Printer Friendly Version - North Haven Junior Indians Have Another Successful Summer

Pictured form the North Haven Junior Indians AAU baseball team are Jack Bowery, Tyler Signore, Ty Rooney, Justin Coppola, Tyler McLain, Colten Vasseur, Chris Hager, Michael Anquillare, Ryan Cannon, Jack Ranani, and Ryan Daniels.Photo courtesy of Heather McLain

The North Haven Junior Indians AAU baseball team concluded its fifth and final season on the small diamond this summer, culminating with the squad winning East Shore Travel League (ESTL) Wood Bat title.

The Indians play in the ESTL’s Top Elite Tier 1 Division. The difference from other AAU teams is that the Indians are predominantly comprised of North Haven players who compete against the top teams that draw players from throughout the state. However, that has not prevented the Indians from competing for championships against Connecticut’s top AAU programs.

The Junior Indians are independently run by Head Coach Mike Anquillare, along with assistants Chris McLain, Robert Coppola and Dan Vasseur. A great benefit to the team is that is there are no facility costs, coaches’ fees, or organizational costs. All fees are divided evenly among the players. The team starts practice in January and continues October.

The athletes on the Junior Indians started with the program as eight-year-olds in the summer of 2012 in dramatic fashion, winning 40-straight games, including two league championships and two tournament championships. The success continued on the 9-U level as the team captured the ESTL regular season and playoff titles. The boys also traveled to Hershey, Pennsylvania that year and were the runner-up in the Blue Mountain Battle. As 10-year-olds, the Indians competed on a national level at Walt Disney World. The team repeated as the ESTL regular season champions, won titles in the Nutmeg State Games and 11-U Wood Bat League, and was the Northeast Region runner-up in the Pony Division.

In 2015, the team won the regular season championship in the fall, as well as its second wood bat title. In its final season on the small diamond this year, North Haven finished as runner-up in the Elite Tier 1 Division. On a national level, the team traveled to New York (Baseball Heaven Tournament), Massachusetts (Perfect Game), and Maryland (Cal Ripken). The Indians finished as a quarterfinalist in New York and a earned a third-place finish in Maryland. The team ended its season on the small diamond the way it did five years ago by claiming a third-straight straight Wood Bat championship.

The Junior Indians attribute a lot of their success to the town of North Haven, specifically First Selectman Michael J. Freda, along with Lynn Sadosky, Pam Miller, Victor Palma and crew, and Phil Diana and crew. The town has always accommodated the team, making sure that Junior Indians have practice fields, even with availability stretched thin at times.

The Junior Indians will continue on the big diamond this fall, while playing in the Elite Division as 13-year-olds. The team’s athletes are Michael Anquillare, Jack Bowery, Ryan Cannon. Justin Coppola, Ryan Daniels, Chris Hager, Tyler McLain, Jack Ranani, Ty Rooney, Tyler Signore, and Colten Vasseur.