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12/22/2016 11:00 PMThe spring of 2016 saw tragedy and triumph in East Haven. The Yellowjackets lost one of their own in former player Michael DeAngelo, but the baseball team battled throughout the year and honored DeAngelo by having a great season. East Haven’s outdoor track teams both had solid campaigns that featured Mike Griffith’s victory at the CIAC Decathlon, plus a division title for the girls.
Baseball
This spring, the East Haven baseball team dealt with the sudden loss of former player and 2015 graduate Michael DeAngelo, who passed away in a car accident on April 20. The Yellowjackets dedicated the rest of their season to DeAngelo and, despite losing to Career later that day, they ended their campaign on a 12-5 run to reach the Class L State Tournament quarterfinals.
Quality pitching was the key to the Yellowjackets’ success this year as their entire staff kept a low earned-run average, issued barely any walks, and never surrendered more than seven runs in a game. Nick Guarino was the leader on the hill as he pitched to a 8-1 record, while Vin Camera and Nate Furino each posted 3-1 records on the mound.
East Haven narrowly missed the SCC Tournament, but earned the No. 9 seed in the Class L State Tournament, where the Easties beat Foran 6-5 in the first round and Law 6-2 in the second round before losing to top-seeded Bristol Eastern, 6-1. Head Coach Butch Johnson’s Yellowjackets finished at 15-8 overall.
Softball
The Yellowjackets completed an 8-0 sweep of the division to claim its sixth SCC Oronoque title in seven years. In the Class L State Tournament, the defending champions were eliminated with a first round loss to Mercy.
The Yellowjackets finished the season at 15-7 overall as Allison Luzzi set the school’s all-time record for career hits with 155. Kara Hanson (102) and Laura Anderson (101) also joined the 100-hit club, while Hanson, Luzzi, Julia SanGiovanni, and Jess Stettinger all batted greater than .400 for the year for Head Coach Ed Crisafi’s team.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
East Haven saw two school records fall this spring while the team finished .500 in dual-meet competition, after which senior Mike Griffith claimed first place at the CIAC Decathlon.
The Yellowjackets were strong in most events throughout the season. East Haven recorded a fourth-place finish in the SCC West Sectional Championship, was eighth in the SCC Championship, and finished in sixth at the Class MM State Championship. Griffith displayed the team’s greatest individual accomplishment with his win at the CIAC Decathlon in the last competition of the season. Griffith finished with 5,915 points and won the long jump and shot put at the event. He also performed well in the other eight events to finish around 250 points ahead of his closest competitors and win the meet. Griffith had previously broken one of the school’s records when he leaped 21 feet-11 inches in the long jump. Austin Thornberg’s jump of 6-foot-4 set the school’s high jump record.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Yellowjackets were crowned the SCC Oronoque Division champions in the spring of 2016, after which the team put together a trio of top-10 finishes in the postseason meets. At the SCC West Sectional, the girls’ placed fifth overall. They then finished ninth at the SCC Championship and were ninth again in the Class MM State Championship.
Records broken during the season were the 800 as Katie Maffeo set the school mark at 2:26.86, in addition to the 4x400 relay of Emily Maffeo, Haley Montesanto, Katie Maffeo, and Paige Maffeo, who a new school standard at 4:19.68. The team’s MVP was Megan Kikosicki as she scored a team-best 178.75 points in dual-meet competition. Hailey Onorato was a state champion in the 100-meter hurdles and she finished second in the 300 hurdles. Megan Doheny also put forth a great spring season as she was the javelin winner at the SCC West Sectional.
Boys’ Tennis
East Haven won seven matches in 2016 and earned the No. 4 seed in the SCC Division II Tournament. The Yellowjackets were barely edged in the opening round by No. 5 North Haven, 4-3.
The Easties looked as if they were on their way to missing the postseason, but turned it on late by winning four of their final five regular season matches to reach the SCC playoffs. Throughout the year, East Haven’s singles players included Tony Cofrancesco, Rob Proto, Zack Zito, and Brendan So. The club’s doubles duos were Jake Zito and Rob Scalesse, Spencer Goldberg and Dave Popolizio, and Doug Comesanas and Seth Proto.
Girls’ Tennis
The Yellowjackets went 6-11 during the regular season to send the squad into the SCC Division II Tournament as the No. 6 seed. In the SCC tourney, East Haven was defeated by Law, 6-1, in the opening round to finish the season.
Singles players for the Yellowjackets included Jenna Pane, Devyn Gargano, Sarah Harkins, and Nallely Magana. East Haven’s doubles pairings were Giselle Ramirez and Karla Gonzalez, Rachel Korwek and Toni Julianelle, plus Katie Schneer and Sandy Nguyn.
Golf
East Haven finished with a record of 5-14 this spring.
During the season, the Yellowjackets recorded wins over North Haven (212-214), Career (196-221), Wilbur Cross (211-215), Valley Regional (207-218), and Hillhouse (207-229).