Printer Friendly Version - North Haven Baseball Takes Two in States, Before Losing to Guilford; Marriott Wins Two Events at Class MM Meet

Sophomore Dave Christoforo hit a walk-off homer that capped off a crazy comeback for the North Haven baseball team in its 9-6 victory versus Berlin in the second round of the Class L State Tournament. The Indians went on to take a 5-4, eight-inning loss against Guilford in the quarterfinal round and finish the year with a record of 19-6. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

On the heels of getting Bob DeMayo his 900th win as head coach of the North Haven baseball team, the Indians opened up the Class L State Tournament by claiming victory in their first two games last week, before taking an extra-inning loss versus Guilford in the quarterfinals. The Indians earned a 3-1 win over Woodstock Academy, rallied for a ridiculous 9-6 walk-off victory against Berlin, and then lost to Guilford by a 5-4 final in 10 innings in a quarterfinal contest. Coach DeMayo’s squad finished its season with an overall record of 19-6.

North Haven began the Class L State Tournament with a first-round home game on May 29, and the 2nd-seeded Indians claimed a 3-1 victory against No. 31 seed Woodstock Academy. North Haven scored a run in the first inning when Andrew Laudano singled and scored on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Dave Christoforo. The Centaurs knotted the game with a run in the third inning, and it stayed tied until the Indians scored twice in the sixth. Erbe singled and scored the go-ahead run when Christoforo hit a double. Pinch runner Christian Somma later came home on a base hit from senior catcher Kevin Lucey, who also threw out a pair of runners attempting to steal second in the game.

Nate Zalegowski allowed one unearned run in 2.1 innings, after which fellow senior Luca Lawrence came on in the third and worked out of a jam on his way to pitching 4.2 scoreless innings to improve to 8-0.

The following afternoon, North Haven hosted No. 18 Berlin in the second round and rallied for an improbable 9-6 victory by scoring eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Erbe singled in the tying run with one out and then Christoforo blasted a three-run, walk-off home run—his second of the inning—to win it for the Indians.

Berlin scored a run in the first inning and another in the fifth to take a 2-0 lead. North Haven made it 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Perillie singled and scored on a double by Garthwait. Berlin came back with a run in the sixth and three in the seventh to put the Indians in a 6-1 hole entering the bottom half of the seventh.

Christoforo led off by hitting a solo homer. Lucey followed with a double, and Somma pinch ran for him. Perillie singled and then sophomore Matt DeRosa walked to load the bases, ending the day for Berlin’s starter, Adam Bilinsky. In came Gianni Fanelli, who gave up an RBI single to Garthwait that scored Somma to make it 6-3. Following a strikeout, senior Andrew Laudano drew a walk that forced in Perillie and cut it to 6-4. Junior Justin Shea pinch ran for Laudano. Farina drew another walk to bring in DeRosa and make it 6-5. Erbe singled in Garthwait to tie the score and, with the bases still loaded, Christoforo homered to win the game. Erbe was called out for interference and so, instead of a grand slam, it was a three-run shot for Christoforo with Shea and Farina scoring ahead of him.

Junior Ben Sbabo allowed two runs through 4.1 innings, before senior Zach Pincince came in for relief. Pincince threw two innings, allowing four runs (1 earned), after which Sbabo came back in to retire the final two batters of the seventh.

North Haven advanced to face No. 10 seed Guilford in the Class L quarterfinals in a game that began on June 2 and was completed the following day. Trailing 1-0, North Haven scored four runs in the second inning. Erbe homered to lead it off, and then DeRosa’s RBI single put the Indians up 2-1. Garthwait followed with a bases-loaded walk to force in a run, after which junior Matt Solomon hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1. The score stayed that way until Guilford scored two runs in the sixth inning to cut it to 4-3. In the top of the seventh, Guilford used a leadoff walk, a stolen base, and a one-out single to tie the score at 4 and, ultimately, send the game to extra innings.

North Haven loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, when the game was suspended due to rain. When play resumed the next day, Guilford’s pitcher was able to escape the jam by getting a pair of outs. In the top of the 10th, Guilford took a 5-4 lead on a two-out single. Lucey reached on a one-out single in the bottom half of the inning, but North Haven couldn’t push the tying run across.

Lucey, Christoforo, and DeRosa all had two hits for the Indians. Solomon had a single with a walk, an RBI, and a stolen base. Lawrence pitched 6.1 innings for North Haven, after which Pincince threw the next 2.2 innings. Zalegowski retired two batters in the 10th inning, and Sbabo got the final out.

Prior to playing in states, North Haven took a 7-0 loss at Fairfield Prep in the semifinals of the SCC Tournament on May 24. The 4th-seeded Indians had advanced to the semis by earning a 7-6 quarterfinal win versus Amity the previous day, marking DeMayo’s 900th win as the Indians’ head coach. Facing top-seeded Fairfield Prep, Sbabo pitched three scoreless innings for the Indians. Junior John Gontarek, senior Chris Ciarleglio, and Garthwait each pitched one inning of relief. Lucey drew two walks, while Perillie singled and stole a base.

Junior Erica Marriott claimed first place in the long jump and the 200-meter dash to lead North Haven to a third-place finish at the Class MM State Championship. The Indians scored 49 points to take third place at Middletown High School on May 30.

Marriott hit a distance of 18 feet-4.5 inches to defeat runner-up Olivia Johnson of St. Joseph (17-10-0.5) and win the long jump for the third year in a row at states. In the 200, Marriott ran a time of 24.92 seconds to edge out Bridget Lalonde from RHAM, who ran a 25.25.

Junior Giselle Zumerchik took second place in the 300 hurdles with a time of 47.15, right behind Avon’s Carly Carpino (46.60). Zumerchik also ran a time of 16.19 to place fourth in the preliminaries of the 100 hurdles and then bettered her time to 15.76 to finish third in the finals. Junior Sarina Sandwell earned second place in the triple jump with a leap of 35-5, only finishing behind Aliya Cameron of Sacred Heart (36-6). Marriott, Sandwell, freshman Sofia Fappiano, and senior Ashley Brown teamed up for the 4x400 relay and took fifth place with a mark of 4:13.71.

Junior Camille Sahirul came in seventh place for the triple jump (34-4.5) and finished 19th in the long jump (15-8.5). Senior Kyla DelVecchio placed eighth in the javelin with a throw of 102-4. Samantha Helwig took 13th in the javelin (90-11), while fellow sophomore Courtney McFarland finished 14th in the shot put (29-10.75).

The Indians’ 4x100 relay of Brown, sophomore Samantha Curcio, freshman Paula Fappiano, and Sandwell took 12th place at 53.08. Curcio also placed 22nd for the 100 prelims (13.45) and finished 36th in the 200 (28.57).

Sophomores Ethan Okwuosa and Kyle Maruca both scored points in two events to lead the Indians at last week’s Class L State Championship. North Haven scored 20 points and finished in 14th place at the meet on May 29.

Okwuosa took fourth place in the triple jump by reaching a distance of 41 feet-9.25 inches at the state meet. He also claimed eighth place in the long jump at 20-1.75. Maruca placed fourth in the shot put (46-3.25) to go with a fifth-place finish in the discus (133-1).

Eric Milliard took sixth place in the shot put at 45-2.5, while fellow senior Joe DePrimo finished eighth in the event with a 43-10.75. Robert Farley finished eighth in the 300 intermediate hurdles by running a time of 42.20 seconds. He also placed 11th for the preliminaries of the 100 high hurdles in 16.62 and finished 12th in the pole vault by clearing 11 feet. Fellow junior Eric Spignesi placed ninth in the pole vault with a height of 11-6.

Junior Chris Moran took 12th in the triple jump (39-1.5) for the Indians. Luke Maruca came in 13th place (42-4) for the shot put, and fellow sophomore Matt Mullen was 22nd (38-3.5).

North Haven’s 4x800 relay of senior Corey Reilly, junior Jobin Valiyaveettil, freshman Patrick Rourke, and junior Jack Opramolla finished 17th (8:56.05); while the 4x400 of junior John Crispi, senior Matt Biehl, Spignesi, and Opramolla came in 18th place (3:46.36).

North Haven won its first two games of the Class M State Tournament and then took a loss to Lauralton Hall in the quarterfinals.

The 15th-seeded Indians played Class M qualifying-round match against No. 18 Waterford at Killingly High School on May 26. North Haven came away with a 4-3 victory to move on to a first-round contest against 2nd-seeded Killingly that same day. The Indians earned 6-1 win to advance to a quarterfinal contest against No. 10 seed Lauralton Hall. North Haven lost a 5-2 contest against Lauralton on May 29 and finished the season at 14-10.

Against Waterford, junior Julia Migliorini prevailed 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, senior Rachel Petry won a 6-0, 6-2 decision at No. 2 singles, and sophomore Anna Wootton claimed a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4. The Indians’ top doubles team of senior Katrina Nadolny and sophomore Kara Stevens netted a 6-1, 6-4 victory that sealed the win.

In the Killingly victory, Migliorini and Petry both earned 6-0, 6-0 wins for the Indians, who saw Wootton take a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles. Nadolny and Stevens won 6-2, 6-2; the No. 2 duo of senior Avery Hill and Zoe Bowerman prevailed 6-2, 6-1; and the No. 3 team of juniors Daniella Bryson and Jessica Tran won a 6-4, 6-3 decision.

Facing Lauralton Hall, Migliorini won 6-0, 6-0, while Petry earned a 6-2, 6-2 win.

North Haven saw a couple of players pick up victories at last week’s Class L State Championship.

Junior Nick Cristante claimed a 6-4, 6-0 win in his first-round match and then dropped a 6-3, 6-0 decision in the second round. Senior Riley Powell notched an 8-0 victory in a qualifying-round contest and took a 6-0, 6-0 defeat in the second round. Senior Matt Carroll picked up a qualifying-round win by default and took a 6-1, 6-0 first-round loss. Junior Max Petruzziello lost by an 8-1 score in the qualifying round.

In the doubles tournament, North Haven’s team of junior Quinn Dallai and freshman Tanner Powell claimed a 6-2, 6-1 victory in their first-round matchup and then took a 6-4, 6-4 defeat. Junior Jake Barra and sophomore Laekhram Singh lost a 6-0, 6-1 contest in the first round. The team of senior Ryan Millea and sophomore Andrew Carmody took a 6-3, 6-3 defeat in a first-round match.

North Haven defeated RHAM in its opening game of the Class M State Tournament and then lost to Weston in the next round. The Indians finished with a record of 9-9 on the year.

The 19th-seeded Indians earned a 12-3 victory at No. 14 seed RHAM in the Class M State Tournament qualifying round on May 25. North Haven advanced to face 3rd-seeded Weston in the first round on May 30 and was edged, 10-9.

The Indians competed in the Class M State Tournament as the No. 9 seed and took a 15-10 defeat in a first-round contest at No. 8 Barlow on May 29. North Haven completed its season with a record of 11-7, an SCC Division II championship, and its first berth in the SCC Tournament.

The Indians fell into a 4-1 hole and trailed 7-4 at halftime against Barlow. Junior Meg Christoforo scored three goals for North Haven in the defeat. Senior Kylie Brandt had two goals with an assist, while junior Annie Uyeki scored a goal to go with three assists. Senior Courtney Babbidge, junior Molly Scarpa, and sophomores Madison Fredericks and Erika Holle added one goal apiece. Sophomore Kyla Kennealy made nine saves in net.

Erica Marriott took first place in the long jump and the 200 for the Indians at the Class MM State Championship. Marriott has now won the long jump at states three years in a row. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier