Printer Friendly Version - 2017 North Haven American Legion Baseball Year in Review

The North Haven American Legion baseball program organized the first annual Dan Riccio Memorial Tournament that was named for the late Post 76 commander Dan Riccio. North Haven’s Senior Legion team won the tournament by defeating the Diamond Zone 4-3 in the final on July 23. Pictured are (front row) DJ Caron, Gio Tirollo, Chris Ciarleglio, Brendan Clark, Steve Erbe, and Chris Stevens; along with (back row) Head Coach Tim Binkoski, Justin Shea, Andrew Laudano, captain Kevin Lucey, Nate Zalegowski, Zack Pincince, Luca Lawrence, and assistant coach Don Clark. Missing from the (Photo are Tom Myjak, Mark Tantorski, Griffin Bottomley, and Peyton Farina. Photo courtesy of Andrew Lucey

The summer of 2017 was a prosperous one for the North Haven American Legion Post 76 baseball program as both its Senior and Junior Legion teams qualified for the State Tournament. Post 76 then hosted the inaugural Dan Riccio Memorial Tournament and saw its Senior Legion team take the title. During the fall season, the North Haven Maroon baseball squad advanced to the championship game of its league playoffs.

After longtime Head Coach Charlie Flanagan stepped down and became general manager, North Haven welcomed program alum Tim Binkoski to the dugout as it skipper this summer. Post 76 put together a great season by qualifying for the State Tournament for the first time in several seasons.

Zone 2 play to finish in third place and earn its berth in states. Post 76 swept three-games series against East Haven, Milford, and West Haven, and also took two of three from Hamden and Orange. In one of the games versus Orange, Zack Pincince came through with a walk-off pinch-hit single to give North Haven a 6-5 win in the ninth inning. Overall, Post 76 went 16-12-1 overall for the regular season. In the State Tournament, North Haven blanked Bethel 2-0 behind a four-hitter from Brendan Clark, after which Post 76 was eliminated with a 3-0 loss at Trumbull.

However, North Haven's season wasn't finished as the team hosted the inaugural Dan Riccio Memorial Tournament that was named in honor of Riccio, who was the American Legion Post 76 commander for many years before passing away at age 68 in January. Post 76 won the tournament by earning 4-2 victories versus both Madison and Waterbury in the round-robin portion, followed by a 17-3 win against Wallingford in the semifinals and a 4-3 win over the Diamond Zone in the final. Clark pitched a complete game in the title bout for North Haven, which finished the summer with an overall record of 22-13-1.

Clark was named North Haven's Most Valuable Player and also shared the Pitching Award with Chris Ciarleglio and Mark Tantorski. Steven Erbe earned the Batting Average Award, while Kevin Lucey and Peyton Farina shared the Defensive Award. Pincince was presented with the Most Improved Award, and the Sportsmanship Award went to both Luca Lawrence and Nate Zalegowski. Griffin Bottomley received the Dan Riccio Americanism Award and was also a co-recipient of the Dan Riccio Memorial Scholarship with Tom Myjak. Chris Stevens took home the Wise Guy Award for North Haven.

Post 76 made its second straight appearance in the State Tournament after earning second place in Zone 2 this year.

Head Coach Pete Katynski's team went 11-7 in Zone 2 play and was 11-12-1 overall for the regular season. North Haven won all three of its games against New Haven and also swept doubleheaders versus West Haven and Orange. Ryan Sullivan pitched a no-hitter for Post 76 in one of the wins against New Haven. Danny Cannavaciolo threw a one-hitter versus West Haven, while Leo Konopka tossed a one-hitter versus Milford.

In the double-elimination State Tournament, North Haven took a 4-1 loss to Oakville and then rallied for a 5-4, walk-off victory versus Wilton when Sullivan singled home Cannavaciolo. Post 76 then lost 14-3 against Oakville. North Haven went on to play in the Dan Riccio Memorial Tournament and dropped contests versus the Diamond Zone (5-3) and Waterbury Senior Legion (2-1) to finish 12-16-1.

Justin Shea was named North Haven's MVP and also won the Batting Average Award. Konpoka was the Pitching Award recipient, while John Gontarek won the Defensive Award. Dylan Brockamer was presented with the Sportsmanship Award, and the Wise Guy Award was won by Owen Silk.

North Haven fielded two fall baseball teams—Team Maroon and Team White—and saw the Maroon squad post a record of 20-3 on its way to reaching the championship game of its playoff tournament.

In the regular season, Team Maroon edged Amity 8-7 by scoring two runs in the seventh inning. Mike Salzano's bases-loaded walk forced home Kevin Lucey with the tying run, after which Jason Ostrowski came home with the winning run on a wild pitch. Later in the campaign, the team defeated Wallingford 8-7 in walk-off fashion as Lucey brought home Jake Bencivengo with the tying run on a sacrifice fly, and Peyton Farina scored the winning run when Salzano was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. After that, North Haven defeated the Connecticut Cadets 6-5 when Jason Landino hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning.

In the playoffs, North Haven started off with a 6-2 win over Weston and earned a dramatic 2-1 victory versus Hamden in the semifinals. Bencivengo scored the winning run when Zack Pincince reached first on an error. Chris Ciarleglio pitched five hitless innings, and Luca Lawrence earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief. North Haven then lost a 1-0 decision in eight innings against Newtown in the championship game. Nate Zalegowski tossed five scoreless innings.

One of the highlights for Team White's season was a 14-5 victory against New Haven in which Daniel Meyers pitched a complete game. The squad later rallied for a 5-4 win versus the Diamond Zone behind three scoreless innings of relief from Ryan Sullivan. Anthony Cretella, John Gontarek, Christian Somma, Colby Cusano, Jack Peruso, and Danny Cannavaciolo were among the players who helped North Haven get these victories.

Tim Binkoski was head coach for Team Maroon and an assistant with Team White, while Pete Katynski was Team White's head coach and an assistant for Team Maroon.

Justin Shea earned the Most Valuable Player Award for the North Haven Junior Legion baseball team, which won 12 games and finished second in Zone 2 this summer. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The North Haven Maroon fall baseball team had a great season that saw the squad go all the way to the final of its playoff tournament. Pictured from the team are (back row) assistant coach Coach Pete Katynski, Leo Konopka, Chris Ciarlegio, Luca Lawrence, Nate Zalegowski, Dave Christoforo, Andrew Laudano, Kevin Lucey, Christian Somma, Mike Salzano, and Head Coach Tim Binkoski; (front row) Jake Bencivengo, Hunter Garthwait, Gianni DeMartino, Nick Perillie, Jason Ostrowski, Zack Pincince, Danny Cannavaciolo, and Peyton Farina. Photo courtesy of Katie Lucey.