This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/18/2020 12:00 AMComing off of a season that featured a record of 18-7 and an SCC Oronoque Division title, Head Coach Travis LaPointe and the Hand baseball team were excited to embark on their 2020 campaign. Before they knew it, that excitement turned to devastation when the Tigers found out they wouldn’t even be able to play so much as a single exhibition game this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, instead of trying to follow up last year’s success with another great campaign, Hand will have to wait until the 2021 season for its next conquest.
“It is devastating. Sports are not the most important thing in the world, but they are a huge part of all of our lives,” LaPointe said. “Our baseball team has become like family over the past few years, and it is hard not to be around all the guys, knowing that we can never get this season back.”
Among their biggest triumphs in 2019, the Tigers notched two wins against Guilford (19-13 and 7-4) and Fairfield Prep (8-6 and 5-2), in addition to a 2-1, walk-off win over Waterford and a 2-1 victory versus Ledyard, which was the No. 1-ranked team in the state at the time. Hand wound up making it to the semifinals of the SCC Tournament and the quarterfinals of the Class L State Tournament.
Coach LaPointe will always appreciate what his team achieved last season. LaPointe said the Tigers played with a no-quit mentality, and he was looking forward to seeing that same demeanor on the field this year.
“There was a refusal to lose that existed every game,” said LaPointe. “Waterford came in and played a great game. It was high pressure, and every out felt like it would end up deciding the game. We ended up winning in walk-off style in extra innings, and we never really looked back. We weren’t always the better team, but I felt that every game, we were the tougher team.”
Hand ultimately won five games in walk-off fashion last year. One of the key players who was coming back to the club is junior Anthony DePino, who posted a .373 batting average to go with 12 doubles, four home runs, and 22 RBI on the campaign. Junior Colin Telford batted .347, scored 15 runs, and seven stolen bases. On the mound, senior Liam Wallace posted a record of 7-1 with a 1.92 earned-run average last spring.
Phoenix Billings was also returning to the Tigers for his senior season. Billings hit at a .293 clip also had two homers with 20 runs scored and 17 RBI as a junior.
Coach LaPointe said that Billings, Wallace, Telford, and DePino were all going to be major contributors for Hand in 2020. Billings, Wallace, and DePino each made the All-SCC Oronoque Division Team last year, while Billings also garnered All-State accolades.
LaPointe went on to give special thanks to all of his senior athletes for how they contributed to the program by helping the Tigers reach new heights throughout the past few seasons. In addition to Billings, the seniors on Hand’s roster are fellow captain Jared Kuryan, along with Mikey Catalano, Tucker Godiksen, Ken Nuzzi, Austin Doyle, Aiden Patrick, and George Anastasio.
“Our seniors will be missed so much, and they should be so proud knowing that they helped build such a great foundation and a special culture,” LaPointe said. “They will leave as the seniors that have compiled the highest win percentage ever in the history of Daniel Hand baseball. This group had an opportunity to win a title this year, but they all performed like champions.”