Printer Friendly Version - Hand Boys’ Lacrosse Charges Past Cheshire in OT; Baseball Stays Undefeated, Makes States

Nate Palumbo capped off his four-goal game for the Hand boys’ lacrosse team by netting the game-winner in overtime when the Tigers posted a 9-8 victory over Cheshire on April 16. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Source

The Hand boys’ lacrosse squad took its first loss of the year last week, although the Tigers still posted a pair of victories to stand with a record of 5-1 on the season.

The Tigers started off their week in thrilling fashion by posting an 9-8 victory in overtime at Cheshire on April 16. Hand then downed Hamden with an 18-0 shutout on April 18. The Tigers finished the week with an 8-5 loss to Glastonbury on April 20.

In the Cheshire victory, Nate Palumbo scored four goals, including the game-winner in overtime, for the Tigers. Also contributing on offense were Tom Swank (2 goals), Tom Ferrick (2 goals), and Jack Flanagan (1 goal, 1 assist). Hand outshot Cheshire by a slim 35-33 margin with Griffin Fitzmaurice making 18 saves in net.

Against Hamden, Tom Swank led the way with six goals and two assists for Hand, plus Palumbo added three goals and four assists. Flanagan had a goal and two helpers, while Adam Hendrick, Liam McParland, Robby Swank, Tyler Boris, Charlie Jensen, Van Docker, Scott Roberts, and Ryley Brohel each scored a goal. Fitzmaurice made four stops as Hand outshot the Green Dragons 52-8.

The Tigers ended last week with a record of 6-2 after picking up a pair of wins. Hand began last week with a 15-9 victory over Mercy on April 17. The Tigers then secured an 18-5 win against Shelton on April 19.

The Hand baseball team accomplished quite a bit last week by scoring three divisional wins, staying undefeated, and qualifying for the Class L State Tournament with a mark of 8-0.

Hand opened SCC Hammonasset Division play with a 9-4 win over Sheehan on April 18. The Tigers then earned a 16-0 victory over Career on April 20. Facing divisional rival Amity on April 21, Hand took down the Spartans by a 5-3 final.

Against Sheehan, Kyle Schaefer moved to 3-0 by earning the win on the mound. Eddie Sweeney and James DeGrasse both hit solo home runs for the Tigers. Cam Fitzgerald had two hits and two RBI, Tom Hobin and DeGrasse each had two hits, Ian Butler had a two-RBI single.

Facing Career, Chris Hartmann pitched four innings and struck out eight hitters, while only allowing one hit to move to 1-0. Will Reiner had two hits and three RBI, Paul Gagliardi added two hits and two RBI, and Will Kleinhenz had two hits and two RBI.

In the Amity win, Sweeney had two hits, including a two-run home run and an RBI single. Phoenix Billings had three hits, including two doubles and two runs scored. Hobin had an RBI double, and Butler also doubled for Hand. Spencer Oliver picked up the win to improve to 2-0.

Hand scored a trio of sweeps in its wins last week to stay perfect at 5-0 this year. The Tigers blanked Cheshire 7-0 on April 17, defeated Foran by that same score on April 20, and then posted a 7-0 win over Xavier the following day.

The Tigers’ singles lineup consists of senior captain Justin Pace, freshman Josh Israel, junior Noah Gulla, and fellow junior Max Thompson. Hand’s top doubles teams include senior captain Robbie Israel and freshman Reilly Vejar, senior captain Alex Bueno and sophomore Darby Rogers, junior Nick Chieppo and senior Mickey Glazier, plus sophomore James Watkins and junior Kevin Li.

Hand raised its record to 5-0 after recording three victories in last week’s action. Hand defeated Sacred Heart Academy by a 7-0 final on April 18. The Tigers then shut out Law 6-0 on April 20, before earning a 6-1 decision over Shelton the next day.

The Tigers’ singles players with three wins for the week were Sam Riordan, Lindsay Riordan, and Anne Barrett. Ellie Weinstein won one singles match, and freshman Eileen Chen won her first varsity singles match. The doubles teams of Anna Lang and Lee Jiaen, and Clare Nelson and Nicki Goldfeder each won three doubles matches. Chen took part in two doubles victories, while fellow doubles players Catherine Aranow and Paige VanOstenbridge earned their first varsity wins.

The Tigers took two of three in a recent quad-meet against Hamden, North Haven, and Shelton.

Hand traveled to Hamden for the meet on April 17 and defeated the host Green Dragons 89-69 to go with an 106-44 victory versus North Haven. The Tigers also took a 93-61 defeat to Shelton at the meet.

Hand began the week with a 3-1 loss to Cheshire on April 16, but the Tigers rebounded with a 3-1 victory over Amity two days later. Hand then took a 3-0 defeat against Newtown on April 20.

James DeGrasse and the Hand baseball team earned a berth in the Class L State Tournament after earning three divisional wins last week to improve to 8-0 this year. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Source