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04/23/2017 12:00 AMGirls’ Lacrosse
The Branford girls’ lacrosse squad was victorious in both of last week’s matchups and now owns a record of 3-1 this year. The Hornets prevailed 12-6 in a home game against Guilford on April 18 and then beat Sheehan by a 17-2 final at home two days later.
Against Guilford, the Hornets outscored the Indians 8-1 in the first half en route to the victory. Brianna Shaw, Sabrina Torcellini, and Autumn McHenry all scored three goals to lead Branford’s offense. Jill Ciarleglio made 12 saves in net.
In the Sheehan win, McHenry scored four goals, Torcellini had three goals, LanLe Crotty, Shaw, and Erin O’Brien netted two apiece, and Katie Parker, Ashlee Smestad, Sophie Spencer, and Haley Maerckelin all had one goal. Smestad handed out three assists, Crotty and Torcellini both had two assists, and Spencer and McHenry each had an assist. Ciarleglio made five saves.
Baseball
Branford stands with a record of 4-4 in the 2017 spring season. Most recently, the Hornets posted a 10-0 home shutout of Foran on April 15, lost a 2-0 decision at Xavier on April 17, and then lost 7-3 in a home game against North Haven two days after that.
Jack Spencer didn’t allow a run when Branford blanked Foran. Spencer allowed just five hits and struck out four in his complete game effort. Jordan Botte led the Hornets by going 2-for-4 with a grand slam in the fourth inning. Alphonse Suppa went 3-for-4 with a RBI, while Trevor Brown and Nikko Liguori each collected two hits.
Zane Kmietek took a hard-luck loss after pitching all six innings of the Xavier game. The Falcons scored one run in the fourth and added another in the fifth to get the 2-0 victory.
Against North Haven, Branford led 3-1 before the Indians scored three runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to get the win. Botte drove home a pair of runs for Branford.
In the previous week’s action, the Hornets took a 2-1 loss at West Haven on April 10. The game was tied at 1 when West Haven scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. The pitching was strong on both sides as Kmietek and Mike Vitolo of West Haven were locked in. Kmietek struck out nine through his 5.1 innings of work. Suppa went 2-for-3 with a RBI.
Two days later, Branford hosted Hand and claimed a 7-5 victory. Carson Mendoza earned the win by pitching 5.1 innings in which he allowed two runs on two hits with six strikeouts. Zach Withington went 3-for-4 with four RBI, plus Damien Maniscalco had two hits and a RBI.
The day after that, the Hornets went on the road to face Cheshire and were edged 2-1. The game came down to the final play as Cheshire drove in the winning with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Suppa pitched all 6.1 innings for the Hornets and struck out seven. DJ Caron went 2-for-2 and drove in Branford’s run.
Softball
The Hornets dropped a pair of contests against Quinnipiac Division competition last week to move to 1-5. On April 17, Branford faced East Haven on the road and took a 9-3 defeat. Two days later, the Hornets hosted Hand and lost 13-0.
Abby Spivey led Branford’s offense with a single, a double, and a RBI against East Haven. Marisa Minore and Lexi Falcigno had the other RBI, plus Katy Kaczor added a double.
In the Hand loss, Jess Shanley, Lily Moore-Markey, Minore, and Kaczor had base hits for the Hornets.
Golf
Following a week off, the Hornets back were on the links for a pair of competitions last week. Branford swept a meet against two teams from the Shoreline Conference on April 17 and then lost to SCC adversary Sheehan the following day for a mark of 3-1.
Head Coach Jen Kohut’s club opened play by facing Morgan and Old Saybrook at Clinton Country Club and scored a 185 to defeat both the host Huskies (193), as well as Old Saybrook (195). Ryan Sember shot a 38 to earn medalist honors for the Hornets, whose scoring was rounded out by Liam Deane (43), Jason Brennan (48), and Max Bunton (56).
The next afternoon, Branford faced Sheehan at The Farms Country Club in Wallingford and dropped a 161-178 decision. Sember shot a 37 and was co-medalist with two Sheehan athletes. Deane shot a 39, Brennan had a 47, and Minsok Lee scored a 55 for the Hornets.
Boys’ Tennis
The Hornets are now 2-3 after splitting two matches in last week’s action. Branford took a 4-3 loss at home against Cheshire on April 18 and then won 4-3 against North Haven the following afternoon.
Against Cheshire, Aedan Spaar posted a 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 3 singles position, while fellow senior Darsh Patel outlasted his opponent to get a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory at the No. 4 spot. In doubles, the Hornets’ No. 1 team of Charles Hall and Eli Hanlon won by a 7-6, 6-4 final.
Hosting North Haven at the Guilford Racquet Club, Branford earned the win by sweeping the singles matches as Praneeth Ganedi (6-2, 6-3), Bradley Stutzman (6-0, 6-0), Spaar (6-3, 6-1), and Patel (6-0, 6-2) were all victorious for the Hornets.
Girls’ Tennis
Branford took three recent defeats and is now 0-6 for the season. Branford lost a 7-0 contest at Amity on April 17, took a 6-1 defeat in Guilford the next day, and then lost by a 7-0 final at home versus Lauralton Hall on April 19.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Hornets moved to 3-2 after taking an 87-63 loss to Cheshire on a rainy day last week.
Branford received first-place finishes from Bridget Wirtz in the pole vault (11-0), Diana Karosas in the high jump (4-8), and Keira Integlia for the javelin (95-7).
The Hornets were further aided by runner-up showings from Amanda Acquarulo in the high jump (4-8), along with Liante Claude in the 200 (27.6) and 400 (62.5).
Head Coach Kevin Connell praised the performance of Courtney Cosgrove in the 3,200. With the rain coming down, Cosgrove toughed it out and ran a great last lap to cross the finish line with a solid time of 12:54. Connell added that Karosas had a breakthrough meet by qualifying for states in both the high jump and pole vault (8-0), while also improving her personal-best javelin throw by 10 feet.