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06/05/2022 12:00 AMSoftball
On the heels of winning its first SCC title, the East Haven softball team claimed victory in its first two games of the Class L State Tournament before taking a loss in the quarterfinal round. The Yellowjackets defeated Bethel and Torrington in the first two rounds of states and then lost to Bristol Eastern in the quarterfinals last week. East Haven finished with an overall record of 23-3, setting the program record for victories in a season and best winning percentage (.885) to go with an SCC Oronoque Division crown and the SCC Tournament championship.
No. 4 seed East Haven began the state tourney by earning a 12-1 home win over No. 29 Bethel in first-round action on May 31. Senior Jilien Ayala hit a 3-run home run in the first inning to help the Yellowjackets score 7 runs in the frame. Freshman Gianna Santoro hit a bases-clearing triple for the Easties as part of the big inning.
Senior Lena Barthel had 2 singles and 2 doubles for East Haven, driving home a pair of runs with her 2-bagger during the sixth inning. Santoro also had a single to complement her triple, while junior Adriana Franceschi also contributed 2 hits.
Senior Emilee Bishop threw the first 4 innings and struck out 8 to get the win for the Easties. Bishop recorded her 160th strikeout of the year to break East Haven’s single-season record for K’s that had been set by 2014 graduate and current pitching coach Talia Loda. Junior Lily Gagnon pitched the last 3 innings and fanned 4 batters to close out the game.
The following day, the Yellowjackets hosted No. 20 seed Torrington for a second-round contest and triumphed by the score of 9-2. Bishop tossed a complete game with 11 strikeouts to pick up her 20th win. Bishop also had a big day at the plate that saw her hit a 2-run homer in the second inning and another 2-run shot in the fourth.
The Yellowjackets grabbed an early lead by scoring 3 runs in the first inning, keyed by an RBI single from freshman Lexi Heaphy and a 2-run double by junior Arielle Dupree. Senior Lena Barthel, Ayala, Bishop, Dupree, and Heaphy all had 2 hits in the game for Head Coach Ed Crisafi’s squad.
Then on June 3, the Yellowjackets faced No. 21 Bristol Eastern for a quarterfinal home game and took a 9-7 defeat in 8 innings. East Haven trailed 4-0, but rallied for 2 runs in the third inning and 2 more in the fourth to tie score. After the Lancers took a 7-4 lead in the top of the fifth, the Yellowjackets came back with 3 runs in the bottom half, tying the game on a home run by Barthel.
East Haven and Bristol Eastern remained in a 7-7 tie through 7 innings, sending the game to extras. The Lancers scored a pair of runs in the top half of the eighth to take a 9-7 lead. East Haven put runners at second and third with 1 out in the bottom of the eighth, but Bristol Eastern held on for the 9-7 win as the Yellowjackets’ historic season came to a close.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
Junior Alice Stettinger captured first place in the javelin when the East Haven girls’ outdoor track competed in the Class MM State Championship last week. Stettinger won the javelin for the second-straight season at the state meet to help the Yellowjackets finish in 10th place with 22 points scored at Willow Brook Park on June 1.
Stettinger recorded a throw of 120 feet-5 inches on her way to defending her Class MM javelin title. Stettinger beat out runner-up Savannah Soleau of East Lyme (110-3) by 10 feet to earn top honors for the event. Stettinger had recently won the javelin at both the SCC East Sectional Championship (120-1) and the SCC Championship (122-2), marking the second year in a row that she finished first in sectionals.
Stettinger also took fifth place in the discus with a toss of 95 feet-9 inches at the Class MM State Championship. Stettinger also competed in the shot put and finished in ninth place with a throw of 31-2.25.
Senior Morgan D’Auria finished in fourth place for the triple jump by leaping a distance of 33 feet-10 inches for the Easties. D’Auria also finished 10th in the long jump with a distance of 15 feet-6 inches.
Sophomore Aniya Franklin posted a throw of 31 feet-6.5 inches to claim eighth place in the shot put at states. Senior Emily Mazzucco finished eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 31-6.5 and also placed eighth for the long jump at 15-6.5.
Sophomore Erica Canfield finished in 11th place for the 300-meter hurdles by crossing the finish line with a time of 51.56 seconds. Junior Jessica Urban finished 14th in the preliminaries of the 110 hurdles at 18.35 seconds and also came in 25th place for the long jump with a distance of 14 feet-0.5 inches.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
Junior Dom Salato delivered a first-place performance in the javelin when he represented the East Haven boys’ outdoor track team in the Class MM State Championship at Willow Brook Park on June 1. Salato also competed in the triple jump and scored 10.5 points between his two events to put the Easties in 19th place at the state meet
Salato launched a toss of 154 feet-11 inches to claim the Class MM javelin crown. Salato’s throw was five feet better than second-place finisher Joseph Fahey of RHAM (149-8). Salato had recently finished first in the javelin at the SCC East Sectional Championship (158-10) and then placed third in the SCC Championship (158-4).
Salato also took part in the triple jump for the Yellowjackets at the Class MM State Championship. Salato reached a distance of 38 feet-4.5 inches to come in eighth place in the triple jump on behalf of the Easties.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Branford-East Haven boys’ lacrosse team earned a victory over Bunnell-Stratford in the qualifying round of the Class L State Tournament before taking a defeat against Fairfield Prep in its first-round contest. The Hornets finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 11-7.
As the No. 12 seed, Branford-East Haven kicked off the Class L State Tournament by hosting the 21st-seeded Bunnell-Stratford co-op squad for a qualifying-round game on May 27. The Hornets won the contest by the final score of 11-3 at Branford High School to advance into the first round of the bracket. Freshman Gennaro Pompano scored 3 goals to go with 1 assist in the victory. Senior Cam Paleski scored 3 goals, junior Alex Milne had 2 goals and 1 assist, and junior Sean Bosworth also scored 2 goals. Junior Matt McNulty had 1 goal with 1 assist, and senior Kevin Lee and sophomore Brennan Scarpace each had 1 assist. Senior goalie Aidan Strebel made 13 saves in net.
On June 1, the Hornets traveled to Fairfield University to take on No. 5 Fairfield Prep in the first round of the state draw. Branford dropped an 21-5 decision versus Prep and was eliminated from the tournament with the loss. Pompano scored 2 goals, and Milne had 1 goal with 1 assist in the contest. Paleski and Bosworth both 1 goal, while McNulty contributed 1 assist. Strebel had 13 saves in goal.
Boys’ Golf
The East Haven boys’ golf team completed its regular season by hosting Lyman Hall for a matchup on May 26. The Yellowjackets claimed a 188-234 victory over the Trojans at Alling Memorial Golf Club in their regular-season finale. East Haven finished its regular season with an overall record of 9-7-1 this year.
Girls’ Golf
Senior Norah Rome represented the Yellowjackets’ golf program when she competed in the SCC Girls’ Golf Championship at Oronoque Country Club on June 2. Rome finished in 10th place overall at SCCs by recording a score of 100 for her 18-hole round. Rome carded a score of 49 on the front nine and then scored a 51 for the back nine at the conference meet.