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North Haven Baseball Turns Chemistry into Quality in 2021

As he reflects upon his 63rd year as head coach of the North Haven baseball team, Bob DeMayo said that he enjoyed every second of working with a bunch of ballplayers who displayed great skills on the field and excellent chemistry in the dugout this spring. Coach DeMayo will always remember his 2021 club for sticking together and staying resilient in every situation, resulting in solid season that featured 13 victories, including a couple of notable wins in the playoffs.

North Haven finished with an overall record of 13-10 on the year. After winning 10 games in the regular season, North Haven wound up advancing to the semifinals of the SCC Tournament, followed by a run to the quarterfinals of the Class L State Tournament.

It meant a lot to Coach DeMayo that North Haven continued its storied tradition of successful seasons. Perhaps the most special part for DeMayo was seeing the way that his players respected both the game and each other.

“I cannot say enough about this team. It was a pleasure to coach them, and they went far beyond what anyone expected them to do,” Coach DeMayo said. “They are some of the nicest kids I’ve ever coached. They’re not only good ballplayers—they help one another, and they’re considerate. It was that kind of team. Everyone, even the kids who didn’t play as much, were into the game all the time and were always happy for one another.”

North Haven went 10-8 during a regular season that featured two wins over Guilford, Foran, and Jonathan Law to go with single victories against Cheshire, Branford, Amity, and East Haven. Coach DeMayo’s squad then opened the postseason by competing in the SCC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and squared off against a top-seeded Hand team for a quarterfinal matchup. North Haven had lost to Hand twice in the regular season, but pulled off a 3-1 upset versus the eventual Class L state champion Tigers in SCCs to advance to the semifinals, where the team took a 7-1 loss to 4th-seeded West Haven.

Following the SCC tourney, North Haven entered the Class L State Tournament as the No. 19 seed and claimed a pair of road wins by earning a 19-2 victory over 14th-seeded RHAM in the first round and a 10-4, nine-inning win against No. 3 seed Masuk in the second round. North Haven’s run came to an end with a 7-5 home loss to No. 22 seed Lyman Hall in the quarterfinals.

While losing to Lyman Hall was a tough blow, Coach DeMayo was proud of his inexperienced team for working hard to get better every day and then seeing that effort pay dividends in the tournaments.

“We started the year with a lack of varsity experience, but it turned out unbelievably well. Once we got going, it was continual improvement all the way through,” said DeMayo. “We just continued to improve and were a pretty formidable opponent by the end of the year. You could see that the kids were getting confident. All the kids came through. We went from being a so-so team to a team that nobody wanted to play at the end of the year.”

The only two players who entered the season with any varsity experience for North Haven were pitcher JJ Mazzaro and infielder Cole Zalegowski, who also led the charge as captains as the lone seniors on the roster. Mazzaro had big year on the mound as North Haven’s ace, while Zalegowski provided plenty of punch hitting in the middle of the order.

Coach DeMayo said there was a tremendous sense of togetherness on this year’s team. DeMayo attributes much of that camaraderie to the leadership of his senior captain tandem.

“One of the reasons why we were able to achieve so much was because we had two captains who were there every step of the way. I’ve never had a team be so together, and a lot of that is because of these two kids,” DeMayo said of Mazzaro and Zalegowski. “They were two of the best captains I’ve ever had. They kept the team together in the toughest of times, and that was a huge feat.”

Mazzaro put together an outstanding senior season as North Haven’s top pitcher, finishing the year with an 8-1 record and an ERA of 1.79 to go with 57 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched. Mazzaro tossed a complete game when North Haven defeated Hand in SCCs and also notched the win in the team’s win versus RHAM in states. Mazzaro made the All-SCC First Team, the All-State First Team, was a co-recipient of the DeMayo Scholarship, and also received the No ‘I’ in Team Award from the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club.

“JJ was the go-to guy on the pitching staff. Every time he went out there, you knew that he was going to give you the best he had and that you had a great chance to win,” said DeMayo. “JJ won several big games. He was a rock. He’s the kind of the kid who wants to help out in any way he can every day.”

Zalegowski is a third baseman by trade, but shifted over to shortstop this year when one of his teammates suffered a season-ending injury. Zalegowski had a huge season at the plate by posting a .453 batting average with 10 walks, 19 runs scored, seven doubles, four home runs, 25 RBI, and an on-base percentage of .523. Zalegowski made the All-SCC Second Team, was selected to play in the Senior Select All-Star Game, received the DeMayo Scholarship alongside Mazzaro, and was also presented with a No ‘I’ in Team Award from the North Haven baseball team.

“All you have to do is look at Cole’s batting average. .453. That is amazing,” DeMayo said. “The last few games, Cole just tore the cover off the ball. He was part of a good group in the middle of our lineup. He also moved over to shortstop and did a credible job.”

Junior Owen Pincince was another force in the middle of North Haven’s batting order. Pincince hit .412 with 21 walks, 29 runs scored, 10 doubles, three homers, 22 RBI, nine stolen bases, and a .549 on-base percentage. Pincince, who moved from the outfield to play second base and also did some pitching, was selected to the All-SCC First Team, the All-State First Team, and the Junior Select All-Star Game. On top of these achievements, Pincince was named North Haven’s Most Valuable Player and also received the Rocci Ruggerio Scholarship from the squad.

“Owen was absolutely awesome,” said DeMayo. “He and Zalegowski were probably our most consistent hitters, and Owen just glued the infield together and made some unbelievable plays at second base.”

Junior Mike Anquillare made the All-SCC Second Team and the Junior Select All-Star Game after producing in the cleanup spot for North Haven this season. Anquillare, who played both first base and the outfield, had a .354 batting average with 18 runs, nine doubles, three homers, 26 RBI, and a .411 on base percentage for the year.

Fellow junior Ryan Balzano also earned All-SCC Second Team accolades. An outfielder who also pitched, Balzano hit .348 with 14 runs scored, one homer, 14 RBI, nine steals, and a .413 on-base percentage.

Junior Shaun Murray was named North Haven’s Most Improved Player. Murray, who played third base and batted leadoff, had a .357 batting average with 17 walks, 21 runs, four doubles, 10 RBI, and a .500 on-base percentage.

North Haven handed out its Sportsmanship Award to Ty Rooney, a junior. Rooney started the year as North Haven’s shortstop, but got injured early on and had to sit out the rest of the season. However, Coach DeMayo was happy that Rooney remained an active member of the team and felt proud to present him with the Sportsmanship Award.

Senior Robert Farrelly never had a chance to play this year after dealing with injuries throughout the offseason. Although he wasn’t able to compete, Farrelly stayed with the team and helped out however he could, ultimately earning the John Calamita Scholarship on behalf of North Haven.

Sophomore Steven Vincent made a nice debut on the varsity diamond this year. Vincent had a 3-0 record as a pitcher, including 7.1 innings of stellar relief work to get the win when North Haven beat Masuk in the second round of states, in addition to playing left field. He batted .280 with a .455 on-base percentage for the season.

Sophomore Tyler Harger earned the nod as North Haven’s starting catcher and hit at a .273 clip. Junior Derek Novicki started at first base, junior Anthony Acampora was North Haven’s designated hitter and also saw time behind the dish, and fellow junior Chris Hager was a starting outfielder for North Haven.

North Haven’s varsity roster also included junior pitcher Alexander Bauman, who had two wins on the hill; along with junior infielders Tyler Signore, Salvatore Giaimo, and Christopher Tobin; sophomore outfielder/pitcher Antonio Fusco, and sophomore first baseman/pitcher Jack Martineau.

Coach DeMayo was joined by assistant coaches Mike Proto and Justin Falcon on the varsity staff. Kevin Fuggi coached North Haven’s JV team, while Angelo Romano was head coach of the freshman team. Andrew Lucey served as North Haven’s statistician.

With a memorable 2021 season in the books, Coach DeMayo is planning to be back out there for the 2022 campaign. DeMayo, who has 928 career victories as North Haven’s skipper, said that he wants to return next year and help the team put together another season filled with positive memories.

“I certainly want to come back, and I fully intend to if it’s physically possible for me to do so,” said DeMayo. “If I am physically up to the job, I’ll be back. We have a great bunch of juniors coming back, and I sure want to be a part of the program.”