Printer Friendly Version - Branford Baseball Runs Win Streak to 11; Girls’ Lacrosse Edges Guilford in SCC Quarters

Senior Zach Withington and the Branford baseball team continued their winning ways by recording four more victories last week. The Hornets have won 11 consecutive games and are 15-5 entering the postseason. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The Branford baseball team closed out its regular season with four more victories to run its win streak to 11 straight games and take a record of 15-5 into the playoffs. The Hornets defeated East Haven, Guilford, Cross, and West Haven in last week’s action.

Branford began its week by notching a 5-3 triumph at Quinnipiac Division rival East Haven on May 15 to finish at 3-3 in divisional play. Alphonse Suppa pitched six innings to earn the win, allowing three runs on five hits. Carson Mendoza worked out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation in the seventh to get the save, striking out the last three batters. Suppa also went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Zach Withington was 2-for-4, as well. Nikko Liguori added a double, plus Zane Kmietek and Trevor Brown both kicked in with an RBI apiece.

On May 17, the Hornets rallied for a 5-4 win in Guilford. Kmietek allowed three runs on one hit with seven strikeouts in five innings. Mendoza was the winning pitcher by tossing two innings in which he gave up a run on three hits. Trailing 4-3, Branford scored twice in the top of the seventh to take the lead. Withington singled with one out and scored the tying run on Jordan Botte’s double down the left field line. With two outs, Trevor Brown singled to right-center field to bring home Botte for a one-run advantage. Guilford had a runner on second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, when the Indians’ John Luke Cianciolo singled to left field. Brown fielded the ball and threw a perfect strike to catcher Robbie Barbash, who tagged out the would-be tying run at the plate to end the game. Brown went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Withington had two hits.

The following afternoon, Branford hosted Cross and prevailed 8-4 on Senior Day. Jack Spencer gave up four runs in 4.1 innings, but settled down after the first inning to get the win. Devon Lawson gave up one hit in 1.2 innings, after which TJ Beaudin struck out two batters in a clean seventh. Ligouri went 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI, Withington was 2-for-4 with an RBI, Brown went 2-for-3 and drove home a pair, and Damien Maniscalco went 2-for-2 and scored three runs.

The Hornets’ hosted West Haven in their regular season finale on May 20 and won 6-2.

Branford is the No. 3 seed in the SCC Tournament and will host No. 6 Hand for a quarterfinal contest at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, May 22. With a win, the Hornets would face the winner of No. 2 Fairfield Prep and No. 7 Guilford in the semis at Piurek Field at West Haven High School at either 4 or 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23. The SCC final is at that same site at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 25.

The Hornets took defeats against West Haven, Lyman Hall, and Cross last week to move to 3-15.

On May 15, Branford lost a 16-3 game in West Haven. Two days later, the Hornets were at Lyman Hall and lost 8-2. Branford finished off the week by dropping a 16-12 contest against Cross on May 18.

After closing the regular season with victories versus Hand and Amity, the Hornets posted a 14-13 home win over Guilford in the quarterfinals of the SCC Tournament on May 20. Branford is now 13-4 overall as it gets ready to play at top-seeded Cheshire in the SCC semifinals on Tuesday, May 23. If the 4th-seeded Hornets prevail, they’ll play either Hand or Lauralton Hall for the conference title at Ken Strong Stadium at West Haven High School at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 25. Branford will be competing in the Class M State Tournament after that.

Branford hosted Hand on May 16 and rallied for a huge 13-12 victory. Hand held a 12-10 advantage, but the Hornets scored the last three goals, including the game-winner from Sophie Spencer in the final minute. Spencer finished with four goals and an assist, and Sabrina Torcellini had five goals with an assist. LanLe Crotty scored a pair of goals, Erin O’Brien had a goal, Ashlee Smestad recorded two assists, and Katie Parker added an assist. Jill Ciarleglio made eight saves in net.

Two nights later, Branford had a home game against Amity and won 18-7. Torcellini, Spencer, and Autumn McHenry all scored three goals, while Charlee Grady and LanLe Crotty both scored two. Crotty also had two assists, Katie Parker had two assists, and Ashlee Smestad dished off three assists. Smestad, Carly Shea, Brianna Shaw, Haley Maercklein, and Morgan Gilman added goals. McHenry and Morgan Gilman both had an assist for Branford, which saw Ciarleglio make five saves.

Against Guilford in the SCC quarterfinals, Spencer scored five goals, McHenry had four goals, Torcellini and Crotty both scored two goals, and Smestad had a goal. Torcellini also had two assists, while McHenry, O’Brien, Smestad, and Grace Paleski each had one assist. Ciarlegio made nine saves in the one-goal win.

Branford completed its regular season with a mark of 11-5 after winning two of last week’s three matchups.

Then on May 16, Branford hosted Stratford and prevailed 16-10. Branford trailed 8-6 at halftime before outscoring Stratford 10-2 in the latter half. Noah Pantani scored six goals and had one assist, while Rob Lionetti had five goals with an assist. Will Riggs netted a pair goals, Jack Manware had a goal and an assist, Harry Smith and Mike White both scored goals, plus Brian Nichols, Jay Dering, Spencer Engstrom, and Aiden MacNeil contributed assists. Kordele Brown made 14 saves in goal.

The Hornets were led by first-place finishes from Keira Integlia in the javelin and Bridget Wirtz for the pole vault at last week’s SCC West Sectional Championship. Branford tallied 74 points and finished in sixth place.

Integlia, a senior, launched a throw of 100 feet-9 inches to take the javelin title, beating out runner-up Taylor Andrzejewski, who threw 98-7. Wirtz prevailed in the pole vault by clearing 11 feet, with fellow junior teammate Taylor Brown placed second behind a height of 9 feet.

Sophomore Liante Claude ran a time of 1:00.03 to take third place in the 400-meter dash, and she was fifth for the 200 at 26.66 seconds. Junior Leah-Pendl Robinson finished third for the preliminaries of the 100 hurdles by running 18.25 and grabbed third in the finals with a personal-record time of 18.03. Senior Courtney Cosgrove recorded an eighth-place showing in the 3,200-meter run with a mark of 13:05.79.

Senior Kiersten Bjork finished fifth for both the discus (86-2) and the javelin (88-0) for the Hornets. In the pole vault, freshman Diana Karosas took fourth (8-0), Pendl-Robinson was fifth (8-0), and junior Wyntre Fries finished eighth at 7 feet. Hailey LaBonte and fellow senior Amanda Acquarulo tied for sixth in the high jump as both athletes cleared 4-6. Head Coach Kevin Connell also noted that Mary Nwagboli ran personal-record times of 13.64 in the 100 and 27.90 for the 200, and added that Emily Borst ran a strong race in the 800 with her time of 2:45.04

Marzio Mastroianni placed second in a pair of events to lead the Hornets at the SCC West Sectional Championship at Amity on May 15.

Mastrioanni took second place in the 800-meter run by recording a time of 2:02.73. The sophomore was also the runner-up in the 1,600 with a mark of 4:32.36 for the Hornets, who scored 39 points and finished ninth as a team.

Sophomore Justin Dombrowski finished fifth in the pole vault by clearing 9 feet, while senior Alex Rode was sixth with a height of 8 feet-6 inches. Sophomore Matt Alexander placed sixth in the long jump at 19-10. Kostas Gionteris finished sixth in the high jump at 5-4, fellow sophomore Brandon Perez also cleared 5-4 to place seventh, and senior Daniel Palencia reached 5-2 to take eighth. Sophomore Giancarlo Giannini finished seventh in the discus with a toss of 104-1.

Branford’s 4x400 rekay of sophomore Carlos McCaay, junior Kadir Sahin, freshman Scott Nolan, and Mastroianni finished sixth (3:41.81); the 4x800 of Sahin, sophomore Aidan Kropiwnicki, and juniors Harry Troidle and Ryan McCarthy came in seventh (9:21.97); plus the 4x100 of Palencia, Nolan, sophomore Tyler Bradshaw, and Gionteris finished eighth (49.93).

The Hornets played three matches last week and came away with three wins and one defeat to move to 12-3-1.

On May 16, Branford hosted Sheehan at Pine Orchard Country Club and took a 159-164 defeat. Ryan Sember shot a 35 and was co-medalist, while Liam Deane (38), Jason Brennan (40), and Max Bunton (51) rounded out the Hornets’ scoring.

The following afternoon, the Hornets had a tri-match at Alling Memorial Country Club, where they shot a 153 to defeat East Haven (177) and Cross (191). Sember and Deane were co-medalists with their rounds of 36. Brennan shot a 39 and Bunton posted a 42.

Branford ended its week by facing Hand at Madison Country Club and won 164-169. Deane was the medalist by shooting 35, Sember followed with a 38, Brennan had a score of 42, and Bunton shot a 49.

Branford wrapped up the regular season by winning two of its last three matches. The Hornets lost to Xavier 7-0 before edging both East Haven and North Haven by 4-3 finals. The Hornets won nine of their last 11 regular season matches to finish at 11-7.

Branford began last week by taking a 7-0 defeat to Xavier at Watrous Park in Cromwell on May 15.

The following afternoon, the Hornets hosted East Haven and won 4-3. Bradley Stutzman (6-3, 6-2); Praneeth Ganedi (6-0, 6-0); Aiden Spaar (6-1, 6-0); and Darsh Patel (7-5, 6-1) were victorious in their singles matches.

Branford completed its regular season by posting a 4-3 win at North Haven. Stutzman (7-6, 6-0) and Spaar (6-3, 2-6, 6-3) prevailed at the top two singles positions. At No. 2 doubles, Eli Hanlon and Raul Riccio recorded a crucial 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory. Justin Veilleux and Daniel Pagliaro won 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 doubles.

Branford is the No. 8 seed in the SCC Tournament and plays at Hand at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23. If the Hornets win, they will face the winner of Amity and Guilford in the semifinals on Wednesday, May 24. The final also takes place at Yale and will be held on Thursday, May 25. The Hornets also have the Class M State Championship coming up.

The Hornets split their final two matches of the season to finish at 5-11. Branford took a 6-1 loss at Sacred Heart Academy on May 15, after which the Hornets prevailed 4-3 in a home match against East Haven on May 17.

Lauren Elmasry won 6-4, 7-5 at No. 1 singles, while Carol Frye earned a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles in the East Haven victory. Branford’s No. 1 doubles team of Keeley LePre and Tory Rudden claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win, plus the No. 3 team of Julianna Pegnataro and Amanda Gage won 6-3, 6-1.

Haley Maercklein and the Hornets’ girls’ lacrosse squad earned a 13-12 win over Hand during the last week of the regular season, after which Branford edged Guilford 14-13 in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound