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06/27/2017 12:00 AMThe Hand baseball squad put together a solid regular season this spring and, although the Tigers didn’t go as far as they wanted to in the playoffs, they still showed a ton of character throughout the campaign, while developing an even deeper desire to advance further in 2018.
After losing five of nine to start the year, Head Coach Travis LaPointe’s club finished strong to post a regular season record of 13-7, including a big 4-3 win over eventual SCC champion and Class LL state finalist Amity that halted the Spartans’ 28-game win streak. The Tigers wound up qualifying for both the SCC and Class L State tournaments, where they took opening-round losses against Branford and Watertown, respectively, to finish with an overall mark of 13-9.
Even with the early tournament exits, Coach LaPointe was proud of the way his boys carried themselves both on and off the field, while preserving through the ups and downs that come with the game of baseball.
“Our goals this preseason were to continue growing as men by using the lessons we learn on the baseball field in a constructive way, to be student-athletes that our community can be proud of, to compete at a high level every single day, and to continue building a strong baseball culture that will last for many years,” LaPointe said. “I was so proud of our entire baseball program this year. Baseball can be such a challenging game. It is such a great parallel to life, because it is a game that is filled with so much struggle, but it is also filled with moments that take your breath away. I felt like the players competed hard every day, practiced the right way, cared about their teammates, and overcame adversity throughout the year. On a day-to-day basis, we proved that we had as much talent as any other team in the SCC at the freshmen, JV, and varsity levels.”
“The coaches and players have very high expectations,” added LaPointe. “We finished with a 13-7 record, which was the best regular season in recent history at Hand, but I don’t think anyone was actually satisfied. We all felt like we had enough talent to win every game. It is a good accomplishment to qualify for the SCC tournament and the State tournament, but we all had visions of advancing much further than we did. I have no doubt that the returning players will use this as motivation next season, and we will come back even stronger next year and will be ready to make a deep tournament run.”
Seniors Robert Bordiere and EJ Mastronardi stood tall as Hand’s co-captains this season. While each athlete brought his own unique mentality to the team, they were both instrumental in igniting a fire in the Tigers during the second half of the camapign.
“Robert Bordiere and EJ Mastronardi did a great job leading our club this season. Their leadership began in the offseason, as they helped to organize offseason conditioning workouts with our returning players. Robert and EJ have very different personalities, which I think is great for a team,” said Coach LaPointe. “Robert has a strong voice, but stays calm and consistent no matter what is happening around him. This helped him to be an effective leader, no matter what was happening around him. EJ has an incredible fire and intensity that burns inside of him. He is a fighter and he brings a winning mentality to the field. EJ went through some midseason struggles, which affected his leadership for a part of the season. I was so proud of him, because he overcame that adversity, picked himself back up, and finished the season playing baseball at a high level. Robert and EJ’s leadership and fighter’s mentality allowed us to overcome a 4-5 start and help us as we finished 9-2 to finish the regular season. I am so proud of those guys for all of their efforts as our captains.”
LaPointe went onto compliment the accomplishments of his entire senior class, whether it was on the field or in the classroom.
“Our seniors are incredible people. There is no question that our seniors have one of the highest [grade-point averages] and IQs in the history of Hand baseball. There are some future leaders of their generation in that group,” he said. “My favorite day of the season this year was Senior Day. All 10 seniors got on the field and made a significant contribution in a big win against West Haven. I have coached those guys since they were 13 years old, and they have become part of my family. EJ Mastronardi, Robert Bordiere, Kyle Kuhn, CJ Licari, James Kim, Aaron Rubin, Aaron D’Annolfo, Mike Elias, Ryan McAneany, and Matt Sampson and have left an imprint on the program that will live on forever. Their impact on our baseball culture is significant, and we will not forget the contribution they made as high character student-athletes on and off the field.”
While Hand’s statement victory over Amity might seem like the Tigers’ biggest triumph of the year, Coach LaPointe was even happier with the fact that his players became more disciplined with their approach to preparing for each practice and every game.
“I think that most people point to our win against Amity as our biggest accomplishment this season, but I promise that it was really just another game for us,” he said. “We all believed that we were going to beat them both times we played them this season. We lost to them 4-3 the first time and beat them 4-3 the second time we played them. It was definitely exhilarating to beat them, but I thought our day-to-day habits and the way our guys practiced and prepared was the biggest accomplishment of our season. In the past, our players did not always have the best habits leading up to the season, and our practice habits had room for improvement. We still have room for improvement, but have come such a long way.”
Juniors Cam Fitzgerald, Kyle Schaefer, and Eddie Sweeney made the All-SCC Hammonasset Division Team for the Tigers this spring, while Sweeney also earned All-State accolades. Fellow juniors Will Reiner and Spencer Oliver were selected to represent Hand in the Junior Select All-Star Game.
“Cam and Eddie were the heart of our lineup all season. Eddie was our third hitter and Cam was our four hitter. Both guys will return next year, and will be a big piece of a dynamic lineup. Kyle Schaefer solidified himself as the ace of our staff once again. He has been an All-SCC selection his freshmen, sophomore, and junior seasons. Once again, he will be a huge piece of our rotation next year,” said Coach LaPointe. “Will Reiner did a terrific job for us behind the plate this season. He is such a consistent defensive threat and swings a great bat, as well. Spencer Oliver is a power arm and is really learning how to pitch. He still has so much potential, and it will be fun to watch him continue to get better as he heads into his senior season.”
With many underclassmen having played significant roles this year, Hand looks to be locked and loaded for productive run in 2018. Coach LaPointe expresses great gratitude to everyone on this year’s edition of the squad, because he knows they developed a template for what will be required for the Tigers to succeed in future seasons.
“Next year, we are returning the bulk of our team and should be ready to compete with every team in the SCC,” said LaPointe. “We are returning many position players that got significant varsity time and performed at a high level this year in [juniors] James DeGrasse, Tom Hobin, Bryce Leckey, Cam Fitzgerald; [freshman] Phoenix Billings; Will Reiner, Eddie Sweeney; [sophomores] Ian Butler, and Julian Banerji. We also will feature many other players that will compete for significant time in the field. I believe we have as much depth in the field as any team in the state.
“The future of Hand baseball is very strong,” LaPointe continued. “On the mound, we will return some high-quality arms that pitched many innings this season, such as Kyle Schaefer, Spencer Oliver, and [sophomore] Jake Crawford. We also have five [or] six other pitchers that will compete for significant time on the mound. The coaching staff and players are all committed to improving and getting better every day. I think that there is top-10 talent all throughout our program, and now we have to continue to solidify our culture and habits if we are going to live up to our own expectations. If we can do all of the little things the right way on the field, off the field, and in our offseason preparation, really good things are sure to follow. I am so thankful for all of the players, their commitment, and their effort. This season was a great building block for us, but there is still such a long way to go to reach all of our goals as a program.”
From the Sidelines
Hand’s regular season wins came against Class L state champion Foran (3-0 and 10-2), Law (19-7 and 9-2), Darien (8-1), West Haven (2-1 and 13-3), Guilford (4-3), Ledyard (10-2), Career (19-2 twice), Amity (4-3), and East Haven (10-6).
Hand finished with a record of 5-3 in the SCC Hammonasset Division this year.
Travis LaPointe completed his sixth year as Hand’s skipper. The Tigers’ assistant coaches this spring were Bill Daunais, who was in his 12th season, along with Nick Merullo (third season), Kyle Heins (second season), and Marty Magzag (first season).
The Tigers’ JV team went 12-1 this spring, while the freshman squad played to a 13-3 record.