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06/20/2016 12:00 AMSenior American Legion Baseball
The Post 76 Senior Legion team dove into Zone 2 play with a pair of three-game series last week. North Haven dropped two of three against New Haven and then won two of three for its set with Milford for a zone record of 3-3. North Haven lost the first game at New Haven 7-6 on June 14, took a 5-2 home loss the next day, and prevailed at New Haven 4-0 on June 16. For the Milford series, Post 76 split a home doubleheader on June 17 by losing the opener 1-0 and winning the second game 5-3. Then in the rubber match the following day, North Haven won 4-3 in Milford.
Alphonse Fusco had two hits and two RBI, while Dom Onofrio, Dom Fusco, and Kevin Lucey all had two hits for Post 76 in the 7-6 New Haven loss. Trevor MacDonnell took the loss on the mound for North Haven.
Mike Kurk was the losing pitcher in the second game of the series as North Haven had numerous scoring opportunities that it did not take advantage of. Brendan Clark had two hits with an RBI and Hunter Iacobelli added a pair of hits.
Preston Young went the distance on a one-hitter to lead Post 76 to a 4-0 victory in the finale with New Haven. Onofrio had another nice game at the plate with two hits and two RBI. Clark had a hit and an RBI.
Opening the Milford doubleheader, Mark Tantorski threw a complete game three-hitter, but North Haven again missed several scoring opportunities and dropped a 1-0 decision.
North Haven came back from a two-run deficit in the fifth inning to pull out a 5-3 victory in the nightcap. Post 76 strung together four hits in the fifth to take the lead. Tom Myjak, Fusco, and Steve Erbe each had two hits, while Lucey scored twice and drove home one.
North Haven closed the week by taking the series from Milford with a 4-3 win. Erbe hit a two-run double that plated the winning run for Post 76 and Iacobelli added two hits. Kurk hit a triple and picked up the win in relief for Head Coach Charlie Flanagan’s club.
“Charlie Flanagan has seen much improvement in the overall team play. Assistant coaches Tim Binkoski and Pete Katynski have been value added to the development of the team,” said Flanagan. “This team keeps grinding, which is a sign of future success. The pitchers have, for the most part, hit spots and we have picked up the ball and made plays—all key ingredients to winning baseball.”
Junior American Legion Baseball
North Haven stands at 4-4 in Zone 2 action after going 1-1 in last week’s two zone contests. Post 76 started the week with a 5-3 non-zone victory at Wallingford on June 13. North Haven then split a pair on the road against Zone 2 opponent Milford by taking a 6-5 loss on June 15 and earning a 7-3 win the next day.
Prep American Legion Baseball
North Haven’s Prep American Legion baseball team owns a record of 1-2-1 through the first four games of its second season with Head Coach Jake DeRosa. Post 76 took an 8-0 loss to the Connecticut Edge on June 11, dropped a 10-7 contest versus the Connecticut Clippers and played to a 5-5 tie against the Clippers on June 12, and then defeated the Connecticut Outlaws 4-1 on June 14.
North Haven’s 5-5 tie with the Clippers came in the second game of a doubleheader. North Haven took an early lead, led by the bats of Ryan Sullivan, Justin Shea, Dan Canavaciola, and Mason Balmer. Leo Konopka threw four innings of shutout ball before allowing three unearned runs in the sixth. The Clippers tied the game by scoring in the bottom of the seventh before the game was called upon reaching the two-hour time limit.
In the win over the Outlaws, Sullivan had an outstanding performance on the mound by taking a no-hitter into the seventh and ultimately allowed just one hit against a team filled with high school upperclassmen. Sullivan also went 3-for-3 with a triple, a double, and a RBI single. Matt DeRosa and Canavaciola made key plays throughout the game to help Post 76 get its first win of the season.