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06/25/2017 12:00 AMThe East Haven softball squad took the field with plenty of inexperienced varsity players this spring, but still finished with a record of 13-9 that included berths in both the SCC and Class L State tournaments. With just one senior on the team in Fallon Speers, the Yellowjackets needed plenty of underclass athletes to step up in order to see more success in 2017. Head Coach Ed Crisafi looks back on the campaign wanting more, but knows that his returning athletes have the ability to attain the program’s yearly goals next season.
“We were young, and I’m expecting them to get better, so next year should be very interesting,” he said. “We didn’t win our division and lost in the first round of SCCs and states. In the past, just making it would’ve been great, but now, it’s not. It’s nice, but it’s not what we expect.”
East Haven wound up finishing second to Hand in the realigned SCC Quinnipiac Division, marking the first time in five seasons that the Yellowjackets didn’t clinch at least a share of their division crown. In the opening round of the SCC Tournament, East Haven took a 3-2 loss to Guilford. Then in the Class L State Tournament, Crisafi’s squad saw its season end with a 14-11 loss to Lauralton Hall. Even though the Yellowjackets weren’t able to win another division title or advance past the first round of either postseason tournament, Coach Crisafi was pleased to see how his team scratched and clawed its way through every contest.
“Stamford was the only team, except for that one against Amity, where we weren’t even in the game,” said Crisafi, who was assisted by his son Jeff Crisafi, along with Kristina Serio and Alyssa Apuzzo. “We gave Cheshire a hell of a game at home, and then we beat Amity once and North Branford twice, who were really good teams.”
The Easties were powered by their bats this season as Speers and junior captains Jess Stettinger and Julia SanGiovanni provided plenty of pop at the plate. Speers collected her 100th career hit en route to finishing with 113 and was selected to play in both the Senior Select All-Star Game and the Senior Scholar Athlete All-Star Game. Speers was ultimately presented with East Haven’s Coach’s Award by Crisafi.
Meanwhile, SanGiovanni and Stettinger shared the team’s Most Valuable Player Award for their offensive production. Stettinger led East Haven with a .477 batting average, a .547 on-base percentage, seven home runs, and 28 RBI. She finished with 31 hits and was an All-SCC First Team selection, an All-State selection, and was named to play in the Junior Select All-Star Game. SanGiovanni led the Yellowjackets with 33 hits, 30 runs scored, and seven doubles. She batted .423 and had an on-base percentage of .506 on her way to earning a spot on the All-SCC Team, along with All-State Second Team honors. Like Stettinger, SanGiovanni was also picked to represent East Haven in the Junior Select All-Star Game.
“This year we kind of got away from bunting from the second spot in the order. We decided to move everybody up to get them more at bats, so when [junior leadoff hitter Selena Mauro] got on, rather than getting her to second, we hit away and relied on our power,” Coach Crisafi said. “We did score 144 runs, which is about seven per game, without sacrificing.”
Crisafi added that while the athletes in the bottom half of his lineup held their own, he’s looking for increased productivity next year, so the Yellowjackets can feature a more well-rounded offensive attack.
“[Sophomore] Megan Roberts had a nice second half of the year, [freshman] Becca Flynn did a nice job, and [freshman] Tatum Punzo played well in the outfield when Selena pitched,” Crisafi said. “We have a whole group of young outfielders, plus our 8th-grade group coming in could push for some varsity time. We’ll see some internal competition next year and be going to Florida, which will help to see who will earn their spots.”
In terms of East Haven’s other award winners, Mauro and fellow junior captain Brianna Carrano were co-recipients of the team’s Sportsmanship Award. Mauro, who batted .397 with 31 hits, also shared the Yellowjackets’ pitching duties with sophomore Taylor Myers this year. They both pitched some great games against the teams that East Haven was supposed to beat, but struggled against some of tougher clubs on the schedule. Coach Crisafi said that he wants his squad to play better defense next year after East Haven committed 46 errors during the recent season.
As usual, it’s up in their as to whether the Yellowjackets will be competing in the Class L or Class M ranks next year. Either way, with only player graduating, Crisafi is eager to see how his athletes progress during the offseason and how his Easties will shape up during the 2018 spring season.
“We told the girls, with almost everybody coming back, it could be a good thing. If everybody gets a little bit better, we’ll be right there,” Crisafi said. “With all the varsity experience the younger kids got this year, you can only hope. Jeff and I are very excited.”
From the Sidelines
Jess Stettinger, Julia SanGiovanni, Selena Mauro, and Brianna Carrano were junior captains for East Haven this spring, and they will all reprise their leadership roles as senior next year.
East Haven’s wins this year came against Foran (5-4 and 10-0), Amity (7-4), North Branford (7-6 and 3-1), Branford (9-3 and 13-1), Hillhouse (18-0 and 15-2), West Haven (4-0 and 4-0), and Lauralton Hall (9-4 and 5-4).
The Yellowjackets also took losses against Stamford (7-1 and 15-8), Cheshire (5-3 and 7-1), Hand (6-2 and 10-7), and Amity (17-0) during the regular season, followed by a 3-2 loss to Guilford in the SCC Tournament and a 14-11 defeat to Lauralton Hall in states.