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06/06/2021 12:00 AMBaseball
The Hand baseball team opened up play in the Class L State Tournament last week and won all three of its contests to move on to the semifinal round. The Tigers are now 19-2 overall on the year.
On June 1, top-seeded Hand hosted Bunnell in a first-round states game and claimed a 13-2 victory versus the Bulldogs. Junior David Antonetti pitched five scoreless innings and struck out nine batters for the Tigers. Senior Danny Weinstein hit a three-run home run in the win.
The next day, Hand faced No. 16 seed Bristol Central for a second-round game and came away with a 9-3 win. Senior Anthony DePino hit a three-run home run and had four RBI to pace the Tigers’ offense. Senior Jack Pireaux added a single with two RBI.
Then on June 5, Hand hosted No. 9 seed Bethel for a quarterfinal contest and prevailed by a 5-1 final. Freshman Ben Kuja hit a two-run single and scored two runs for the Tigers.
Hand faced No. 12 seed Avon in the Class L quarterfinals at Palmer Field in Middletown on June 8 (after press time). With a win, the Tigers would advance to face the winner of No. 2 Berlin and No. 22 Lyman Hall for the title on either Friday, June 11 or Saturday, June 12.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Hand boys’ lacrosse squad advanced to the Class M State Tournament semifinals after winning its first two games of the draw last week. The Tigers improved to 14-5 on the year with these two victories.
The 6th-seeded Tigers started off states by posting a 21-1 home victory over No. 11 seed Lyman Hall on June 2. Three days later, Hand traveled to Redding to face No. 3 seed Barlow in the quarterfinals and claimed a 7-6 win to move into the semis. Hand trailed Barlow 4-1 at halftime, but the Tigers scored the first six goals of the second half and then held on for the one-goal victory.
Senior Ryan Collins scored two goals for the Tigers in the win. Sophomore Sam Sisk, senior Braeden Kosiewicz, junior Kevin Sandor, senior Tatum Fitzmaurice, and junior Mike McGuirk scored one goal apiece. Senior goalkeeper Ryan Bordiere made six saves in net to help Hand prevail.
Hand hosted No. 7 seed Masuk in the Class M semifinals at the Surf Club on June 8 (after press time). If the Tigers won, they will take on the winner of top-seeded East Lyme and No. 4 Weston in the final at Trumbull High School on Saturday, June 8.
Boys’ Tennis
The Hand boys’ tennis team won its opening match in the Class L State Tournament before taking a defeat in the semifinals last week. Hand finished with an overall record of 19-1 in a campaign that saw the squad claim its third-straight SCC title.
Hand was the No. 1 seed in the Class L tourney and had a bye through the first round. The Tigers hosted No. 8 Farmington for a quarterfinal match on June 1 and triumphed by the score of 7-0. The next day, Hand hosted No. 5 seed Wilton in the semifinal round and took a 4-3 defeat.
Girls’ Golf
The Hand girls’ golf squad competed at SCC Championship at Oronoque Country Club in Stratford on June 2. The Tigers finished in fourth place by recording a team score of 471 at the meet.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
The Hand boys’ outdoor track and field team earned runner-up honors at the Class MM State Championship at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on June 2. The Tigers scored a total of 68 points and only placed behind Weston, which took the title with 84 points.
Senior Josh Stewart posted a first-place finish in the 100-meter dash by crossing the finish line in 11.32 seconds for the Tigers. Hand’s 4x400 relay team of junior Paul Odyniec, freshman Kyle Hoffman, senior Connor Parthasarthy, and senior Carson Hines also finished first by recording a time of 3:28.56. The quartet had recently taken first place at the SCC Championship.
The Tigers’ 4x800 relay of junior Jack O’Keefe, senior Joseph Genther, Parthasarthy, and senior Dante Zucconi took second place at 8:12.39 for Hand. In the 400, Hand saw a fourth-place finish from Hines (51.17) and a seventh-place performance by Hoffman (51.86). In the 800, Parthasarthy (2:03.83) and Genther (2:04.34) finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively.
Junior Morgan Veth finished in fourth place in the high jump (5-10), while senior Bryce Myers placed fourth in the pole vault (13-0). Senior Aidan McCabe finished fifth in the shot put (42-7), and senior Sander Coscia took fifth place in the discus (126-3). Senior Carter Ganino finished eighth in the long jump (19-10.25) and also placed eighth for the triple jump (38-0.25).
Junior Jacob McGeary took sixth place in the 300 hurdles (43.98) and finished seventh in the 110 hurdles (17.05) for the Tigers. Junior Danny Hilmer finished seventh (4:29.65) in the 1,600, and O’Keefe came in eighth place (9:59.11) in the event.
Hand’s 4x100 relay team of senior Andrew Son, senior Michael Kelly, junior Mario Mazzarella, and junior Ethan O’Brien took seventh place with a time of 45.40.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
Senior Anna Steffen claimed first place in two distance events to lead the Hand girls’ outdoor track team at last week’s Class MM State Championship meet. The Tigers finished in seventh place as a squad by totaling 38 points at Willow Brook Park on June 2.
Steffen took first place in the 1,600-meter run by clocking in with a time of 5:05.42 for the Tigers. In the 3,200, Steffen ran a time of 10:55.15 to finish in first place. Steffen had recently won the 3,200 at both the SCC East Sectional Championship and the SCC Championship.
Sophomore Adelyn Arroyo finished fourth (5:25.97) in the 1,600, and junior Meryl Sullivan took fifth place (5:30.19) in the event at states. Sophomore Julia Coric finished in fifth place for the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.97.
Hand’s 4x400 relay team of Coric, freshman Jordan Kells, Arroyo, and Sullivan took fifth place by recording a mark of 4:17.95.