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08/24/2019 12:00 AMNorth Haven’s Senior American and Junior American Legion baseball teams recently presented their awards for the 2019 season when Post 76 hosted its annual postseason dinner. The dinner, which was sponsored by J Roo's Restaurant, was held at the American Legion hall in North Haven on Aug. 22. At the event, North Haven honored some of the top players who helped its Senior and Junior Legion clubs put together quality campaigns on the diamond in 2019.
North Haven Post 76 General Manager Charlie Flanagan served as the master of ceremonies when the American Legion program held its annual dinner. Post 76 Commander Robert Maturo presented Flanagan and Coach Binkoski with baseball bats in recognition of all their hard work. Zone 2 Commissioner Joe Mattie also attended the event, as did JoAnn Riccio and members of the Zurlis family.
Dave Christoforo and Ryan Sullivan were the co-recipients of the Senior Legion team’s Most Valuable Player Award. Christoforo won the Best Batting Average Award, while Sullivan and Dan Meyers shared the Pitcher of the Year Award for North Haven. Kevin Lucey received the Fielding Award, the Sportsmanship Award went to Danny Cannavaciolo and Zack Pincince, the Most Improved Player Award was won by Cole Zalegowski, and JJ Mazzaro was presented with the Wise Guy Award.
There were also a few special awards that were handed out to members of the Senior Legion team. Cannavaciolo and Nick Rossi received the Dan Riccio Scholarship Award. Lucey was the recipient of both the Dan Riccio Americanism Award and the Greg Zurlis Scholarship Award. More than $2,000 of scholarship money was presented to players who are either in college or are going to college.
Alex Bauman was named the Most Valuable Player for the North Haven Junior Legion team and also took home the Pitcher of the Year Award. Owen Pincince won the Best Batting Average Award, Derek Novicki received the Fielding Award, Ty Rooney was presented with the Sportsmanship Award, and Jason Senberg won Most Improved Player honors for Post 76.
The North Haven 19-U Senior Legion squad finished with a record of 18-9 in Zone 2 play and came in second place in the zone’s Western Division during the regular season. In the State Tournament, Post 76 notched a 3-1 win against Oakville and then took a 5-3 loss to Stamford in nine innings. Facing elimination, North Haven earned wins over Oakville (3-1) and Stamford (7-1), before dropping a 3-1 decision to Stamford in a winner-take-all contest.
Earlier in the year, Post 76 took the title at the Firecracker Tournament in Maine by winning five games in the tournamet. Post 76 clinched the championship with a 6-3 victory over the South Maine River Rats Elite. Head Coach Tim Binkoski’s team finished with an overall record of 29-14 on the season.
North Haven’s 17-U Junior Legion team posted a record of 10-15 in Zone 2 during the regular season. Post 76 qualified for the State Tournament, where the team earned a 3-1 win versus Fairfield in its opening game. North Haven went on to take a 9-2 loss to Wallingford and a 3-2 defeat against Fairfield in the tournament. Head Coach Pete Katynski’s squad went 12-21 overall this year.