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06/24/2018 12:00 AMJunior Legion Baseball
The East Haven Junior American Legion baseball team continued its hot start to the 2018 summer season by winning two of its three games in Zone 2 play last week. After splitting a pair of matchups with Branford, the 89ers closed out the week by notching a lopsided victory versus New Haven. East Haven currently sits in first place in the Zone 2 standings with its record of 5-1.
Last week’s action for East Haven started with a 4-0 victory over Branford on June 19. Gianni Mumford pitched 6.1 shutout innings that saw him strike out seven, after which Jonathan Crisci recorded the final two outs of the game to preserve the shutout. Giro Esposito collected two hits and scored a run, while Robbie Garcia, Mumford, and Thomas Sabin each had one hit with a run scored. AJ Maggiore had a double with an RBI, and John Ruggiero added a hit and an RBI in the victory.
Two days later, East Haven took its first loss of the year when it dropped a 4-2 decision against Branford. Maggiore led off the game with an infield hit, and the bases were juiced after Mike Streeto and Ruggiero drew back-to-back walks. Esposito singled to drive in Maggiore, but Post 89 left a few runners on base to end the frame. East Haven’s other run came in the top of the seventh, when Streeto led off with a hit and scored a run on a hit by Esposito. Jake Marquardt turned in a respectable effort on the mound by allowing four runs and striking out four in six innings.
East Haven closed out its week by recording a 14-6 victory against New Haven on June 24. Ruggiero started strong by fanning two of the first three batters he faced on his way to an eight-strikeout performance to earn the victory. John Crisci tossed an inning of relief, after which Maggiore struck out the side in the seventh to close the shutters.
Offensively, East Haven went ahead early and sent runners across home plate throughout the game. In the first inning, Maggiore led off with a double and then scored on a single by Streeto. In the second, Mike O’Connor knocked home a pair of runners, before Streeto hit his second RBI single of the game. Ruggiero drove in a pair of runs in the fourth, O’Connor had a RBI single that plated Freddie Mascola in the fifth, and then Thomas Sabin doubled in two more runs to highlight the sixth inning for the 89ers.
Senior Legion Baseball
The 89ers’ Senior Legion baseball team picked up of first three wins of the season by recording a trio of victories via forfeit against New Haven last week. The teams were slated to play a doubleheader on June 23 and another game the following day, but since New Haven was unable to field a full squad, the 89ers were awarded three wins to move to 3-5 in Zone 2 action. East Haven is in sixth place in the zone standings, 3.5 games behind first-place Branford.
On June 17, East Haven took a 6-5 loss against North Haven that completed a three-game sweep of the series for Post 76. Jake Ferrara pitched well for East Haven in the losing effort. Mark Smith had a hit and three RBI, while Gabe Longley and Tristan Punzo both had a hit with an RBI for the 89ers. Anthony Buffone finished the contest with two hits, and Ferrara had one hit.
Following that loss, East Haven took a 9-0 defeat against Branford on June 20. Frank Longley started on the mound and was perfect through three innings. However, Branford put up a big inning in the sixth inning and went on to get the win. Offensively, East Haven had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, but a hard-hit grounder couldn’t find a hole, and Branford was able to escape the jam. Ferrara had two hits, while Buffone had one for East Haven in the defeat.
Two days later, the 89ers took a 6-1 loss against Branford. Ferrara started on the hill and was throwing well, but had to leave the game after reaching his pitch limit in the sixth inning, changing the momentum for the 89ers. Leading 2-1, Branford got a key two-out hit and then tacked on a few more insurance runs. Smith had three hits and scored a run, Ferrara had an RBI single, and Punzo finished the game with a pair of hits for East Haven.
The 89ers then put a few wins in the books when New Haven had to forfeit three games to the 89ers. It wasn’t the way that Head Coach John Longley envisioned his team winning games this year, although he was glad to see East Haven get in the win column. With numbers down for the club this summer, Longley knows it’s going to be a challenge for the 89ers to fight for a spot in the State Tournament.
“We don’t have the numbers that we had last year. We had to call up some younger kids, but it’s not like we’re not in the games. I think we have 10 Senior players, and that’s tough to work with,” Longley said. “We’ll work to clean up some things and hope to put some wins together. We’ll keep playing hard and hope to put those wins together, because our first goal is to get into the playoffs.”