BATTER'S BOX -- This is your one-stop shop for all things Southern Connecticut Conference during the conference tournament next week. The tournament begins on Tuesday and ends on Saturday at West Haven High School. Here you can find live updates on game day, schedule, scores, roundups, highlight videos, preview videos and polls prior to each game. It's playoff time, win or go home.

Southern Connecticut Conference 

The Last Eight Standing

No. 1 Xavier (19-1): Only loss to Shelton, otherwise these guys can be unhittable and almost unbeatable.
No. 2 Amity (15-3): Pitchers Mike Concato and Sam Nepiarsky give the defending champs a great 1-2 punch.
No. 3 Fairfield Prep (14-6): Coach Rudy Mauritz said they have to focus on the little things to win big.
No. 4 North Haven (12-7):  They are more than just a loud bench.
No. 5 Shelton (13-6): The Gaels have found a way, despite losing most of its core from the 2012 SCC title runner-up team.
No. 6 Notre Dame-West Haven (13-7): Injuries to Griffin Garabedian and Greg Zullo could not stop the Green Knights.
No. 7 West Haven (11-8): Cameron Stone and Co. make the Blue Devils a formidable seventh seed.
No. 8 Hand (9-9): The Tigers are not just focused, they're hyperfocused.

Quarterfinals Bracket Breakdown

Four out of the eight teams are from the five-team Quinnipiac Division (Xaver, Fairfield Prep, Notre Dame-West Haven and West Haven). ... Hand is the only division champ that will not host a playoff game in the first round. Xavier, Amity and North Haven all won their division. ...If West Haven pulls off upsets in each round, it will technically host the final, since it is at West Haven High School due to renovations at Yale Field. ... Despite the success of the Milford Post 196 team last summer, no Milford team qualified for the SCC tournament.

The Quarterfinal Capsules

No. 8 Hand at No. 1 Xavier, 4 p.m.

Season series: Did not play. 
All about Hand: Won the SCC Hammonasset Division title outright for the first time in school history. ... The Tigers are currently 1-3 against teams that qualified for the SCC tournament. ... The Tigers did win three consecutive games all season.
Hand's top players: Sr. Ben Bednarczyk, Sr. Adam Nuzzo, Jr. Scott Braren.
Hand coach: Travis LaPointe.
All about Xavier: Won the SCC Quinnipiac Division with a perfect 8-0 record. ... Close the season on a 13-game winning streak, the longest in the SCC. ... 4-1 against SCC playoff teams, the only team to beat them is Shelton. ... The Falcons are averaging 8.5 runs per game.
Xavier's top players: Sr. Matt Albanese, Jr. Jack Gethings, Jr. Chris Cardi, Jr. Sean Carroll.
Xavier coach: Rich Magner.
Prediction: Xavier 9-4.

No. 7 West Haven at No. 2 Amity, 4 p.m.

Season series: Amity won only meeting 10-4 on April 6.
All about West Haven: 2-1 in extra inning games, with the lone loss coming to top-seeded Xavier 3-2 in nine innings. ... Longest winning streak of the season is four games. The Blue Devils won four games twice this season. ... West Haven went 1-7 against SCC tournament teams.
West Haven's top players: Sr. Cameron Stone, Sr. Tyler Gambardella, Sr. Bobby Moretti, Jr. Nick Price.
West Haven coach: Mike Anquillare.
All about Amity: Won the SCC Housatonic Division for the 10th straight season. ... Won the SCC last season. ... Are only giving up 1.6 runs per game through 18 games. ... Two of the Spartans three loses came courtesy of unearned runs. ... All of their defeats are one-run losses.
Amity's top players: Sr. Mike Concato, Sr. Sam Nepiarsky, Jr. Jake Russo, Sr. Keith Klebart, Sr. Justin Ashworth.
Amity coach: Sal Coppola.
Prediction: Amity 6-2.

No. 6 Notre Dame-West Haven at No. 3 Fairfield Prep, 4 p.m.

Season series: Fairfield Prep won both meetings, 7-6 (12) on April 15 and 4-0 on May 6
All about Notre Dame-West Haven: Played most of the season without two best players, Greg Zullo and Griffin Garabedian. ... The Green Knights got upset by Law in the first round last season. ... The Green Knights ended the season on a three-game winning streak, its third three-game winning streak of the season.
Notre Dame-West Haven's top players: Sr. Griffin Garabedian, Sr. Greg Zullo, Sr. Wes Paulsen, Jr. Drew Arciuolo, Sr. Troy Terzi, Jr. John Amendola.
Notre Dame-West Haven coach: Lou Kessler.
All about Prep: Finished second in the SCC Quinnipiac Division. ... Lost two of its last three games to close the season. ... Opened the year on a season-high four-game winning streak. ... 5-4 against SCC tournament teams. ... Defeated Amity 1-0.
Prep's top players: Jr. Shawn Blake, Sr. David Gerics, Jr. Dean Lockery,
Prep coach: Rudy Mauritz.
Prediction: Notre Dame-West Haven 6-4 (8).

No. 5 Shelton at No. 4 North Haven, 4:30 p.m.

Season series: North Haven won lone meeting 1-0 on April 22.
All about Shelton: Lost in last season's SCC final. ... Won a season-high five games in a row in mid April. ... Only team to beat Xavier this season. ... The Gaels defeated Xavier the same day the Falcons were voted No. 1 in the state. ... 3-5 against teams in the SCC tournament heading into last game of the season. ... Only lost back-to-back games this season once, losing to Amity and North Haven on April 19 and 22.
Shelton's top players: Sr. Ryan Testani, Sr. Vin Backert, Sr. Marcello Usrini, Sr. Tyler Tice, Sr. Ed Groth, So. Justin Lynch.
Shelton coach: Scott Gura.
All about North Haven: Won the SCC Oronoque Division. .. There were a total of 20 strikeouts in the Indians 1-0 victory over the Gaels. ... Won a season-high eight straight games in mid-April. ... 3-1 in games decided by two runs or less. ... 5-4 at home going into last game of the season.
North Haven's top players: Sr. Matt Oestreicher, Sr. Zack Brown, Sr. Chandler Andrewsen, Sr. Mike Acampora.
North Haven coach: Bob DeMayo.
Prediction: Shelton 3-1.

Who might go fishing earlier than expected?

Tournament champions

2012: Amity over Shelton 2-1.
2011: Cheshire over Fairfield Prep 14-0.
2010: Shelton over Amity 4-3 (9).
2009: Law over Foran 11-6.
2008: ND-West Haven over Amity 10-8.
2007: Guilford over Amity 7-1.
2006: Amity over Xavier 5-1.
2005: Amity over North Haven 14-3.
2004: Amity over Xavier 6-1.
2003: West Haven over Amity 7-4.
2002: North Haven over West Haven 9-6.
2001: Cancelled, co-champs declared.
2000:  Shelton over ND-West Haven 8-2.
1999:  Branford over West Haven 11-10.
1998: Xavier over Branford 6-3.
1997: ND-West Haven over North Haven 2-1.
1996: ND-West Haven over Cheshire 6-3.
1995: ND-West Haven over West Haven 2-1.

Game of the Day: Greenwich at New Canaan (Greenwich Time)

Scott Ericson

NEW CANAAN -- The New Canaan and Greenwich baseball teams had both secured spots in next week's FCIAC tournament, meaning neither team needed a win Wednesday at Mead Park but that did little to diminish the playoff like atmosphere present from the opening pitch.
After grabbing an early lead, Greenwich came from behind to beat the Rams 7-5, with the final two outs coming on strikeouts with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning. Read more here.

Wednesday's Recap

Derby 6, Ansonia 4: Dillon McMahon had two hits and two runs and winning pitcher Sal Frosceno had a double and scored twice for the host Red Raiders in this Naugatuck Valley League win.

Michael Kreiger had a single and two RBIs and Victor Soto hit a two-run home run for Derby (10-9). Ryan O’Connor had a double, triple, two runs and two RBIs for the Chargers (11-8).

Guilford 7, Cheshire 3: J.P. Peters hit a three-run home run and Ben Monte was two-for-four with and RBI as the Indians (9-8) topped the Rams (8-10) in Cheshire.

North Haven 4, Fairfield Prep 3: Chris Brockett walked with the bases loaded to score John DeCusati with the walk-off run in the Indians’ (12-7) victory over the Jesuits (13-6) in North Haven.
Shelton 3, Foran 0: Justin Lynch had a two-run single and Vin Backert struck out five in the Gaels’ (13-6) victory over the Lions (8-9) in Shelton.

Stratford 2, New Milford 0: Josten Beato allowed four hits and struck out five in the complete game for the visiting Red Devils in this South-West Conference win.

Beato drove in the eventual winning run for Stratford (8-10), which qualified for the state tournament.

West Haven 7, East Haven 5: Michael Brand and Tom Wilkerson doubled and the Blue Devils (11-7) topped the Yellow Jackets (9-11) in East Haven.

No. 2 Xavier 9, Branford 1: Ben Criscuolo pitched a complete game five-hitter and helped his cause with two hits for the visiting Falcons in this SCC interdivision win. Xavier is 19-1.

BASEBALL LIVE

GOOD EYE

 

GAME OF THE WEEK

By Jimmy Zanor
jzanor@ctcentral.com
@ShoreLineSports on Twitter

Click to enlarge

MIDDLETOWN — Xavier and Amity gave baseball fans a sneak preview Monday of what next week’s Southern Connecticut Conference tournament might like look.

They also gave those folks planning on attending the SCCs fair warning to fasten their seat belts: it’s going to be a wild ride.

Xavier’s magical season and penchant for late-inning thrills continued as the Falcons rallied past Amity, 6-5, at Palmer Field. Read more here.

MONDAY'S RECAP

Ryan Testani threw a two-hitter for the Shelton baseball team, which beat Fairfield Prep 2-0 Monday in this Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision win at Fairfield. Marcello Ursini had two hits, including a double, for Shelton (11-6), which scored both runs in the second inning on a throwing error. Shawn Blake had both hits for Prep (13-5).

West Haven 2, Cheshire 1 (8): Nick Price’s RBI single in the eighth inning gave West Haven this SCC interdivision home win. Price allowed just one unearned run, outdueling Cheshire’s Ethan Lonardelli for the Westies (10-7).Kyle Hodgson went 3-for-4 for the Rams (8-9).

Career 6, Hand 4: Catcher Joe Tiroletto hit a three-run homer and pitched the final inning for the save as Career notched an SCC interdivision road win at Career. Tiroletto’s homer highlighted a four-run third inning that gave Career a 4-0 lead it never relinquished. Hand (8-8), which received four hits Scott Braren, made it interesting with three runs in the sixth to make it a 6-4 game.

Jose Negron (3-3) picked up the win for Career (6-12). James Powell took the loss.
North Branford 6, Cromwell 0: Mike Schettino tossed a five-hitter and Chris Caron went 3-for-3 with two RBIs to lead North Branford to a Shoreline Conference win at Cromwell. Kyle Hart added two doubles and four RBIs for North Branford (14-3). Cromwell fell to 15-2.

Ansonia 4, Woodland 2: Adam Thayer struck out eight and Ryan O’Connor went 2-for-3 with a triple to lead Ansonia to this Naugatuck Valley League victory at home. Corey Dezienkiewicz added a double for Ansonia (11-6). Woodland fell to 6-11.

Foran 6, North Haven 1: Anthony Alicki and Joe Zanghi combined on a two-hitter to lead Foran to the SCC interdivision home victory. Casey McCone hit a two-run homer for the Lions, (8-7). Matt Ostreicher had an RBI double for North Haven (11-7).

Platt Tech 7, Goodwin Tech 5: Todd Pertucci went the distance on a win and helped himself with two hits, two runs and three RBIs as Platt Tech won this Constitution State Conference game at Milford. Raul Robles went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run for the Panthers (9-8, 9-4). Jensey Baez went 2-for-4 with two runs and three stolen bases for Goodwin Tech (8-10, 7-8).

Morgan 4, Coginchaug 3 (8): Jake Mastroianni hit a three-run double and Tyler Anglin hit the game-winning single with one out in the eighth for Morgan (11-7) in a Shoreline Conference game at Clinton.

BASEBALL LIVE

BASEBALL NOTEBOOK

Hand is hyper focused. Check it out here.
Vote for the best hitting and pitching performances right here.
Not much changes up top, but a few at the bottom. The updated Top 10 right here.
 

HOPKINS AT HAMDEN HALL 

 

Hopkins 4, Hamden Hall 0: Simon Matthews had an RBI double and struck out six on the mound in a complete game shutout triumph over rival Hamden Hall in Hamden on Tuesday. 

Hopkins 4, Hamden Hall 0: Chris Durham blooped an RBI single to score Doug Schaffer and provide the insurance run in the seventh that may put this one away.

Hopkins 3, Hamden Hall 0: Doug Schaffer laced a RBI double down the left field line that scored Paul Tupper, who reached via an error by the shortstop, and the Hilltoppers extend their lead in the bottom half of the fifth.

Hopkins 2, Hamden Hall 0: Simon Matthews came up big with an RBI double to extend the Hilltoppers lead to two runs in the top of the fourth at Hamden Hall.

TUESDAY'S RECAP

Drew DeRubeis had a hit and an RBI to lead the host Law baseball team to a 4-1 non-conference upset over No. 4 St. Joseph Tuesday in Milford.

Kevin Johnson doubled for the Lawmen (7-9).

Brett Olayos had an RBI and Jake Amoroso had a single and a double for the Cadets (12-3).

East Haven 8, Career 7: Brian Kucharski drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the host Easties to this Southern Connecticut Conference Oronoque Division win.

BASEBALL LIVE

BASEBALL NOTEBOOK

Notre Dame-West Haven is a team. Find out how here. 
Vote for the best pitching and hitting performances right here. 
Check out the updated Top 10 right here.

MONDAY'S RECAP

Hand 4, Foran 3: Kyle Anderson had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs for the host Tigers, who won the SCC Hammonasset Division title with a victory over the Lions at Madison.

Scott Braren had an RBI double for Hand (8-7). Chris Yee had two hits and an RBI for the Lions (7-7).

Coginchaug 4, Valley Regional 1: Jack Granger hit a home run for the visiting Blue Devils in a Shoreline Conference win at Deep River.

Steve Thody and Charlie Anderson had doubles for Coginchaug (9-6). Dan Thayer had a home run for the Warriors (5-9).

Career 9, Wilbur Cross 1: Joe Tiroletto allowed three hits and one run to earn his first win of the season in the Panthers’ SCC Oronoque Division win at New Haven.

Melvin Santiago, Jose Negron and Eric Colon each had two hits for Career (5-11). Melvin Mujica had two hits for Wilbur Cross (3-12).

Shelton 5, Guilford 1: Tyler Tice, Justin Lynch and Ed Groth had two hits apiece for the host Gaels in an SCC interdivision win. Shelton is 10-5.

Wolcott 5, Derby 1: Mike Meier’s three-run homer in the seventh highlighted Wolcott’s Naugatuck Valley League win at Derby.

Jason Matos added a hit and two RBIs for the Eagles (15-0). Victor Soto had two hits for Derby (8-8).

Haddam-Killingworth 6, Old Saybrook 3: Jake Decarli pitched a complete game, allowed five hits and struck out six for the host Cougars in a Shoreline Conference win at Higganum.

Rob Annino had two hits and two RBIs for H-K (11-4). Ben Endrizzi had two hits for the Rams (3-12).

North Branford 11, East Windsor 1: Nick Perrelli had three hits, including two doubles, and three RBIs to lead the Thunderbirds over East Windsor at North Branford.

Chris Caron had two hits with an RBI and Mike Funaro had two hits for North Branford.

No. 10 Fairfield Prep 4, Notre Dame-West Haven 0: David Gerics had a single, triple and two RBIs for the visiting Jesuits in an SCC Quinnipiac Division win at West Haven. Fairfield Prep is 12-4, 4-2.

Ansonia 1, Seymour 0: Matt Pitney’s single — Ansonia’s only hit of the game — drove in Bobby Schryver in the seventh to lift the Chargers to a walk-off win at Ansonia.

It was Pitney’s third walk-off hit of the season. Adam Thayer struck out seven and allowed five hits for Ansonia (9-6). Nick Kuzia tossed a one-hitter and struck out five for Seymour (6-10).

 Friday's Recap

J.P. Peters was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded with the count full to score Matt Brockett as the Guilford baseball team defeated Law 5-4 in nine innings in a Southern Connecticut Conference game in Guilford on Friday.

Ben Monte had an RBI double that scored Matt Brockett.

Notre Dame-West Haven 11, Hamden 3: Zach Balabon had three hits, three RBIs and a double in the Green Knights’ win over the Green Dragons at Quigley Stadium.

North Haven 6, Career 5: Dominic Fusco scored the winning run off an error and Mike Acampora came in relief and got the win as the Indians (10-4) topped the Panthers (4-10) in North Haven.
Shelton 4, Sheehan 2: Ryan Testani had two hits, Justin Lynch had an RBI and the Gaels (9-5) topped the Titans in Shelton.

Kevin Duffy had two hits for Sheehan (6-7).

BASEBALL LIVE

WEDNESDAY'S RECAP WITH BOX SCORES

Career 9, Branford 5: Eric Colon had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Panthers to their SCC Oronoque win in New Haven.

Notre Dame-West Haven 6, West Haven 3: John Amendola pitched into the seventh inning and struck out 11 for the Green Knights in this SCC Quinnipiac Division win at West Haven.

Zack Korwek had three hits and two RBIs and Parker Barnell struck out both batters he faced in the seventh inning to earn the save for Notre Dame (9-5).

Jason Wilkerson had two hits and a run and Nick Price had two hits and an RBI for the Westies (7-6).
Derby 6, Naugatuck 0: Jordan LaRue had a triple, single and three RBIs and Ryan LanDona had a double and an RBI for Derby (7-7) at home.

Hamden 6, Wilbur Cross 5 (8): Winning pitcher Zach Morgillo drove in the winning run with a double in the top of the eighth inning to lift the Green Dragons to this SCC interdivision win in New Haven.

Christian Colon had a solo home run for Hamden (4-9).

Melvin Mujica had a double and a triple for the Governors (2-11).

Hopkins 2, Rye (N.Y.) 0: John Knopf had four strikeouts and allowed four hits for the Hilltoppers (11-3) in their prep school win in Rye, N.Y.

Morgan 5, Valley Regional 0: Alex Lipka was 2-for-2 with two runs score and Ronnie Buchetto struck out seven in a complete game victory for the Huskies (8-5) in Clinton.

North Haven 4, East Haven 0: Chandler Andrewsen had three hits for North Haven in an SCC Oronoque Division win at East Haven.

Matt Oestreicher had a double and an RBI for the Indians (9-4, 5-0). East Haven dropped to 7-9, 3-2.

North Branford 6, Haddam-Killingworth 0: Nick Perrelli had three hits and pitched a complete game shutout, Kyle Hart added two RBIs and the Thunderbirds (10-3) picked up a Shoreline Conference victory over the Cougars (9-4).

Seymour 13, Crosby 1: Pitcher Nick Kuzia struck out seven and walked none and had two hits with a double and two RBIs to lead the host Wildcats to their NVL win. Jake Walkinshaw had two hits and an RBI and Jim Vartelas had two hits, a double and an RBI for the Wildcats (6-8).

Shelton 5, Cheshire 2: Tyler Tice had three hits and two runs, Marcello Ursini had a two-run double and Ryan Testani had two hits and on the mound struck out seven for the Gaels (8-5) over the Rams (5-7) in an SCC Housatonic Division game. Cooper Mrowka had two hits for the Rams.

No. 2 Xavier 8, No. 9 Fairfield Prep 4 (8): Mike Purcell had a two-out three-run go-ahead double in the eighth inning to lift the Falcons (13-1) over the Jesuits (10-4) in an SCC Quinnipiac victory in Fairfield.

Jack Gethings, Ben Criscuolo and Pat Downey all had two hits each for Xavier.

ANSONIA 5, SACRED HEART 4

(at Ansonia)

Sacred Heart 101 020 0000 --- 4 7 2

Ansonia 100 021 0001 --- 5 8 2

Zack Goldberg, Evan Devico (6), Vin Lombardi (10) and Matt Campion; Corey Dzienkiewicz, Sean Bonaparte (7) and Matt Pitney.

WP: Sean Bonaparte (1-1). LP: Zack Goldberg.

Team records: Sacred Heart High 8-6; Ansonia 7-6. Comments: A-Matt Pitney had a game-winning RBI single with one out in the 10th inning.

CAREER 9, BRANFORD 5

(at New Haven)

Branford 202 000 1 --- 5 10 4

Career 002 007 X --- 9 9 1

Kyle Minter, Erickson (6) and Charlie Ahern; Will Jackson, Jose Negron (3) and Joe Tiroletto.

WP: Jose Negron (1-2). LP: Kyle Minter (0-4).

Team records: Branford 5-8; Career 4-10.

CHENEY TECH 7, PLATT TECH 3

(at Milford)

Cheney Tech 110 203 0 --- 7 8 0

Platt Tech 100 200 0 --- 3 6 4

Tim Cate, Steve Soto (6) and Tom Blazys, Steve Brears (5); Jason Waxman, Angelo Genovesi (6) and Mike Raccio.

WP: Tim Cate. LP: Jason Waxman.

Team records: Cheney Tech 13-1, 12-0; Platt Tech 8-6, 8-3 CSC.

DERBY 6, NAUGATUCK 0

(at Derby)

Naugatuck 000 000 0 --- 0 4 1

Derby 500 100 X --- 6 5 2

Spencer Greher, Rickey Plasky (1), Adam Taures (6) and John Dean; Victor Soto and Tim Garrity.

WP: Victor Soto (2-2). LP: Spencer Greher (2-2). 3B: (DE) Jordan LaRue .

Team records: Naugatuck 5-8; Derby 7-7.

HAMDEN 6, WILBUR CROSS 5 (8)

(at New Haven)

Hamden 100 101 21 --- 6 12 1

Wilbur Cross 020 000 30 --- 5 12 7

Marc Masciantonio, Zach Morgillo (6) and Exavier Santiago; Thomas Mieles and Bryan Velez.

WP: Zach Morgillo. LP: Thomas Mieles (0-4). 2B: (HA) Morgillo; (WC) Thomas Mieles, Kevin Gonzalez, Melvin Mujica. 3B: (WC) Mujica. Hr: Christian Colon (HA)

Team records: Hamden 4-9; Wilbur Cross 2-11.

HOPKINS 2, RYE 0

(at Rye, N.Y.)

Hopkins 000 010 1 --- 2 7 0

Rye 000 000 0 --- 0 4 0

Josh Knopf and Jim Martino; Chris Waite, Ben Stefani (7) and Stefani, Ryan Mills (7).

WP: Josh Knopf (4-2). LP: Chris Waite (0-2).

Team records: Hopkins 11-3; Rye 6-2.

NORTH BRANFORD 6,

HADDAM-KILLINGWORTH 0

(at Higganum)

North Branford 000 201 3 --- 6 8 0

Haddam-Kill. 000 000 0 --- 0 3 0

Nick Perrelli and Brandon Basil; Brian Moskey and Rich Sleight.

WP: Nick Perrelli (3-1). LP: Brian Moskey (2-1). 2B: (NoBfd) Kyle Hart, Chris Caron, Will Coleman; (HK) Brian Moskey.

Team records: North Branford 10-3; Haddam-Killingworth 9-4.

NORTH HAVEN 4, EAST HAVEN 0

(at East Haven)

North Haven 100 110 1 --- 4 9 0

East Haven 000 000 0 --- 0 2 2

Zack Brown and Matt Oestreicher; Tom Moore and Brian Kucharski.

WP: Zach Brown (3-2). LP: Tom Moore (3-3). 2B: (NH) Oestreicher.

Team records: North Haven 9-4 (5-0 SCC Oronoque); East Haven 7-9 (3-2).

NOTRE DAME-WEST HAVEN 6,

WEST HAVEN 3

(at West Haven)

Notre Dame 100 410 0 --- 6 12 1

West Haven 000 003 0 --- 3 9 2

Amendola, Barnell (7) and Burton; Stone, Gambardella (3), Carter (5) and Balzano .

WP: John Amendola (3-2). LP: Tyler Gambardella (3-3). SV: Parker Barnell.

Team records: Notre Dame-West Haven 9-5; West Haven 7-6.

MORGAN 5, VALLEY REGIONAL 0

(at Clinton)

Valley Regional 000 000 0 --- 0 2 3

Morgan 000 203 X --- 5 6 2

Dave Bradbury and Alex Jaillet; Ronnie Buchetto and Tom White.

WP: Ron Buchetto (4-2). LP: Dave Bradbury (2-3). 2B: (MO) Tom White.

Team records: Valley Regional 5-7; Morgan 8-5.

SEYMOUR 13, CROSBY 1

(at Seymour)

Crosby 000 100 0 --- 1 4 5

Seymour 041 161 X --- 13 11 3

Pete Petteway, Zac Rodriguez (5) and Ozzie Rivera; Nick Kuzia and Mike Conlan.

WP: Nick Kuzia (2-4). LP: Pete Petteway.

Team records: Crosby 1-12; Seymour 6-8.

SHELTON 5, CHESHIRE 2

(at Cheshire)

Shelton 110 030 0 --- 5 10 0

Cheshire 000 100 1 --- 2 5 1

Ryan Testani and Ed Groth; Christian Colp, P.J. Watson (5) and Wes Robertson.

WP: Ryan Testani (3-2). LP: Christian Colp (3-2). 2B: (SHE) Marcello Ursini; (CH) Ethan Lonardelli.

Team records: Shelton 8-5; Cheshire 5-7.

XAVIER 8, FAIRFIELD PREP 4

(at Fairfield)

Xavier 030 100 04 --- 8 10 4

Fairfield Prep 000 022 00 --- 4 5 1

Ben Criscuolo, Sean Carroll (5) and Chris Cardi ; Kyle Mollo, Dave Gerics (7) and Jake Berry.

WP: Sean Carroll (4-1). LP: David Gerics (). 2B: (XV) Mike Purcell.

Team records: Xavier 13-1; Fairfield Prep 10-4.

Good Eye: North Haven's bench 'Gives it a boom.'

Baseball Live: Follow all the action

 

Monday's recap

Chris Ames’ RBI single drove in Brandon Hewitt in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Lyman Hall baseball team its first win of the season, 1-0 over Hand Monday in this Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision game at Wallingford.

Dan Russell tossed a two-hit shutout for the Trojans (1-11). Brian Anderson allowed just four hits in the loss for the Tigers (6-6).

Cheshire 3, Foran 2: Ethan Lonardelli’s walk-off two-run home run lifted the Rams to a victory over Foran in SCC interdivision play at Cheshire.

Dan Schock also drove in a run with a double in Cheshire’s three-run seventh inning. Kevin Mirando added two hits for Cheshire (5-6). Joe Zanghi had a double and a triple for the Lions (6-6).
West Haven 5, North Haven 2: Tyler Gambardella and Rick Balzano each had two hits for West Haven (7-5) in an SCC interdivision win at North Haven. Chris Brockett two hits for North Haven (8-4).

Notre Dame-West Haven 9, Career 2: Brian Gargiulo had three hits and Mike Levine added two to lead the Green Knights over the Panthers in SCC interdivision action at New Haven.

Notre Dame improves to 8-5. Josh Colon and Jose Negron each had two hits for Career (3-10).

Sheehan 3, Guilford 2: Mike Kakalow’s inside-the-park home run was the deciding run for Sheehan in an SCC interdivision win at Wallingford.

Nolan Cloutier singled in Kevin Duffy in the second inning to tie the game at 1-1 for the Titans (6-5). Guilford dropped to 6-6.

Platt Tech 3, Prince Tech 1: Mike Raccio scattered five hits and struck out 13 for Platt Tech in a Constitution State Conference win at Milford.
Raccio also had two hits and an RBI and Cutter Pinciero went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Panthers (8-5, 8-2). John Diaz had a hit and an RBI for Prince Tech 6-4).

North Branford 14, Old Saybrook 3: Chris Caron had three hits, including a triple, in the Thunderbirds Shoreline Conference victory at North Branford.

Mike Querfield added two doubles for the Thunderbirds (9-3).

East Haven 11, Hamden 9: Pete Grippo had three hits and two RBIs as the Easties edged the Green Dragons in SCC interdivision play at East Haven.

Brian Kucharski added two hits and two RBIs for the Easties (6-7). Dylan Kelly had two hits for Hamden (3-9).

Seymour 4, Wilby 2 (9): Jake Walkinshaw struck out six and had two hits with a double and an RBI in the Wildcats’ Naugatuck Valley League win at Waterbury.

Nick Kuzia and Mike Conlan each had two hits for the Wildcats (5-8).

 

Touch 'Em All: Cheshire's exciting victory over Hamden

Baseball Notebook: Links to all of your baseball info

North Haven's bench "gives it a boom," from the dugout. Find out how right here.
The good, bad an ugly from last week. Swing and a Miss right here.
Bristol Central does something no team has done all season. The updated Top 10 right here.

Who is the state's best player?: Vote here!

Cheshire 7, Hamden 5: Dan Schock went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and PJ Watson struck out Paul Wetmore looking to give the Rams a Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision victory in Hamden on Friday.

Cheshire 7, Hamden 1: The Rams opened this one up, courtesy of a Kyle Waldron solo home run and a two-run single from Dan Schock in the top of the sixth inning.

Cheshire 3, Hamden 0: Ethan Lonardelli and Kyle Hodgdon had RBI single to pace the Rams to a 3-run lead in the top of the fifth. 

Cheshire 1, Hamden 0: Kevin Mirando stole second and scored on a throwing error by the first baseman to put the Rams up over the Green Dragons in the top of the third. Mirando reached on a six-pitch walk. 

Friday's Recap

Sheehan 6, Notre Dame-West Haven 0: Kevin Duffy allowed one hit, one walk and struck out five in the complete game for the visiting Titans in this SCC interdivision win at West Haven.

Rob Sprafke had two hits and two RBIs for Sheehan (5-5).

Haddam-Killingworth 1, Hale-Ray 0: Griffin Bremer pitched a complete game, allowing one hit and striking out seven for the host Cougars in this Shoreline Conference win at Higganum.

Nick Landell had three hits for H-K (8-3).
Ansonia 9, Naugatuck 1: Bobby Schryver had a three-run homer and Sean Bonaparte had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Chargers (6-5) to their NVL win in Naugatuck.

West Haven 12, No. 8 Shelton 3: Cameron Stone had two hits and four RBIs for the host Westies in this SCC interdivision win.

Joey Sette had two hits and an RBI and Gary Donovan had three hits for West Haven (6-5).

Tyler Tice and Michael Cowell each had RBIs and Hudson Boles had two hits for the Gaels (7-5).

Branford 10, Law 6: Rob Petrillo had a homer and Alex King had two hits and an RBI to lead the Hornets to their SCC interdivision win in Milford. Jake Rouse and Dillon Rocha each had two hits and an RBI for the Lawmen.

Guilford 10, Career 9: With the game tied at 9 and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Michael Afeltra drew a bases-loaded walk and drove in T.J. Williams from third for the game-winning run for the Indians in their SCC interdivision win in Guilford. Alex Potocsny had a two-run double for the Indians (6-5).
Hand 16, Wilbur Cross 0: Reed Smith and Evan O’Neil combined on a no-hitter for the host Tigers in this SCC interdivision win at Madison.

Smith struck out seven in six innings. Kyle Anderson doubled and had a run-scoring triple, Kyle Brown had two hits and three RBIs and Jamed Powell had two hits, including an RBI double, for Hand (6-5).

Seymour 8, Kennedy 2: Nick Kuzia had a single, double and two RBIs and Zach Sirowich added an RBI double for the Wildcats (4-8) in their NVL win in Waterbury.


Follow all of the action

Wednesday's recap

No. 3 Xavier 12, Foran 11: The host Falcons scored eight times in the bottom of the seventh inning in this SCC interdivision win at Middletown.

Matt Albanese had a two-out infield hit in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game for the Falcons. Mike Purcell had three doubles, a single and three RBIs and Will Garrity hit a solo home run for Xavier (10-1).

Reinaldo Jackson hit a solo home run and Anthony Alicki hit a three-run home run and finished with five RBIs for the Lions (5-5).

No. 2 Amity 7, North Haven 1: Sebastian DiMauro had three hits, including a two-run home run, to lead the host Spartans to this SCC interdivision win at Woodbridge.
Justin Ashworth and Chris Katz each had a hit and two RBIs for Amity (9-1). Matt Oestreicher had two hits for the Indians (8-3).

Ansonia 3, Torrington 2: Cory Dzienkiewicz’s sacrifice fly with one out in the fourth inning drove in Darwin Elias from third to give the Chargers (5-5) a 3-0 lead as they hung on for their Naugatuck Valley League win in Torrington.

Derby 11, Wilby 4: Victor Soto hit a grand slam and had five RBIs as Sal Frosceno, Zach Volo and Ryan Ladona all homered in the NVL home win by the Red Raiders (5-6) over Wilby (1-9).

Law 7,No. 10  Fairfield Prep 2: Kurt Holden picked up his third win of the season for the Lawmen (6-5). Cheech Guistino went 2-for-3 with two RBI for the Lawmen. Shawn Blake doubled for the Jesuits (8-3).

North Branford 5, Haddam-Killingworth 0: Brandan Basil had an RBI and two hits, Mike Querfield had a hit and two RBIs and Mike Funaro added an RBI in the win by the Thunderbirds (7-3) over the Cougars (7-3).

Shelton 9, Branford 1: Tyler Tice had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Gaels to their SCC interdivision win in Branford.
C.J. Rizzo added two hits including a three-run triple in the fifth inning and Pat Murphy had two hits for the Gaels (7-4).

Coginchaug 2, Morgan 1: John Mormile had a two-out RBI single that scored Christian Adams to lift the Blue Devils over the Huskies in Shoreline Conference action at Durham.

Ted Thody got the win for Coginchaug (7-4) over Morgan (6-4).

Hand 8, Hamden 2: Kyle Anderson had a triple and two RBIs for the visiting Tigers in this SCC interdivision win.

Winning pitcher James Powell allowed four hits and helped his cause with an RBI for Hand (5-5).

Paul Wetmore doubled and had an RBI for Hamden (3-7).

Notre Dame-West Haven 6, Guilford 2: Zack Balabon had a hit and two RBIs for the host Green Knights in this SCC win at West Haven. Notre Dame is 7-4.

Oxford 4, Stratford 2: Winning pitcher Kyle Chudoba struck out six and had a two-run double for the visiting Wolverines in this South-West Conference win at Stratford.

Neil Ring had two hits and an RBI for Oxford (8-2). Alec Ward had two hits and Mike Tecci had two hits and an RBI for the Red Devils (4-6).

 

THE MIDSEASON REPORT

BATTER BOX — We’ve hit the midway point of the baseball regular season. After most teams having played about 10 or 11 games, some upsets, some extra-inning nail biters and some blowouts, we basically know nothing. And that is just the way we like it, right? Below is a quick look at what we’ve learned from the first half of the season and what could happen in the second half. Most likely it won't though, happy reading!

What we learned (kind of)

THE NUMBER ONE TEAM IS...: Yeah, okay the baseball writers and I are still working on that one. There has been a different number one team each week. From Amity, to Xavier, to Bristol Central, we just can’t decide. However, in my humble opinion, No. 2 Amity, who was No. 1 in the first poll, is the state’s best team due to pitchers Mike Concato and Sam Nepiarsky. In the state and conference tournaments, having a strong No. 1 and 2 starter is the main ingredient to a title. The 8-1 Spartans are only giving up 1.2 runs per game and their only loss came via a seventh inning error. Not bad, to me at least. In spite of that, the 9-1 Falcons are shutting teams down, too. No. 3 Xavier was voted No. 1 in the second poll and has only gave up three or more runs in a game three times this season. Xavier is 2-1 in those games with the lone loss being a 6-3 defeat to defending Class LL champ Shelton. Now new No. 1 Bristol Central of the Central Connectitcut Conference joins the convo courtesy of a 7-0 record and star pitcher Matt Blandino. These three teams will play musical chairs with the top spot until someone really falls off, which I doubt. Just know, Amity is most likely the best, barring injury.

Amity's Concato fans 12

HAMDEN’S GOT BAD LUCK: Remember the song Bad Luck by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes? Remember Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes? Well you get a gold star sport! Seriously, make that old school track the Green Dragons’ first half theme song. Hamden is 1-2 in extra inning games and is currently riding a three-game losing streak in which it has dropped all three by one lousy run. Don’t feel too bad for the Green Dragons though, these guys are good. Hamden rallied from an eight-run deficit to force extras with No. 3 Xavier and lost 12-11 in eight innings. Then two days later, lost to 7-2 No. 10 Fairfield Prep (Who wants respect) 5-4 in nine frames. Hamden also topped No. 8 Shelton 6-4 earlier in the season. Hamden’s got spoiler written all over it.
THE NO. 5 CROMWELL/HADDAM-KILLINGWORTH GAME IS GOING TO BE SWEET: Over in the Shoreline Conference, Cromwell has been rocking steady (Bet you don’t remember Rock Steady by the Whispers!! Haha, I’m on a roll). However, the defending Class S champion Panthers took their only loss of the season to Haddam-Killingworth 6-2 on Apr. 5. The Cougars are 7-2, with both losses decided by one run to Portland and Old Lyme. These two seem to be the best in the SLC and Cromwell might be headed for a Class S repeat. May 8 will answer a lot of questions.
WOLCOTT MIGHT ALREADY HAVE THE NVL WRAPPED UP: With a team ERA of 1.97 and batting average of .359 with 104 hits and 64 RBIs, the Eagles are head and shoulders above anyone in the Naugatuck Valley League. Wolcott is 9-0 and also possesses a NHR Top 25 talent in Manny Cruz, who is batting a scorching .500 (Yes, .500) and holds a 5-0 record on the mound with a 1.27 ERA. The only potential obstacle is 8-2 Holy Cross. Or maybe not, after Wolcott trounced the Crusaders 10-2 last Friday.
N0. 6 ST. JOSEPH IS THE SCARIEST TEAM IN THE FCIAC: The Cadets hold a 7-2 record. No. 4 New Canaan (9-1) is arguably more talented. However, I’ve always been a resume over personnel guy and the Cadets’ resume is good enough to fetch them a job in my dying profession. This season the Cadets have defeated No. 7 Greenwich and aforementioned New Canaan. SJ’s losses are a 3-1 decision to Wilton (6-3) and a 8-3 season-opening loss to Ridgefield (7-2), Be very afraid of the Cadets Fairfield County, very afraid.

What we might learn (But most likely won’t)

RAIN, RAIN, OH, YOU’RE NOT COMING? COOL, KEEP IT THAT WAY: Just one day has been interrupted due to rain in the first half of the season. Although I would love to tell you that the rest of the season will go on uninterrupted, I know better. Pitching rotations get screwed up due to the rain and look for that to happen in the second half.
THE NUMBER ONE TEAM IS: Amity, just don’t see anyone topping this team in Class LL. They’re not always on fire at the plate, but with Jake Russo, Justin Ashworth and Co., three or four runs should be enough with their pitching staff.
THE REGULAR-SEASON IS OVERRATED: Pick up a paper and look at a box score, wait, who am I kidding? Go online and look at a box score and you’ll see good teams losing to bad teams and ranked teams losing to unranked teams. Don’t be fooled. Pitching wins championships. Therefore, some top teams may drop some in an effort to see who else can eat up some innings when the playoffs come around. Also, playing three to four games in a week will put a strain on your rotation. There will be upsets in the second half, but before you say a team is or isn’t legit because they lost, ask who pitched.
IF NOTRE DAME-WEST HAVEN GETS HEALTHY, WATCH OUT: The Green Knights have been without UConn-bound Griffin Garabedian and Greg Zullo for quite some time now. However, if coach Lou Kessler can get his guys back, look for Notre Dame-West Haven to make a strong push towards the postseason. The Green Knights are 6-4, it is far from over in West Haven for these guys.

WE REALLY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING: Seriously, we don't. We watch games, we talk about it, we look over stats and at the end of the day, the end result is decided on the field and sadly our respective publications and TV stations don't give us gloves and bats, just modest checks. Play ball.

BASEBALL LIVE

GOOD EYE

Fairfield Prep wants respect

Monday's Recap

North Haven 1, No. 8 Shelton 0: Chandler Andrewson allowed five hits and struck out nine for the Indians in this SCC interdivision win at Shelton.

Zack Brown drove in the winning run with two outs in the sixth inning for North Haven (8-2).

Ryan Testani gave up five hits and struck out 10 for the Gaels (6-4).

Fairfield Prep 7, Hand 1: Shawn Blake and Mike Carter both hit two-run home runs for Hand in an SCC interdivision win at Madison.
Kevin Stone went 3-for-3 for the Jesuits (8-2).

James Powell and Jake Golicz both doubled for the Tigers (4-5).

Derby 5, Kennedy 2: Dillon McMahon had a single, double, run and an RBI for the host Red Raiders in this NVL win.

Michael Kreiger had a triple and an RBI and Justin Olenoski had a hit and two runs for Derby (4-6).

Ansonia 5, Crosby 0: Ryan O’Connor had two doubles and scored twice for the host Chargers in this NVL win. Ansonia is 4-5.

Seymour 8, Holy Cross 1: Jim Vartelas had two hits and an RBI for the visiting Wildcats in this NVL win at Waterbury.

Jake Walkinshaw had two hits and an RBI for Seymour (3-7).

Morgan 6, Old Saybrook 1: Gary Forbes had two hits and two RBIs for the visiting Huskies in this Shoreline Conference win. Morgan is 6-3.

Law 6, Hamden 5: Nolan Rourke drove in the winning run in the fifth inning for the host Lawmen in this SCC interdivision win at Milford.

Jake Rouse had three hits and an RBI and Rich Dow had two hits and three RBIs for Law (5-5).

Tyler Mitchell had two doubles and an RBI and Matt Moskal had a hit and two RBIs for the Green Dragons (3-6).

No. 2 Amity 6, Branford 0: Mike Concato and Sebastian Dimauro each went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base for Amity (8-1) in an SCC interdivision win at Woodbridge. Robert Miniter doubled for the Hornets (4-6).

Sheehan 8, Career 3: Zach Hart threw a four-hitter and Paul Gozzo was 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Sheehan in an SCC interdivision win at Wallingford.

Mike Kakalowwas 2 for 4 with an RBI and Nolan Cloutier was 1 for 2 with two RBIs for Sheehan (4-5). Josh Colon had an RBI double for the Panthers (3-7).

Haddam-Killingworth 6, East Hampton 2: Winning pitcher Brian Moskey allowed eight hits, struck out five and added a two-run single for the host Cougars in this Shoreline Conference win.

Jake Decarli, Ty Schuler and Cody Harlow each had two hits for H-K (7-2).

East Haven 5, Cheshire 3: John Criscio had two hits, including a triple, to lead the visiting Easties to this SCC interdivision win. East Haven is 5-5.

Dan Schock had three hits and two RBIs for the Rams (3-6).

THE BASEBALL NOTEBOOK

Fairfield Prep wants respect and the Game of the Week right here.
The good, bad and ugly on the diamond last week, Swing and a Miss right here.
Bristol Central takes the top spot, where did your favorite team land in the updated Top 10. Find out here.

THE STATE'S BEST PLAYER

BASEBALL LIVE

Concato Ks 12, Amity edges Shelton

 

Amity 3, Shelton 0: Mike Concato struck out 12 to lead the Spartans over the Gaels in Woodbridge on Friday. Chris Katz and Anthony Capozziello had sac RBIs in the victory.

Amity 3 Shelton 0: Mike Concato is now at eight punch outs going to the bottom of the sixth, as the pitcher approaches another 10 strikeout game.

Amity 3, Shelton 0: The Spartans take a 3-0 lead going to the top of the fifth courtesy of a sac fly from Chris Katz that scored Justin Ashworth. 

Amity 2, Shelton 0: Amity's Mike Concato is twirling a gem with five strikeouts through three innings. The starter is halfway to a 10 strikeout performance as we head to the bottom of the third.

Amity 2, Shelton 0: Keith Klebart scored on a wild pitch and Jake Russo scored off a ground ball from Anthony Capozziello to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
 

 FRIDAY'S RECAP 

Kevin Stone had three hits, including one in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in Chris Collins with the deciding run for the Fairfield Prep baseball team, which edged Hamden 5-4 in nine innings Friday in this Southern Connecticut Conference Quinnipiac Division win at Fairfield.

Collins and David Gerics both had two hits for the Jesuits (7-2, 3-1). Luke D’Ostilio had two hits and two runs and Christian Colon added two RBIs for the Green Dragons (3-5, 1-3).

Career 4, Law 3: Winning pitcher Jose Negron had two doubles, a single and two RBIs for the visiting Panthers in this SCC interdivision win at Milford.

Will Jackson had two hits and an RBI for Career (3-6). Jake Rouse a single, double and two RBIs for the Lawmen (4-5).
Guilford 1, No. 6 Foran 0: Nick Rubino allowed three hits and struck out 10 for Guilford in this SCC Hammonasset Division win at Milford.

Dante Parisi walked to lead off the fourth inning, stole second and P.J. Ciocca drove him in with an RBI single for the Indians (5-3). Mike Aseltra went 2-for-2 with two walks for Guilford.

Anthony Alicki struck out 10 for the Lions (5-3).

Cheshire 14, Lyman Hall 2: Kevin Mirando went 3-for-4, including a triple and Coopper Mrowka went 2-for-3, including a triple, with two runs and an RBI for Cheshire in an SCC Housatonic Division home win. Dan Schock and Kyle Hodgdon both had three hits for the Rams (3-5, 1-3).

East Haven 14, Wilbur Cross 3: Andrew Hinckley had two doubles, a single and three RBIs to lead the host Easties to this SCC Oronqoue Divison win.

John Criscio hit a home run for East Haven (4-5, 3-1). Thomas Mieles had two hits and an RBI for the Governors (1-8, 0-4).
Westbrook 11, Hyde 2: Sam Grigo had a triple and a double for the visiting Knights, which won their first game of the season in this Shoreline Conference contest at New Haven. Westbrook is 1-7.

Ryan Rodriguez had two hits for the Howling Wolves (0-8).

Naugatuck 4, Seymour 3: Scott Still hit a two-run homer to lead the Greyhounds (4-4) to their Naugatuck Valley League win in Seymour. Mike Tuscano had an RBI double for the Wildcats (2-7).

West Haven 4, Sheehan 0: Nick Price pitched a complete game, allowed three hits and struck out five for the host Westies in this SCC interdivision win.

Joe Sette had two hits and scored for West Haven (4-5). Sal Gozzo, Brandon Gauthier and Paul Gozzo each had hits for the Titans (3-5).

Hopkins 3, St. Luke 1: Paul Tupper had three hits for the visiting Hilltoppers in this prep school win at New Canaan. Hopkins is 5-2.

Platt Tech 5, Wilcox Tech 2: Angelo Genovesi went 2-for-3 with two runs and Todd Petrucci went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Platt Tech in a CSC win at Milford. Sean Clark added two hits for the Panthers.

BASEBALL LIVE

Wednesday's recap

Matt Pitney hit a walk-off RBI triple that scored Ryan O’Connor and Louis Nicoletti in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Ansonia baseball team over St. Paul 6-5 in Ansonia on Wednesday in Naugatuck Valley League action.

O’Connor added two doubles for the Chargers (2-5), who trailed St. Paul 5-4 headed into the seventh. Kyle MacLean added a triple for St. Paul (6-2).

No. 1 Xavier 12, Hamden 11 (8): Joe Violette’s two-out single in the top of the eight inning scored Ben Criscuolo with the winning run for the visiting Falcons (7-1, 3-0) in this SCC Quinnipiac Division win in Hamden.

Jim Magson had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs and Tyler Mitchell had three hits and an RBI for the Green Dragons (3-4, 1-2), who rallied from an eight-run deficit to send the game into extra innings.
No. 3 Amity 3, No. 4 Notre Dame-West Haven 1: Jake Russo hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to lift the visiting Spartans to this SCC interdivision win at West Haven.

Amity is 6-1. Brandon Wynne had two hits and an RBI for the Green Knights (5-3).

No. 10 Shelton 6, Lyman Hall 1: Sophomore Mike Cowell earned his first varsity victory and helped his cause with two hits, a run and an RBI for the host Gaels in this SCC Housatonic Division win at Shelton.

Ed Groth had a hit and two RBIs for Shelton (6-2).

Justin Brown had two hits for the Trojans (0-8).

Branford 19, No. 6 Foran 1: Rob Petrillo had four hits and four RBIs for the visiting Hornets in this SCC interdivision win at Milford.
Rob Miniter had two hits and two RBIs for Branford (4-4).

East Haven 12, Career 5: Justin Fry pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn the win and helped his cause with three hits for the visiting Easties in this SCC Oronoque Division win at New Haven.

Nick Lamberti went 4-for-5 with four RBIs for East Haven (3-5).

Fairfield Prep 4, West Haven 1: Mike Carter delivered a two RBI pinch-hit single in the top of the sixth innings to help lift the Jesuits (6-1) over the Blue Devils (3-5). Dave Gercis pitched all seven innings allowing six hits in the SCC Quinnipiac Division matchup.

Matt Carter finished with two hits and scored the only run for the Blue Devils.

Hand 2, Law 1: Scott Braren went 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Tigers (4-4) over the Eagles in SCC Hammonasset Division action at Milford.

Kevin Johnson had an RBI for Law (4-4)).

Platt Tech 6, Wolcott Tech 5: Cutter Pinciero had two hits and an RBI and Jim Coury had a double and two RBIs for the host Panthers in this Constitution State Conference win at Milford.

MONDAY'S RECAP

Good Eye: Derby's little boss

 

Ed Groth had two hits and two RBIs for No. 10 Shelton, which beat top-ranked Xavier 6-3 in an Southern Connecticut Conference interdivision game at Middletown.

Justin Lynch added two hits and Ryan Testani won his second game for the Gaels (4-2). Matt Albanese had two hits for Xavier (6-1).

No. 3 Amity 8, Cheshire 3: Keith Klebert had two hits and two RBIs and Anthony Capozziello added three hits and an RBI in the Spartans’ SCC Housatonic Division win in Cheshire.

East Haven 3, Branford 1: Nick Lamberti had two hits and two RBIs for East Haven (2-5) in an SCC Oronoque Division home win. Branford fell to 2-4.
No. 6 Foran 5, Hand 0: Pitcher Anthony Alicki had eight strikeouts and allowed two hits to lead the Lions to their SCC Hammonasset win in Milford.

Chris Yee went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Casey McCone went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for the Lions (5-1).

Sheehan 4, Lyman Hall 1: Brandon Rentas allowed four hits and no earned runs for Sheehan in an SCC Housatonic Division home win.

Zach Hart’s single and Kevin Duffy’s double gave Sheehan (2-3, 2-0) the lead in the 3rd. For the Trojans (0-6, 0-2), Dan Russell took the loss striking out four.

Hamden 3, West Haven 2: Tyler Mitchell had a single and two RBIs for the host Green Dragons in this SCC Quinnipiac Division win.

Mat Moskal pitched a complete game and allowed just four hits to earn the win for Hamden (3-3, 1-1). Joe Sette had a two-run double for the Westies (3-4, 0-3).

TOP 10: Check out the new Top 10 here
SWING & A MISS: Check out the good, bad and ugly from last week right here.
Vote on who you think the state's best player is. Voting closes on Sunday at noon.

 SATURDAY'S RECAP

What Rubino and Nerney said resoundingly on Saturday

Nick Rubino and Luke Nerney combined on a no-hitter for Guilford in a 3-0 Southern Connecticut Conference Hammonasset Division win over host Law Saturday in Milford.

Dante Parisi had two hits, including a double, and an RBI for the Indians (4-2).

East Haven 4, Hand 1: Andrew Hinckley hit a two-run double for the visiting Easties in this SCC interdivision win at Madison.

East Haven scored three times in the top of the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie.
Nick Lamberti had three hits, including a double, and Matt Wynne had two hits for the Easties (1-5).

Morgan 6, Barlow 0: Mike Austin hit a two-run double for the host Huskies in this non-league win at Clinton.

Ron Buchetto allowed just four hits to earn the win for Morgan (2-3).

North Branford 5, Coginchaug 1: Brandan Basil had two RBIs, Kyle Hart, Nick Perrelli and Matt Edwards doubled and Mike Schettino pitched a complete game in a Shoreline victory on the road.

Chris Caron also doubled for the Thunderbirds (5-1) in the win over the Blue Devils (4-2).

Woodland 3, Ansonia 2: Anthony Scirpo tripled and scored for the host Hawks in this Naugatuck Valley League win at Beacon Falls.
Anthony Ross pitched a complete game and allowed just six hits for Woodland (2-4).

Darwin Elias doubled and scored and Adam Thayer allowed six hits and struck out eight for the Chargers (1-5).

No. 6 Xavier 3, West Haven 2 (9): Matt Albanese had two hits and drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth inning to lift the visiting Falcons to this SCC Quinnipiac Division win at West Haven.

Jack Gethings had two hits, including an RBI double, and scored twice and Mike Purcell had two hits and an RBI for Xavier (6-0).

Matt Carter and Jay Wilkerson each drove in runs for the Westies (3-3).

Haddam-Killingworth 10, Ellington 3: Brian Moskey hit a three-run double to lift the host Cougars to this non-league win at Higganum.

Griffin Bremer, Jake DeCarli and Nick Landell also had hits for H-K (3-1).

Bremer scattered five hits and struck out four to earn his second victory of the season.

Today’s postponements

BASEBALL

 NVL

Ansonia at Woodland, ppd., to Saturday, 1 p.m.

Shoreline

Valley Regional at Portland, ppd., TBA

Westbrook at Old Saybrook, ppd., to Thursday, 1 p.m.

North Branford at Coginchaug, ppd., to Saturday, 3 p.m.

Hyde at Haddam-Killingworth, ppd., to Tuesday, 3:45 p.m.

SCC Quinnipiac

 Xavier at West Haven, ppd., Saturday, 11 a.m.

Notre Dame-West Haven at Hamden, ppd., to Saturday, 11 a.m.

SCC Housatonic

Shelton at Sheehan, ppd., Tuesday, 4:15 p.m.

SCC Oronoque

Branford at Wilbur Cross, ppd., Tuesday, 11 a.m.

SCC Hammonasset

Guilford at Law, 

SCC interdivision

East Haven at Hand, ppd., Saturday, 2 p.m.

CSC

Platt Tech at Kaynor Tech, ppd., Tuesday, 4 p.m.

Preps

Rye (N.Y.) at Hamden Hall, ppd., TBA.

Wednesday's roundup

Matt Haskell reached on an error, allowing Sal Gozzo to score the deciding run for the Sheehan abseball team, securing a 2-1 Southern Connecticut Conference Housatonic Division win over No. 1 Amity Wednesday at Woodbridge.

It was the first time Sheehan beat Amity since the 2003 season.

Sheehan starter Zach Hart struck out four in a complete game as the Titans (1-3) handed the Spartans (3-1) their first loss of the season. Mike Concato struck out 10 for Amity.

No. 2 Shelton 6, Cheshire 2: Ryan Testani had three hits and two RBIs for the host Gaels in this SCC Housatonic Division win.

Marcello Ursini had two hits and two runs for Shelton (3-2).

Hand 9, Guilford 6: Ben Bednarczyk had three RBIs, Scott Brarent added an RBI double and the Tigers downed the Indians in an SCC Hammonasset game in Guilford as both teams now stand at 3-2.

Hopkins 5, Loomis Chaffee 3: Gordon Driscoll had two hits to lead the host Hilltoppers to this prep school win at New Haven.

Jake Poliner hit a home run for Hopkins (4-1).

North Haven 7, East Haven 1: Matt Oestreicher had three RBIs, Zach Brown had two hits and two RBIs and Mike Acampora had a home run in the Indians (3-2) triumph at home.

Nick Lamberti had an RBI for East Haven (0-5).

Seymour 9, Torrington 6: Trevor Tema had three hits and a run and Nick Kuzia had three hits and two RBIs and the Wildcats picked up a home victory to improve to 2-3.

Pat Baker had a home run for Torrington (1-3).

Wilbur Cross 3, SMSA 1: Eddie Luther scored two runs and Thomas Mieles had two RBIs in the Governors victory.

No. 6 Xavier 7, Fairfield Prep 1: Chris Cardi, Jay Schaf and Pat Downy all had two hits as the Falcons routed the Jesuits in Middletown to improve to 5-0 and drop Fairfield Prep to 4-1.

Baseball live

Countdown to First Pitch 

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Nick Kuzia earned the win and had two hits as Seymour edged host Woodland 2-1 in this Naugatuck Valley League contest held at Beacon Falls.

Mike Tuscano recorded the save, while chipping in with two hits and a run for the Wildcats (1-3), while Dan Godette had a two-run single for the Wildcats.

Mike Kenney had two hits, including a double, for Woodland (0-3).

No. 2 Shelton 4, Law 0: Marcello Ursini had a double and a triple and two RBIs for the host Gaels in this SCC interdivision win.

Ryan Testani allowed just three hits in the win for Shelton (2-2).

Fairfield Prep 17, Wilbur Cross 0: Chris Collins had a single, double, two runs and an RBI to lead the visiting Jesuits to this SCC interdivision win at New Haven.

David Gerics had a triple and two runs for Fairfield Prep (4-0). Jake Mahoney had two hits and two stolen bases for the Governors (0-4).

No. 1 Amity 8, Hand 0: Justin Ashworth drove in three runs for the host Spartans in this SCC interdivision win at Woodbridge.

Keith Klebart and Jake Russo each had two hits for Amity (3-0). James Powell had two hits for the Tigers (2-2).

Notre Dame-West Haven 12, East Haven 1: Anthony Rovasio allowed just one hit over six innings and struck out nine in the Green Knights SCC interdivision win at East Haven.

Notre Dame (3-1) scored eight runs in the final inning. East Haven drops to 0-4.

No. 7 Foran 13, Sheehan 3: Reinaldo Jackson went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and Casey McCone had three hits and three RBIs for the visiting Lions in this SCC interdivision win at Wallingford.

Anthony Alicki earned the win for Foran. Zach Hart had a run-scoring double for the Titans.

North Haven 5, Hamden 2: Chris Brockett drove in two runs and Vin Cretella also drove in a run for the host Indians in this SCC interdivision win.

Chandler Andrewson and winning pitcher Mike Acampora each had two hits for the Indians (2-2).

Mike D’Astilio and Mark Masciantonio had two hits each for the Green Dragons (1-2).

West Haven 5, Branford 0: Cameron Stone pitched a complete game, allowing two hits, and struck out nine for the visiting Westies in this SCC interdivision win. West Haven is 3-1.

Guilford 7, Lyman Hall 4: Ben Monte went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases in the Indians’ SCC interdivision victory at Wallingford.

Andrew Kelly had a two-run single and Dante Parisi drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh with an RBI single for Guilford (3-1).

Lyman Hall falls to 0-4.

North Branford 4, Westbrook 1: Nick Perrelli went the distance, allowing three hits, one run and struck out 10 in a Shoreline Conference win at North Branford.

Chris Caron had two hits and Brandan Basil had a two-run triple for North Branford (4-0). Westbrook falls to 0-3.

Derby 5, Ansonia 2: Sal Frosceno pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits in Derby’s Naugatuck Valley League win at Ansonia.

Derby improves to 3-1. Ansonia falls to 1-3.

AMITY 8, HAND 0

(at Woodbridge)

Hand 000 000 0 --- 0 2 2

Amity 100 610 X --- 8 11 0

James Powell, Smith (5) and Nuzzo; Chris Simmino, Ross Weiner (6) and Gerald Farace.

WP: Chris Simmino (1-0). LP: James Powell ().

Saturday's roundup

 

 Wes Robertson had two hits and an RBI, and Dan Schock added three hits, an RBI and got the save as the Cheshire baseball team picked up its first victory of the season with a 3-1 SCC interdivsion win over No. 9 Notre Dame-West Haven on Saturday in West Haven.

Troy Terzi went the distance for Notre Dame-West Haven (2-1) in a losing effort.

No. 1 Amity 10, West Haven 5: Anthony Capoziello went 2-for-3 with three runs, two stolen bases and an RBI as the Spartans downed the Blue Devils to improve to 2-0.

Cameron Stone had a double for West Haven (2-1).
Derby 15, Platt Tech 1: Mike Kreiger had four hits and four RBIs, including a three-run homer, to lead the Red Raiders to their non-league win in Derby.

Ryan Landona and Dillon McMahon added two hits each for the Red Raiders (2-1).

Hamden 6, No. 2 Shelton 4: Jim Magson homered and Paul Wetmore had two hits and an RBI to lead the Green Dragons to their SCC interdivision win in Hamden.

Zach Morgillo pitched a complete game for the Green Dragons (1-1). Ryan Testani had a homer and four RBIs for the Gaels (1-2).

Hand 8, Branford 7: Ben Bednarczyk went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a two-run homer, to lead the Tigers to their SCC interdivision win in Madison.

Adam Nuzzo, James Powell and Bobby Lanza added two hits each for the Tigers (2-1).
Hopkins 8, Kingswood Oxford 7 (8): With two outs in the top of the eighth, Paul Tupper hit a game-winning RBI single to lead the Hilltoppers to a prep school win in West Hartford.

Doug Schaffer added an RBI double for the Hilltoppers (3-0).

North Branford 6, East Haven 2: Nick Perrelli had two doubles and four RBIs to lead the Thunderbirds to their non-league win in East Haven.

Nick Candelora had two hits, and Chris Caron added a triple for the Thunderbirds (3-0).

St. Joseph 6, Seymour 2: Nick Williams had a three-run homer, and Brett Olayos added three hits and an RBI to lead the Cadets to their non-league win in Seymour.

Pitcher Mike Tuscano had seven strikeouts, an RBI triple and a run scored for the Wildcats.

No. 6 Xavier 3, Sheehan 0: Jake Gethings had two hits, including a two-run single, to lead the Falcons to their SCC interdivision win in Wallingford. Xavier improves to 3-0.

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