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07/10/2017 12:00 AMThe Shoreline Cougars and the Clinton Huskies of the U-18 East Shore Travel League squared off for an afternoon doubleheader at Morgan High School on July 8. The two clubs split the twin billing as the Huskies took the first game 2-0 with the Cougars winning the nightcap 5-1. The Huskies moved to 7-2 and stood in third place in the league standings following the split, while the Cougars dropped to 3-9.
Chad Neri pitched six scoreless innings to lead the Huskies to victory in the first game of the doubleheader. Killingworth resident Owen Marica was the winning pitcher in the second contest by allowing just one run in six innings.
In the opening contest, the Huskies scored a run in the second inning and added an insurance run in the fourth on their way to the 2-0 victory. In the bottom of the second, Russell Green hit a stinging ground-rule double to left-center field, moved to third on an out, and then scored on Cooper Thompson’s sacrifice fly. Cougars’ pitcher Trevor Rydel prevented further damage by ending the inning with a strikeout.
Then the fourth, Matt Kyle opened the frame with a single for the Huskies, after which Green was hit by a pitch. Rydel got a strikeout, but then walked Thompson to load the bases. After Rydel retired the next batter on strikes, Anthony Mongillo laced a double that scored Kyle, with Green getting tagged out on a close play at the plate. Clinton now had a 2-0 lead that held up the rest of the way.
Neri held the Cougars scoreless through the first four innings, and then Gavin Figurelli closed out the win by tossing three scoreless frames.
“We had him pitch up until the fifth inning. Chad is not where he was last year pitching. This is like his third start of the season. He had a year off from pitching last season. He’s getting on board, though,” said Huskies’ Head Coach Bob Neri. “Gavin is the same thing. They are slowly getting there. I do think we have a great pitching staff on our team, including Cooper at No. 1 and [John Urban] at No. 2.”
Both teams put their fair share of men on base in the second game, although the Cougars capitalized on more of their opportunities, and came away with the 5-1 victory. Now the designated road team, the Huskies pieced together a spate of infield singles from Drew Walton, Mike Menacho, and Urban to load the bases in the top of the fourth inning. Harry White came up to the plate for Clinton and drove in Walton on a fielder’s choice for the club’s only run of the game.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Shoreline responded with a rally to take the lead. Killingworth’s Ross Meglin hit a single, and then Scott Masse of Old Saybrook hit one up the middle for a single that sent Meglin got to third. Cougars’ Head Coach Dennis Annicelli made a gutsy call for a double steal as Masse took off for first while Meglin scored from third to tie the game 1-1. Following a popout, Griffin Izzo worked a walk to put runners at first and second. Carmelo Rosa followed by hitting a double, although Masse who was thrown out at the plate on the play. After Sam Erskin walked to lead the bases, Darren Hiller and Rydel both drew walks that forced home a run as Shoreline went ahead 3-1. Finally, Owen Marica stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and cranked a double that scored both Erskin and Hiller. Even though Rydel was tagged out at home, the Cougars sent nine men to the plate in the inning and came out of it leading 5-1, which stood up as the final score.
Marica got the start for Shoreline and gave up just one run through six innings. Rosa then came in and tossed a scoreless seventh to close it out. Coach Annicelli felt pleased with the way his team played in the doubleheader.
“I felt really good about the way we played both games,” said Annicelli. “In the two years I’ve been in the league, Clinton has been a good team, so anytime you are competitive with them, you know you are playing good baseball. I think we’re starting to play better as the season goes on.”
Marica finished the second game with eight strikeouts on the mound to complement his big two-run double; he also had four hits in the opening contest. Coach Annicelli knows that Marica is a special player and felt that his captain displayed why that’s the case with his performance on the mound, at the plate, and in the dugout during the doubleheader.
“He looked really sharp. He’s steady, hits his spots, and eats up innings. With a leader like him on the mound, it relaxes the guys behind him. He’s the guy I want on the mound after losing a few,” Annicelli said. “He’s probably the best all-around player that I’ve coached in my eight to nine years. He knows that we have young guys, and he’s very good at talking to them. He’s been a dream to have. I’m going to miss him next year.”
On the flipside, Coach Neri was happy to see his Huskies pick up the win in the first game, but still he thinks that Clinton has room to improve this summer.
“We won the first game 2-0, but I had a conversation with our guys that I don’t think we’re up to speed just yet,” Coach Neri said. “We’re still winning. This is only our second loss on the year, but today we left a lot of guys on base and a lot in scoring position. They’re in a bit of a lull right now. Nothing to take away from [the Cougars], but we were a lot better team than we showed today.”