Printer Friendly Version - H-K Baseball, Softball Start Strong; Track Teams Sweep Opening Meets

Kyle Crandall and the Cougars’ baseball squad are off to a hot start to the 2017 season. Haddam-Killingworth won all four of its games in convincing fashion last week for a quick 4-0 record. Photo by Wesley Bunnell/The Source

The Haddam-Killingworth baseball team opened the 2017 season by winning all four of its games last week. H-K defeated Old Saybrook, Cromwell, Whitney Tech, and Prince Tech in the first week of play.

The Cougars started off with a 6-0 blanking of Old Saybrook on April 3. Owen Marica, Jon Civiello, and Ross Meglin each had two hits to lead H-K. Luke Bauer threw a two-hitter in which he struck out six and walked one.

H-K then took down Cromwell, 8-4, on April. Ben Alonzo and Tyler Popp each had three hits, plus Marica and Civiello had two apiece.

The Cougars finished their week with a 16-0 whitewash of Whitney Tech on April 7 and a 17-5 rout of Prince Tech the next day. Popp, Civiello, Kyle Crandall, and Aidan Doyle each had two hits to lead H-K against Whitney Tech. Facing Prince Tech, Alonzo had three hits and Popp had two hits. Popp and Crandall each had three RBI.

The Cougars are 2-0 to start the spring after claiming victory in their first two matchups.

H-K outslugged Valley Regional 13-11 on April 3 to begin the season. Brooke LaTouche kept the Warriors off-balance by throwing 4.1 solid innings of relief. She allowed just three hits and one earned run to pick up the win. Rachel Senechal, Faith Mauri, and Ana Hale each had a pair of hits for the Cougars.

H-K then routed Cromwell 10-0 on April 5. LaTouche commanded the circle through five innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight. Hannah Theriault and Adele Biondi each threw a scoreless inning with Biondi recording two strikeouts.

LaTouche got all the help she needed in the bottom of the first, when Senechal (3-for-4) singled to start the inning. Mauri followed with a one-out walk and then Senechal scored on a wild pitch. Hale (2-for-3) doubled to left field to drive in Mauri, after which Hale crossed the plate courtesy of an RBI single by Ari Masotti (3-for-4). The Cougars’ bats stayed hot in a four-run second inning that featured a RBI triple to deep left field by Senechal. H-K’s final runs came in the fifth, powered by doubles off the bats of Amanda Minervino and Hannah Little. Ali Halligan added two hits for the Cougars.

On April 5, the Cougars’ outdoor track program competed in a tri-meet at home against Morgan and Valley Regional. The boys’ team came away with two victories by defeating Morgan (112-37) and Valley Regional (101-49) to start their dual-meet season. The girls also went 2-0 as they beat both Morgan (90-59) and Valley (104-45).

Leading the way for the boys, junior Andrew Meredith won the 1,600 (4:55), junior Kurt Sodergren took the 800 (2:14.7), junior Conor McCabe was tops in the 3,200 (11:14), senior Nate Parker won the high jump (5-6), junior Kevin Dougherty captured first the shot put (34-1), junior Nate Breiling won the discus (111-0), and junior Isaiah Smith won the javelin (110-7). H-K’s 4x100, 4x400, and 4x800 relays were also victorious.

For the girls’ team, junior Kelsey D’Amico placed first in the 1,600 (5:42), senior Lizzie Early won the 800 (2:37), junior Veronica Chrzanowski took the 200 (27.8) and the triple jump (30-11), sophomore Destiny Pendleton won the shot put (25-2) and discus (69-5), and junior Natalie d’Ambra won the pole vault (6-6). The 4x800 and 4x100 relays also captured first place for H-K.

The Cougars took on non-conference squad Guilford in their season opener on April 8. H-K edged out the Indians by an 11-10 final to start the spring at 1-0.

H-K opened the year by facing North Branford last week. The Cougars came away with a 12-9 decision over the Thunderbirds on April 7.

H-K began the year with a 6-1 loss to Valley Regional on April 3, a 3-3 tie versus Portland on April 5, and a 5-2 defeat versus Morgan on April 7.

In the Portland match, Ray Lavoy won a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 decision versus the Cougars’ Nick Von Feldt at No. 3 singles to force the tie. In other matches, H-K’s Giacomo Volpicelli prevailed 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, while captain Ben McLaughlin earned a 7-5, 6-2 victory. Tim Lineau and Nicholas Luneau also competed in singles action for H-K. In doubles play, the Cougars’ Simon Brown and Simon N. Brown won by default.

“We are young. We have five freshmen on our team. I see improvement from match to match,” said Head Coach Rod Pakus. “Those three-set matches could have gone either way and our youth showed, but we have to experience these types of matches to get to the next level. The best part of all this is the guys came off the courts excited for their achievements and looking forward to the next match and not feeling sorry for what might have been. Their enthusiasm makes my job so much easier.”

Facing Morgan, Volpicelli continued his undefeated run with a convincing 6-0, 6-1 victory. McLaughlin came out on top of a tough three-set match by prevailing 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

The Cougars’ lineup is led by junior captain McLaughlin, a returning letterman who returns to the No. 2 singles spot. Joining the team are junior Simon Brown, along with freshmen Volpicelli (No. 1 singles), VonFeldt (No. 3 singles), twin brothers Timothy and Nicholas Luneau, and Simon N. Brown.

Coach Pakus said the Cougars feature a deeper roster this year compared to previous seasons.

“We have a good number of freshmen joining our team. We are young, but they are working hard, and we have set some high level achievement goals for ourselves,” said Pakus. “Our goals are to do well in conference play and finish in the top half of the standings, have two team members seeded for the Shoreline Conference Tournament, and make our team eligible to return to playing in the Class S State Tournament after a few years absence. As a coach, I am excited for this team. They are bonding, learning to support each other, and playing good tennis.”

H-K was triumphant in two of its three contests to begin the 2017 campaign. The Cougars took a 6-1 loss to Valley Regional on April 3 and then rebounded with a 6-1 win over Portland two days later. They then finished the week at 2-1 by posting a 4-3 decision over Morgan on April 7.

Against Valley, Emily Beck claimed a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles for H-K. Autumn Leavitt lost a hard-fought battle (6-3, 6-4), and Alivia Smith was edged in a three-set nail bitter (6-3, 3-6, 6-4). In doubles, Neve Blanton and Lindsey Johnson had a solid debut in a three-set loss (6-2, 0-6, 6-3).

Facing Portland, Beck (6-1, 6-0), Leavitt (6-3, 6-2), and Smith (6-3, 6-4) prevailed in singles play. Jacie Hamilton and Blanton worked together to notch a 6-2, 6-2 win on the doubles court.