Printer Friendly Version - East Haven’s Softball and Baseball Squads Secure Playoff Bids

Selena Mauro pitched well for the Yellowjackets last week and scooped up the victory that sent East Haven to the postseason. The Easties beat North Branford 3-1 to qualify for both the SCC and State tournaments. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Yellowjackets’ softball squad punched its ticket into the SCC and State tournaments last week, while improving its overall record to 9-6 on the season.

On May 1, East Haven edged North Branford for the second time this year, this time by a 3-1 score. Selena Mauro pitched a complete game and struck out six in the victory. Jess Stettinger and Fallon Speers both had key base hits to contribute to the win.

Two days later, East Haven had a game at Cheshire and lost 7-1. The Easties’ lone run came off the bat of Stettinger, who clubbed a solo homer in the sixth inning.

The Yellowjackets closed out their week with a convincing 10-0 victory over Law on May 4. Mauro was the winning pitcher, while Julia SanGiovanni led the charge at the dish by getting three hits, two of which were home runs. Diana Kaplan and Brianna Carrano added two hits apiece.

East Haven won two of its three games last week to clinch its spot in the SCC and State tournaments at 9-5.

To begin the week, Notre Dame-West Haven ended the Easties’ five-game winning streak by edging East Haven 2-1 on May 1. The game was a pitcher’s duel between Nick Guarino and Brendan Kirck. Guarino allowed just four hits in taking the hard-luck loss. Nate Furino singled home Nick Kraszewski to plate East Haven’s run.

The Easties qualified for postseason play by earning their eighth win of the season with an 11-2 victory at Law on May 3. Kraszewski picked up his fourth victory on the mound for the Yellowjackets, whose offense supplied a balanced attack with plenty of hits from multiple players. Jake Ferrara, Delbasso, and Ryan Spano had two RBI apiece.

East Haven’s bats were hot again the next day when it topped Wilbur Cross 8-3. Sam Loda, Spano, and Kraszewski all had big hits, while Ferrara laced a two-RBI single. Vin Camera went the distance on the hill to earn the victory.

East Haven topped Career 98-39 on May 2 to move to 3-6 this season. The Yellowjackets won a pair of relays at the meet to go along with 10 individual event victories.

Reinaldo Martinez, Niam Coward, and Dayvon Gonzalez each won two events for East Haven. Martinez won the 110 high hurdles in 16.6 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 45.6, Coward won the discus with a toss of 104 feet-3 inches and shot put at 44-0, and Gonzalez won the 800 at 2:29 and the 1,600 with a time of 6:04.38. Other individual winners included Jay Donaldson in the 100 (10.93), Dom Manna in the javelin (120-10), Mike Castellano in the 400 (59.0), Max Kwashie in the high jump (5-4), and Joe Castellano in the 3200 (14:54). For the relays, the 4x800 team of Gonzalez, Zach Valles, Brice Donovan, and Joe Castellano won at 12:24, while the 4x100 squad of Donaldson, Jordan Ingram, Manna, and McClay Marshall was victorious at 45.4.

The Yellowjackets improved to 3-6 with an 88-54 win over Career on May 2. East Haven took first place in 10 individual events with Summer Onorato winning a pair. Onorato was victorious in the 100 hurdles at 19.7seconds and the shot put with a throw of 26 feet-5.5 inches.

Other individual wins were achieved by Isabella Ragaini in the javelin (82-3), Olivia Turek in the 1,600 (6:40.9), Katie Maffeo in the 400 (64.7), Molly Mazzucco for the high jump (5-0), Haley Montesanto in the 300 hurdles (52.9), Jordan Kikosicki in the 3,200 (18:41.9), Rebecca Dearborn in the discus (55-1), and Sydney Marquardt in the pole vault (6-0). The 4x800 relay team of Turek, Colleen Hanlon, Deb Carpanzano, and Kikosicki placed first at 14:04.56.

The week started with a 4-3 loss to Foran on May 1. East Haven dominated the doubles court as Jake Zito and Rob Scalesse won 6-1, 6-0; Doug Comesanas and Seth Proto won 6-0, 6-0; and Nick Kluth and Anthony Petolla prevailed 6-0, 6-0. Tony Cofrancesco lost a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 decision at No. 1 singles, while Spencer Goldberg, Nick Vessicchio, and Brendan So also competed for East Haven.

Following a 7-0 loss to Xavier, the Easties grabbed a 5-2 victory over Wilbur Cross on May 4. East Haven swept doubles as Zito and Scalese won 6-0, 6-0; Comesanas and Proto won 6-0, 6-0; and Ramirez and Dan Murtagh claimed a 6-0, 6-0 victory. In singles play, Cofrancesco reeled off a 6-2, 6-3 win, plus Goldberg won 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

On May 2, Hamden defeated East Haven 6-1. The lone victory for the Easties came from its No. 1 doubles team of Autumn Hernandez and Mikayla Raffone. Devyn Gargano, Juliana Mikulski, Sandy Nguyn, and Caroline Miller played singles for East Haven. The tandems of Victoria Gaudino and Alexis Pendziwater, along with Emma Luden and Jade Roberts competed in the doubles matches.

The next day, West Haven edged the Yellowjackets 4-3. Gargano won 6-3, 7-5 at No. 2 singles, while Gonzalez prevailed by a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 score at the No. 3 spot. The top doubles team of Hernandez and Nguyen won 6-3, 4-6, 7-2. Nhi Trinh teamed up with Raffone to play doubles in this contest.

The Yellowjackets closed out the week with a 4-3 loss against Sheehan. East Haven’s No. 3 doubles team of Gaudino and Pendziwater won by the score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

East Haven dropped decisions against North Haven and Lyman Hall in last week’s action.

On May 2, North Haven hosted the Easties at Wallingford Country Club and recorded a 182-205 victory. Two days later, East Haven hosted the Trojans at Alling Memorial Golf Club and took a 175-208 defeat to drop to 1-7 this year.

After losing to Notre Dame-West Haven, Ryan Spano and the East Haven baseball team posted a pair of convincing victories to seal its spot in the playoffs this spring. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

Reinaldo Martinez won both 110 high hurdles and the 300 intermediate hurdles when East Haven boys’ outdoor track defeated Career for its third victory of the season. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier