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06/28/2018 12:00 AMSenior Legion Baseball
The North Haven Senior American Legion baseball squad recently ventured to St. Joseph College in Standish, Maine to compete in a tournament that featured several AAU teams. North Haven won its first four games to advance to the championship contest, where Post 76 took a 5-3 loss to the Brigade Baseball Club on June 25.
Two days later, North Haven opened up a three-game series against Zone 2 opponent Branford and took a 3-2 defeat. Head Coach Tim Binkoski’s club now has a record of 3-2 in Zone 2 to go with an overall mark of 9-3. North Haven is in fourth place in the zone, trailing Branford (6-0) by three games for first place.
North Haven started off its tournament in Maine by notching a 6-1 win against the West Hartford Senior Legion team on June 27. The following day, Post 76 defeated Spinners Prospect from Lowell, Massachusetts, 15-2. North Haven faced another AAU team in the Maine Sluggers of Brewer, Maine that same afternoon and held a 5-0 lead when the game was postponed due to rain in the third inning.
The day after that, Post 76 blanked the New Hampshire Bulldogs from Conway, New Hampshire by a 10-0 score, after which they resumed their game against the Sluggers. North Haven went on to earn a 12-4 victory to move on to the final, where Post 76 lost a 5-3 decision in eight innings versus the Brigade Baseball Club.
In the win over the Bulldogs, Hunter Garthwait recorded the victory by tossing four scoreless innings with five strikeouts for North Haven. Danny Cannavaciolo pitched two scoreless innings to close out the 10-0 victory. North Haven featured a balanced offensive attack that saw Post 76 get eight hits, four walks, and six stolen bases, in addition to having four batters get hit by a pitch. Dave Christoforo went 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, two RBI, and a stolen base; while Cannvaciolo was 2-for-2 with a run, three RBI, and a steal. Zach Pincince added a double with a walk, two runs scored, and a pair of RBI. Kevin Lucey singled, walked, scored a run, drove in two runs, and stole a base for North Haven.
In the 12-4 victory versus the Maine Sluggers, Tom Myjak earned the win on the hill by pitching three scoreless innings in which he fanned five. Nate Zalegowski threw a scoreless seventh. Lucey went 2-for-2 with a triple, two walks, a run scored, and two RBI; Christian Somma was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI; Gianni DeMartino went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI; and Garthwait had a double with three RBI for Post 76. Pincince singled with a walk, two runs scored, and an RBI; Brendan Clark singled, walked, scored a run, drove in a run, and had a stolen base; and Zalegowski scored two runs to go with a walk.
In the championship game, North Haven scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Pincince singled and scored on an error for the first run. Clark, who had walked, scored the second run on a wild pitch. The Brigade Baseball Club scored three runs in the fourth to go up 3-2.
Down to its last at-bat, North Haven rallied for a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. Myjak singled with one out and then Zalegowski’s two-out double brought him home for a 3-3 score. The game went to the eighth inning, where Brigade pushed across two runs to take a 5-3 lead. In the bottom half, Clark was hit by a pitch and Lucey singled to put two men on, but Brigade’s pitcher struck out the final batter to solidify the victory.
Clark started on the mound and gave up three runs in four innings for Post 76. Zalegowski allowed two runs in three innings, and Myjak threw a scoreless inning. Zalegowski also had a single to go with his RBI double. Post 76 had another busy day on the bases as Somma, Myjak, Clark, Garthwait, and Pincince all stole a base.
Then on June 27, North Haven dropped a 3-2 decision at Branford in a Zone 2 matchup. North Haven trailed 1-0, before scoring a run in the fourth inning and another in the fifth to go up 2-1. Cannavaciolo singled and scored on a single by Clark for the go-ahead run. However, Branford came back with a pair of runs in the sixth inning and held on for the one-run victory. Griffin Bottomley started and allowed three runs (1 earned) in five innings for Post 76. Peyton Farina singled and scored a run, and Clark finished the game with two singles for North Haven.
Junior Legion Baseball
North Haven recently played two games against Zone 2 rival Branford and came away with a pair of victories. Post 76 prevailed 9-4 at Branford on June 26 notched an 11-0 shutout over Post 83 at home the following day. Head Coach Pete Katynski’s club now has a record of 6-2 in Zone 2 and is in third place, 1.5 games behind first-place Hamden (8-1).
On June 26, North Haven claimed a 9-4 win at Branford in the opener of a three-game series. North Haven led 6-1 when Branford scored three runs in the bottom of sixth inning to make it a two-run game. However, Post 76 came back with three runs in the top of the seventh to pad their lead. Anthony Cincola pitched 5.1 innings for the win, allowing four runs. Dave Turcio pitched 0.2 of an inning, and Ryan Sullivan threw the seventh inning for North Haven.
At the plate, John Gontarek drew three walks and scored two runs for Post 76. Colby Cusano had a single with two runs, two RBI, and a stolen base; Owen Silk singled, scored a run, and had two RBI; and Gianni DiMartino had a single with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Nick Rossi, Anthony Cretella, and Jason Landino all had an RBI in the victory.
The next day, Post 76 hosted Branford at DeMayo Ballfield and blanked Post 83 by an 11-0 score. Dan Meyers pitched four scoreless innings with four K’s to get the win, after which Nick Rossi threw a scoreless fifth inning. North Haven scored seven runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth, before the game was called due to the mercy rule the following inning.
Meyers also had a big day at the dish by collecting a single with four RBI. Rossi was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, Silk walked twice and had a single to go with two runs and an RBI, while Jack Peruso drew two walks and scored two runs. Cusano doubled with a run scored and an RBI, Mason Balmer hit a double, scored a run, and had a stolen base; and Ryan Sullivan singled to go with a run scored and an RBI for North Haven.