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04/22/2018 12:00 AMBaseball
The Branford baseball team won all three of its games last week, including two in SCC Quinnipiac Division play, to improve to 5-4 overall with a record of 2-0 in the division this year. The Hornets opened divisional play by rallying for a 7-6 victory versus Xavier, then earned a 5-2 win fellow Quinnipiac opponent North Haven, and finished the week with a 22-2 victory against Career.
Branford hosted Xavier on April 17 and claimed a 7-6 win in walk-off fashion by plating a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Hornets were down 6-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but scored two runs that inning, two more in the sixth, and then tied it by scoring twice in the seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, senior CJ Miller drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the winning run for the Hornets. Senior Carson Mendoza went 2-for-4 with two RBI, Robbie Barbash was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and fellow senior DJ Caron added two hits. Senior pitcher Henry Watson got the win in relief by pitching the final two innings.
The following afternoon, the Hornets were on the road for contest against North Haven and won by the score of 5-2. Senior Zane Kmietek earned his second win of the year by pitching six solid innings for the Hornets, who scored two runs in the first inning, one in the second, and two more in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead. Mendoza worked a scoreless seventh to get the save. Caron tripled and two had two RBI, while Suppa doubled twice and drove home a run for Branford.
Then on April 21, Branford played Career at the East Shore Athletic Complex and won big by the final score of 22-2.
Softball
The Hornets took defeats against Shelton and Hand last week, and then finished the week victory versus Hillhouse to move to 2-6 this year.
Branford had a home game versus Shelton on April 17 and took a 19-3 defeat. The next day, the Hornets played a SCC Quinnipiac Division game at Hand and lost by a 15-0 final.
Then on April 20, Branford hosted Hillhouse for another divisional game and prevailed 15-5 in five innings. The Hornets scored three runs in the first inning and 12 more in the second to get the win against the Academics. Junior Lexi Falcigno had a huge day at the dish by collecting five hits with five RBI, including a double and a home run. Fellow junior Jess Shanley tripled for the Hornets, who saw freshman Paige Richardson earn the win on the mound.
Boys’ Tennis
Branford notched wins versus East Haven and Cheshire last week, before dropping a contest to Fairfield Prep to move to 4-3.
The Hornets hosted East Haven at Guilford Racquet Club on April 16 and defeated the Yellowjackets 7-0. The contest featured a different format with each match a one-setter to eight points. Senior Bradley Stutzman and junior Praneeth Ganedi won 6-0, 6-0 decisions at the top two singles spots for the Hornets. Senior Chris DeLise prevailed 8-2 at No. 3 singles, and sophomore Jaden Andersen won 8-1 in the No. 4 singles match. For doubles, Branford’s top team of junior Paul Riccio and sophomore Eli Hanlon won an 8-4 decision, the No. 2 team of juniors Kurt Schalper and Dan McGuire won 8-0, and senior Shane Dostie and junior Dan Pagliaro earned an 8-1 win in the No. 3 match.
Two days later, the Hornets edged by a 4-3 final at Branford High School. On April 20, Branford hosted Fairfield Prep and took a 7-0 loss.
Boys’ Lacrosse
Branford took three defeats last week to move to 3-5 on the year.
On April 16, Branford was at East Lyme for a non-conference game and dropped a 14-8 decision. On April 18, the Hornets were back on the road to face SCC foe Guilford and took a 20-9 defeat. Branford finished the week by traveling to Monore for a non-conference game against Masuk and lost by a 14-9 final.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
The Hornets were in Wallingford for a big quad-meet involving Sheehan, Fairfield Prep, and Guilford on April 17. Branford prevailed 79-67 against Fairfield Prep, won 80-59 versus Guilford, and took a 90-60 defeat against Sheehan to improve to 5-2 on the year.
Junior Marzio Mastroianni took first place in both the 400 (52.89) and the 800 (2:03.68) for the Hornets. Justin Dombrowski finished first in the pole vault by clearing 10 feet, and fellow Matt Alexander won the long jump with a leap of 19 feet-3.75 inches.
Recording second-place finishes for the Hornets were junior Brandon Perez in the long jump (18-0.5) and high jump (5-4), sophomore Sean Jansen in the pole vault (10-0), and the 4x800 relay of senior Kadir Sahin, sophomore Andrew Betzig, senior Harry Troidle, and junior Matt Daley (9:00.73).