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06/29/2017 12:00 AMThe East Haven Senior American Legion baseball team improved to 6-3 in Zone 2 action by recording a pair of victories last week. With the wins, the 89ers ran their win streak to four consecutive games as they moved into third place in the zone.
Starting off last week, East Haven topped New Haven 3-0 behind a stellar pitching performance by Nick Kraszewski, who tossed a one-hit shutout and struck out seven.
“He threw 84 pitches. For a seven-inning game, that is remarkable. Nick kept them off-balance the whole game,” 89ers’ Head Coach John Longley said. “He got a lot of ground balls and the defense made some great plays behind him.”
With a scoreless game, East Haven put up its first run in the fourth inning. The 89ers loaded up the bases with one out and Jake Ferrara hit a ball in between the third baseman and shortstop. It was too deep in the hole for New Haven to make a play at the plate, and so a run scored. Tristan Punzo provided insurance for East Haven in the top of the seventh by lacing a two-RBI double. Tyler Leone finished the game with two hits in the victory. One of the best defensive plays of the game came from East Haven shortstop Andrew Luzzi. After New Haven broke up Kraszewski’s no-hitter in the sixth inning, Luzzi made a diving stop on a ground ball up the middle and got the force out at second base to thwart New Haven’s momentum.
The next day, East Haven resumed a game against Branford that had started on June 22 and was suspended due to darkness with the score tied at 5 entering the eighth inning. Branford had taken an early 4-0 lead, but East Haven chipped away, and Anthony Buffone got a two-RBI hit to get the 89ers going and cut the deficit in half. The 89ers continued to fight and eventually evened the score at 4-4. In the sixth, Branford made it a 5-4 game, but 89ers tied it up again in the seventh before the game was suspended.
When play resumed on June 26, the game went all the way to the 14th inning, where East Haven won it by plating a run in the top half of the frame, when Branford was unable to turn a potential inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. The defensive play of the game was made by 89ers’ left fielder Mark Smith in the bottom of the 14th. Branford had a runner on second with nobody out when its batter hit a low liner and its baserunner took off, thinking the ball would fall in for a hit. However, Smith made a diving catch and doubled off the runner to end the game.
Anthony Buffone started on the mound for the 89ers, with Mike Mancuso getting the win in relief by allowing just three batters to reach base in his seven strong innings. At the dish, Luzzi had four hits, while Kraszewski had two hits and two walks for East Haven. The victory completes East Haven’s first season sweep of Branford in program history, according to Coach Longley.
“It’s a shame somebody had to lose. It was a great game. Thankfully, we got the win,” Longley said. “We now get ready for our stretch where we play 15 games in 13 days to close out the regular season.”