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05/05/2019 12:00 AMThe East Haven baseball team qualified for the Class L State Tournament by earning three victories in SCC Hammonsset Division action last week. The Yellowjackets improved to 8-6 overall with a record of 5-1 in the division after taking three of their four games on the week. Head Coach Butch Johnson wants his squad to keep gaining momentum as East Haven vies to get the best possible seed in states.
“It takes a lot of the pressure off us where we can relax a bit knowing we’re in, but we still have to try to get a few more wins,” Johnson said. “Last year, we won nine games and still needed to play in a play-in game. That’s the first time that’s happened in a long time, so we don’t want to be happy with eight.”
East Haven scored one-sided wins over Hammonasset opponents Branford (11-1), Law (10-1), and Fairfield Prep (8-0) to go with a 12-2 defeat versus Foran in last week’s contests.
On April 29, East Haven earned an 11-1 home victory against crosstown rival Branford to complete a season sweep of the Hornets. Senior captain Nate Furino tossed a two-hitter to lead East Haven to the win. Senior captain Steve Mingione and fellow senior Gianni Mumford had two hits apiece for the Yellowjackets, who pushed home six runs during a huge third inning.
“It’s always a big rivalry, great to beat them twice,” Coach Johnson said. “They lost a lot to graduation and are very young. When you jump on young teams early and you get good pitching, it’s hard to battle back. We were able to do that both times.”
Two days later, East Haven took a 12-2 road loss to Foran in its only non-divisional game of the week. Senior Giro Esposito drove in both of East Haven’s runs during the fourth inning. Senior Robert Garcia had two hits and scored a run.
The Yellowjackets rebounded nicely the following day, when they defeated Law by the final score of 10-1 in a home game. Sophomore Nick Furino earned the win on the hill by allowing just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Mumford closed out the game on the mound for the Easties. Senior captain Jack Kabel had two hits, including a double, and scored three runs on the day.
“Nick Furino has been consistent all year,” Johnson said. “Nick threw a gem, and then we came in with Gianni Mumford to pitch a few innings to shut them down. It was a solid performance.”
East Haven wrapped up the week by posting an 8-0 shutout over Fairfield Prep at Fairfield University on May 3. With the win, the Yellowjackets not only qualified for states, they also recorded their first season sweep of the Jesuits in several years. Nate Furino pitched a complete-game four-hitter and struck out 11 to pick up his fifth win of the spring.
“When he’s on, Nate’s as good as anybody there is. He had three pitches working, and he hit his locations,” Coach Johnson said. “He was putting the ball where he wanted, and he had the batters guessing all game.”
Mingione had two hits and two RBI, Nick Furino collected three hits, scored two runs, and drove in one, and junior Mike Streeto added a hit and two RBI in the victory.
It was a solid week for the Easties, who bounced back from a four-game losing streak on their way to making states. Coach Johnson knows that pitching will continue to be key as the Yellowjackets battle for positioning in the Class L bracket
“I think it all comes down to if our pitchers are throwing well. If so, we’ll be in every game,” he said. “Pitching always sets the tone. If we get the performances from Nate, Nick, and Jack, everybody gets more confident.”
From the Sidelines
The East Haven baseball team has earned two victories versus Branford (8-3 and 11-1) and Fairfield Prep (3-2 and 8-0), in addition to one win apiece against Shelton (6-3), Lyman Hall (14-4) Foran (3-2), and Law (10-1) this year.
The Yellowjackets have taken two defeats to North Haven (11-4) and (6-5), along with one loss against Waterford (14-6), Norte Dame-West Haven (10-4), Norwalk (11-5), and Foran (12-2).
For the rest of this season, East Haven has a game at Law at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8; is hosting Shelton at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, May 10; will play at Lyman Hall at 3:45 p.m. on Monday, May 13; faces Coginchaug at home at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 16; and has a game in West Haven at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 20.