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East Haven Appreciated Opportunity to Play in the CEBA

After the CIAC canceled the spring sports season, it looked like the seniors on the East Haven High School baseball team had played their last game in the blue and yellow. For everyone else on the squad, the cancellation meant that they were going to lose a crucial season of skill development. However, through the Connecticut Elite Baseball Association (CEBA), everyone on East Haven’s roster had a chance to get back on the diamond and play some baseball this summer.

“They were extremely disappointed, especially the seniors, but even the juniors and sophomores, that they didn’t have the opportunity to play. Now that an opportunity arose, they were very excited,” said Kevin Sabin, East Haven’s co-head coach in the CEBA. “Even with the restrictions, the things we were doing to maintain social distancing, they embraced it. It was this or nothing.”

East Haven fielded a U-19 team in the CEBA. The team posted a regular-season record of 6-12 in the Division II standings, then won two games in the Division II Tournament as the No. 8 seed. When all was said and done, East Haven finished the summer with an overall mark of 8-14.

East Haven won 5 of its first 10 regular-season games, defeating Branford, North Haven, and New Haven in the process. However, in its last 11 matchups of the regular season, East Haven was only able to post one victory. Still, Coach Sabin said that his players never let those late-season struggles affect them. Whether they were winning or losing, East Haven’s athletes always held their heads high.

“They played as a team. The older kids were true leaders. They showed them the right way to play the game. It was a pleasure to see,” Sabin said. “As far as wins and losses, we started off hot and then got cold. But when we got cold, the majority of our games were one- or two-run games. The kids were battling. These kids never got down on themselves, and they showed it in the playoffs.”

East Haven faced North Haven in the play-in round of the Division II Tournament. Jake Marquardt, who would have been a senior on the high school team this spring, pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts to lead East Haven to a 2-1 victory.

East Haven went on to face top-seeded Orange, which had finished first in the Division II standings, in the quarterfinal round of the tourney. Gianni Mumford, another recent graduate, took the hill and tossed 6.2 innings with 13 strikeouts as East Haven prevailed by a 4-1 score.

Even though East Haven went on to take a 10-0 loss against Hamden in the semis, Coach Sabin felt proud of his club for shaking off its slump to make some waves in the playoffs.

“The North Haven game was a tight game, well-pitched by both pitchers. It was a battle. It was a pitching duel,” Coach Sabin said. “With Orange, nobody in that ballpark except the people from East Haven thought we could win that game. We told the guys how we played them a few weeks prior in a doubleheader and only lost 3-2 and 3-1. It’s not like they wiped us off the earth. We had a chance, and we showed it.”

Aside from Marquardt and Mumford, the graduating seniors on East Haven’s roster were catcher Mike Streeto and outfielders Michael O’Connor and Noah Danz. Second baseman Giro Esposito and pitcher John Crisci had graduated in 2019. Coach Sabin felt pleased that all of these athletes had “their last opportunity to shine” and was happy to see each of them step into a significant leadership role.

East Haven relied on its trio of Marquardt, Mumford, and Crisci on the pitcher’s mound throughout the CEBA season. Sabin said that when any of those three were pitching, everyone in the dugout, including co-head coach Rich Marquardt, who worked with the pitchers, knew that East Haven had a chance to defeat any opponent.

The other athletes on East Haven’s roster were first baseman/designated hitter CJ Lombardi, infielder Dominic Golia, and outfielders Thomas Sabin and Andrew Voira.

Coach Sabin said that competing in CEBA taught East Haven’s players how to be flexible. In end, they learned how to adapt to the circumstances and were able to come together as a squad. East Haven entered the season looking to get better on the diamond and came away from the campaign with a greater appreciation of what it means to play baseball.

“It’s bittersweet. I’m going to miss all of them. There’s not a kid on this team that I wouldn’t want to play for my team,” said Sabin. “I would take any one of these kids in a heartbeat on my squad. It was a pleasure to give them one more season and go on the run we did. It was good times.”