscues. Still, Post 59 had a chance to tie the game in the 7th inning, but a line out with two runners on ended the threat. DiVitto said a missed opportunity against the Hudson ace early in the game came back to bite his team.

“We had the bases loaded and no one out in the third and we only got one run,” he said. “That was a big spot against a really good pitcher. We knew it was going to be a tight game and it was.”

In the nightcap, DiVitto said his team “came out flat, and Northboro had a lot of energy, plain and simple.”

Milford is only expecting to lose five players from this year’s 22-4 squad. Keith Lee is a likely leader for next summer’s team after posting a .561 on base percentage.

“This will be his fourth year, the guys call him ‘Mr. Legion’,” DiVitto said. “He knows what this is all about.”

Sean McGee is also eligible to return after driving in 17 runs this year hitting near the top of the order. Nick Koch and Lou Consigli are other potential impact players in 2024.

“Nick had a great summer, he really established himself and he is someone we are going to count on, he is becoming a heckuva player,” DiVitto said. “Lou’s a true gentleman of the game. He is a tough son of a gun.”

DiVitto said he hopes that the summer his team had is not overshadowed by the quick playoff exit.

“We came up short, but from the beginning of the year, I don’t think we envisioned a 22-4 mark,” he said. “It came after we won 27 games last year and graduated a lot of guys. It was not a rebuild, we reloaded.”

With fewer new faces on the field, the skipper is hoping that Milford has a bit of a chip on its shoulder heading into 2024.

“We have the potential for a lot of these guys to come back next year,” DiVitto said. “And we have a lot of unfinished business.”