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07/13/2018 12:00 AMSenior Legion Baseball
The North Haven Senior American Legion baseball team is in third place in the Zone 2 standings with its record of 13-5 in zone play this summer, trailing Hamden (15-3) by two games for first place entering the home stretch of the regular season. In last week’s action, Post 76 took a loss versus Hamden, swept a three-game series against West Haven, and then lost two of three against Stratford. Brendan Clark and Zach Pincince combined to throw a five-inning perfect game in an 11-0 victory in the first game of the West Haven series on July 10.
North Haven took a 3-1 defeat versus Hamden at DeMayo Ballfield on July 8. Hamden broke open a scoreless game by scoring three runs in the sixth inning. Down to its last chance in the seventh, North Haven got on the board when Hunter Garthwait doubled and scored on a single by Kevin Lucey. Post 76 had runners at first and second with nobody out, but was unable to get any more runs across. Luca Lawrence took the loss while allowing just one run in 4.2 innings.
Later that day, North Haven hosted the Connecticut Grind for a non-zone game and dropped a 1-0 decision. Nate Zalegowski allowed one run in 3.1 innings for Post 76, who received 1.2 scoreless innings from Tom Myjak and two shutout innings Zach Pincince. Lucey had two singles in the loss.
North Haven was then awarded a victory via forfeit over New Haven for a game that was scheduled to be played on July 9.
The following day, North Haven opened up a three-game series with West Haven by posting an 11-0 road win at Piurek Field. Clark and Pincince joined forces to pitch perfect game for Post 76, which scored at least one run in every inning, before the mercy rule was called into effect after the fifth. Clark struck out six in three scoreless innings, after which Pincince threw two scoreless innings for North Haven.
At the plate, Dave Christoforo drew threw walks, had a single, stole a base, and finished the day with three RBI. Lucey went 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI, and a stolen base. Danny Cannavaciolo was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, Erbe had a walk with a run scored and two RBI, and Peyton Farina doubled with two runs, a stolen base, and an RBI. Also, Pincince singled to go with a run and two stolen bases, while Clark had a single with two runs scored.
Post 76 hosted West Haven at Bailey Road field the next day and squeaked out a 6-5 victory. The game was tied 2-2 until North Haven scored three runs in the fourth inning. West Haven scored two runs in the sixth and a run in the seventh to make it 6-5, but could get no closer. Griffin Bottomley allowed one unearned run in three innings pitched for North Haven. Nate Zalegowski got the win by pitching 2.2 innings that saw him give up three runs, just one which was earned. Clark notched the save by throwing the final 1.1 innings and allowing just one unearned run in the seventh.
Erbe had a big day at the dish by going 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, and three RBI. Lucey walked twice and singled, while Clark had two walks to go with two runs scored, a stolen base, and an RBI. Farina had a walk with a run and an RBI, and Myjak hit a single, scored a run, and a stole a base.
On July 12, North Haven was back in West Haven and claimed an 8-2 win to cap off a sweep of the three-game set. Myjak earned the win by allowing just one run in 3.1 innings pitched, while striking out six. Pincince tossed 2.1 scoreless innings with four K’s.
Lucey went 2-for-3 with a double, a run, and four RBI; Gianni DiMartino was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs scored; and Cannavaciolo had a single with two runs and two RBI in the win. Additionally, Farina singled, scored a run, and drove in a run; Erbe had a single with a walk and an RBI, Christian Somma drew two walks and scored a run, and Christoforo added a double for Post 76.
Two days later, North Haven split a doubleheader in Stratford by losing the first game 1-0 and winning the second game by a 4-2 final in a 16-inning marathon. Lawrence took a tough loss in the opener by allowing just three hits and one run in a six-inning effort. Brendan Duffy pitched a no-hitter for Stratford, which plated the game’s lone run in the second inning.
In the second game, North Haven trailed 2-0 entering the top of the seventh, when it scored two runs to tie it up. Post 76 and Stratford went into extra innings and the game stayed tied until North Haven pushed two runs across in the 16th inning. In the seventh, Pincince’s RBI single made it 2-1 and then Farina tied the game by hitting an RBI single. In the 16th, Lawrence walked to lead off and later came home with the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. After that, Lucey’s groundout scored Cannavaciolo with an insurance run for a 4-2 advantage.
After Bottomley allowed just two runs in six innings, Clark came on for relief and wound up pitching 8.2 scoreless innings in which he gave up just two hits and fanned seven to keep the game tied during extras. Lawrence ultimately got the win by pitching 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. Pincince went 3-for-6 with an RBI, Cannavaciolo had two hits and scored a run, Christoforo drew three walks and scored a run, Clark had two walks with a single and a run, and Somma added a double for North Haven.
The following morning, North Haven took a 3-0 loss to Stratford at DeMayo Ballfield to move to 18-6 overall on the season.
Junior Legion Baseball
The Post 76 Juniors have a record of 14-4 in Zone 2 play and sit in second place in the zone standings, trailing Hamden (16-3) by 1.5 games for the top spot in the waning stages of the regular season. In its most recent games, North Haven shut out Branford, won of three in a series against Stratford, and swept a doubleheader versus West Haven.
North Haven earned a 3-0 victory at Branford in a Zone 2 matchup on July 9. Post 76 scored all three runs of the game in the top of the sixth inning on their way to the win. Ryan Sullivan singled home Mason Balmer and Colby Cusano to give North Haven a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, Anthony Cretella scored when John Gontarek grounded out to first base. Gontarek also had a double in the game. Jaden Luedee earned the win for Post 76 by throwing 3.1 scoreless innings of relief. Starting pitching Owen Silk pitched two scoreless innings, and Nick Rossi recorded the save by pitching a scoreless seventh.
The following day, North Haven traveled to Stratford for a Zone 2 game and captured a 5-1 victory. Then on July 12, Post 76 hosted Stratford for a doubleheader at DeMayo Ballfield and split the set by winning the first game 6-0 and taking a 5-4 defeat in eight innings for the second contest. In the first game, Sullivan started and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, Rossi got the win by pitching 3.2 scoreless innings, and Gontarek threw a scoreless seventh inning. Cusano singled twice and walked, Jason Landino doubled, stolen a base, and scored a run; Jack Peruso doubled, walked, and had two RBI; and Silk doubled, walked, and scored a run. Rossi walked twice and scored a run, while Mason Balmer singled with a walk and a run scored for North Haven.
In the second game, North Haven was down 4-3 entering the seventh inning and rallied to tie it up, but Stratford scored a run in the top of the eighth and then held on for the win. Luedee pitched five strong innings of relief for Post 76, only allowing the one run in the eighth inning. Silk singled and doubled with two RBI, Rossi singled and doubled to go with a run and an RBI, Cusano doubled and scored a run, and Balmer had a single with an RBI.
On July 14, Post 76 took both ends of a doubleheader versus West Haven at DeMayo Ballfield. North Haven defeated West Haven by final scores of 9-2 and 9-1 to get the sweep.
During the previous week’s action, Post 76 took two of three in a series against Zone 2 rival East Haven. North Haven swept a doubleheader with the 89ers at DeMayo Ballfield on July 7 behind final scores of 9-2 and 7-5. The next day, Post 76 took an 8-0 loss to East Haven at Bailey Road Field.
In the first game of the doubleheader, Anthony Cincola notched the win on the mound for North Haven by allowing two runs (1 earned) in 4.1 innings pitched. Gontarek threw 1.2 scoreless innings, and Silk worked a scoreless seventh to close it out. Silk also went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two RBI, while Anthony Cretella was 2-for-2 with a double, a pair of runs scored and two RBI. Cusano added a single with a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base in the 9-2 triumph.
In the second game, North Haven and East Haven were tied 3-3, before Post 76 scored two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth, and another in the seventh to take a 7-3 lead on its way to the 7-5 victory. Rossi earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief, and Luedee got the save by retiring the last two batters of the game when East Haven was putting together a rally. Cusano was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI, while Sullivan went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run, and a stolen base for Post 76. Silk hit a double with an RBI, and Gontarek added a single with an RBI in the win.
East Haven avoided the series sweep by posting an 8-0 shutout against North Haven the following day. Rossi singled to account for Post 76’s only hit in the game. Luedee threw a scoreless inning of relief in the defeat.
Prep Legion Baseball
North Haven has won six of its last seven games in Zone A action to improve to 9-10 in the standings and move into third place. Post 76 is trailing Wallingford (10-5) by three games for first place in the zone as the regular season draws to a close. North Haven recently swept a three-game series with West Haven and then split a doubleheader against Branford.
On July 8, North Haven was on the road to face West Haven for a doubleheader at Painter Park. Post 76 swept the twin bill by earning an 8-2 victory in the first game and a 9-1 win in the second game. Two days later, Post 76 hosted West Haven and Bailey Road Field and prevailed by a 12-2 final to complete the three-game sweep.
The very next day, North Haven took on Branford in a doubleheader at DeMayo Ballfield. North Haven took a 7-4 loss in the opener and then won the nightcap by the final score of 5-2.