Printer Friendly Version - North Haven’s American Legion Baseball Season Underway

Mark Tantorski turned in two solid outings on the mound last week, including six scoreless innings when the North Haven Senior Legion baseball team beat East Haven 2-1 on a walk-off single from Tom Myjak. Post 76 won the nightcap 4-0 to compete a doubleheader sweep of the 89ers. Photo by Chris Eadevito/The Courier

With longtime Head Coach Charlie Flanagan having stepped down, program alum Tim Binkoski begins his tenure as the head coach of the North Haven Senior American Legion baseball team this summer. Post 76 began its campaign by playing five Zone 2 games last week and won the last two with a doubleheader sweep of East Haven for a record of 2-3 on the young season.

North Haven kicked off the campaign by hosting New Haven on June 13 and took a 6-3 defeat. Mark Tantorski threw five innings and gave up two runs for Post 76. At the plate, Justin Shea went 2-for-2 with a walk, a run scored, and two RBI; Zack Pincince had a pair of base hits, while Tom Myjak and Kevin Lucey both had a single with an RBI.

The next day, Post 76 faced New Haven on the road at West Rock Field and lost 2-1. Chris Ciarleglio took a tough loss by allowing two unearned runs in 4.1 innings for North Haven, after which Preston Young pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief. Dom Onofrio had two hits for Post 76, whose run was scored by Nate Zalegowski and driven in by Chris Stevens.

The day after that, Coach Binkoski’s squad wrapped up its three-game set with New Haven by dropping a 1-0 decision at home. Griffin Bottomley pitched a great game in a losing effort by allowing just one run in six innings. Young worked a scoreless seventh for North Haven, which was held without a hit by New Haven starting pitcher Eric Redente.

Then on June 17, North Haven hosted East Haven for a doubleheader and swept the 89ers by finals of 2-1 and 4-0. Post 76 trailed 1-0 before scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh for the walk-off win in the first game of the double dip. Myjak won it for North Haven by singling home Peyton Farina and Brendan Clark. Post 76 had two out and nobody on when Farina struck out, but he reached first base on a passed ball by the East Haven catcher. Clark followed with a walk, he and Farina executed a double steal, and then Myjak drove home both for the walk-off victory. Farina had a hit with a walk and two stolen bases, and Clark also drew two walks. Tantorski tossed six scoreless innings, and Luca Lawrence got the win by allowing one unearned run in the seventh.

For the nightcap, Myjak was the winning pitcher behind five scoreless frames. Ciarleglio pitched a scoreless sixth, and Lawrence threw a scoreless seventh. Clark went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a pair of steals, while Farina stole two more bases and scored a run to help North Haven complete the sweep of its Zone 2 opponent.

Last year, North Haven went 12-15 in Zone 2 play and was 13-16 overall for the season.

North Haven opened up the 2017 season by dropping four contests in Zone 2 action.

Post 76 took an 11-0 home loss against Stratford in its season opener on June 11. Dan Cannavaciolo went 2-for-3 for North Haven.

Two days later, Post 76 had a home game against Orange and lost by a 2-1 score. Ryan Sullivan gave up two earned runs in six innings, and Owen Silk pitched a scoreless seventh for Post 76. Cannavaciolo had a single with an RBI; Christian Somma had a single, a walk, and a run scored; and Colby Cusano singled and had a stolen base.

On June 15, North Haven hosted Milford at Brook Field and took a 4-1 defeat. John Gontarek pitched five innings and allowed just one earned run for Post 76, who saw Leo Konopka toss two scoreless innings of relief. Alex Page had two hits for North Haven, while Konopka scored a run and had a stolen base.

Two days after that, Head Coach Pete Katynski’s club had a home game against Branford at Bailey Road Field and lost 3-0. Konopka allowed one earned run in 5.1 innings, and Silk allowed no runs in his 1.2 innings of work for North Haven.

Last summer, North Haven went 14-10 in Zone 2 to finish in second place and was 16-10 overall during the regular season. Post 76 also qualified for the double elimination State Tournament, where the team beat Danbury 17-0, lost to Stamford 11-0, eliminated Danbury with a 7-0 victory, and was then eliminated with a 4-2 loss to Stamford. North Haven went 18-12 overall on the year.