Archive for April, 2012

Handshakes: Greenwich vs Norwalk

Thursday, April 5, 2012 by:Scott Ericson
Comment
Comments(3)
|
|

Greenwich moved to 2-0 and has yet to allow a run after starter Casey Gaynor threw six no-hit innings to pick up the win, striking out 9 along the way before being pulled after reaching his pitch count.

It was Gaynor’s first game back after missing most of last year with an injury so Greenwich coach Mike Mora was not going to push him just so he could have a shot at a no-hitter.

Norwalk and Stamford are certainly not top teams in the FCIAC but the Cardinal pitchers have been impressive nonetheless. We will see how Greenwich does against Southington Saturday without one of its two aces on the mound.

Norwalk certainly looked better than it did getting drubbed by Staples on opening day but the Bears are young and are going to struggle this year, though Pete Tucci will most likely get the most out of his young players.

Greenwich has pitched as well as you can and will have to get the bats going at some point but it is early and hitting always has to catch up to pitching in April.

The Cardinals had five hits today but they all came in the third inning and only one of those hits left the infield.

Diamond Visions: Prep vs. Shelton

Thursday, April 5, 2012 by:Mike Cardillo
Comment
Comments
|
|

Howdy all, Cardillo checking in here again from windswept Shelton after the Gaels defeated Fairfield Prep 8-2 to improve to 2-0 on the young season.

A couple quick thoughts and observations:

* Shelton looks like it could be pretty good and a team to remember in late May and early June. The top of the Gaels’ lineup is full of tough out and they make the plays in the field.

* That said, Shelton will have to prove itself against some of the (presumed) best teams in the state. The Gaels play eight of their 20 games against preseason Top 10 teams: Foran, ND-West Haven, Amity and Sheehan. Shelton travels to Milford to take on Foran Saturday morning.

“We’ll see what we’re made of,” Shelton coach Scott Gura said.

* Definitely impressed by Shelton starter Ryan Daiss, who had two previous innings of varsity experience, but struck out nine in five innings of work. That’s the make-up of a competitor.

* Shelton senior third baseman Ryan Zahornasky definitely has one of the solidest goatees I’ve ever seen on a high school kid. Think longtime Rockies first baseman Todd Helton.

* Another semi-lookalike, at least hair-wise, is Shelton senior pitcher Jeremy Soderholm, who’s long locks would give Tim Lincecum a run for its money.

* All-in-all, it wasn’t a good day for Prep, with six errors and lots of called third strikes. Five to be exact. If there was a bright spot for the Jesuits it was the pitching of Brett Young, who came on in the fourth and put out the fire. Young, a senior, induced five ground-ball outs and the only runner to get on came via an error.

“In those situations, you’re looking for a guy who’s going to bulldog up a little bit and get the job done and Brett certainly did that today. He should be proud of what he did,” Prep coach Rudy Mauritz said. “When you go out and do that, you earn yourself an opportunity. He probably earned a start today and we need other guys to step up like that.”

* Not sure if Shelton’s field has an actual official name, but perhaps it could adopt something from the old annuals of Major League Baseball like Coogan’s Bluff. Man, it was a wind tunnel for much of the afternoon, probably how playing at the old Candlestick Park felt like. Feel like Kramer, as in, it’s going to be tough to get my core temperature back up.

Opening day Stamford-Greenwich

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 by:Scott Ericson
Comment
Comments
|
|

If the Greenwich-Stamford opening day game is any indication, we should be in for a heck of a season in FCIAC baseball.

One of the league favorites, Greenwich, played well behind pitcher Dylan Callahan, who pitched a complete game, four-hit shutout, but the Knights held their own and should be in the mix as the season progresses.

Stamford got a solid performance out of starter Luis Lopez and its potential success will be based on how well Lopez and whoever pitches behind him keep them in games.

Stamford coach Fred Kelley was effusive in his praise of Callahan.

“Dylan is smart,” Kelley said. “He saw our guys going after that high cheese and he just kept bringing it up a little higher. I have a lot of respect for Mike Mora and the Greenwich program. I don’t like losing any game but I can take it when it’s Mike because I think he is a first class act.”

Greenwich takes on Norwalk in a non-FCIAC game Thursday and will most likely send Casey Gaynor to the bump, giving us a look at, what Mike Mora called his 1A starter.

Stamford will try and rebound with non-league games against Trinity and Joel Barlow.

Diamond Visions

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 by:Mike Cardillo
Comment
Comments
|
|

Hey, Cardillo checking in here.

Not sure what we’ll end up calling these post-game blog entries, but anyway here’s some quick thoughts after watching Amity beat Law 8-5 in the season opener in Milford Wednesday.

* The new BBCOR bats will be an issue, at least until gets warm. I only have seven fly-outs among the 42 outs in the game. Lots of grounders. Teams better have short stops with strong arms.

* On the subject of BBCOR bats, the ping sound is definitely a thing of the past.

* Amity played without it’s UConn-bound short stop Vinny Siena, as well as fellow senior Paul Gusmano for violation of team rules according to coach Sal Coppola. He said they’ll both be back in the lineup Thursday against defending Class L champions ND-West Haven, in what should be a pretty good early season game. Both figure to be around at the end come the SCC and state playoffs.

* Didn’t make my game story but Law Drew DeRubeis made a series of nice plays in the top of the seventh, first blocking off the plate — getting spiked by Justin Ashworth in the process — for the second out of the inning. Then he threw out a runner at second trying to steal to end the seventh. Law coach Greg Simler said he got spiked, but his sliding shorts prevented any additional bleeding.

* You never know what the weather is going to be like in early April. I always throw at least a second jacket or hoodie in my car. Wednesday the region couldn’t have asked for a better Opening Day forecast. Clear, sunny, not exactly warm, but very pleasant. Fields were also dry, thankfully, due to the lack of April showers we tend to always get. (Knock on wood.)

* It doesn’t tend to matter much for baseball, but this game was weird since both Amity and Law wore black shirt tops with gray pants. Umps also wore black instead of blue.

War of the Preseason Videos: Staples baseball’s 2012 Trailer

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments
|
|

OK, we stand corrected on yesterday’s post. There is another high school baseball team sporting an expertly produced, Inception-themed inspirational preseason video.

This one was posted over a month ago and brought to our attention by the good folks in Westport.

Behold! The Staples Baseball 2012 Trailer.

Now, this heart-pumping montage focuses more on the recent past, basically screaming 2011 FCIAC champs, baby! with a series of highlights from last year’s FCIAC playoffs at Harbor Yard.

This video smacks you in the face and says, You want more of this, FCIAC? You got it, in contrast to St. Joseph’s slightly (just) more subtle, present-day motivational speech.

Put them together and you begin to see the 2012 FCIAC preseason narrative.

Staples: Up here.

Everyone else: Down there.

(OK. Now, somebody at Danbury hit me with a video of their 6-4 revenge victory over Staples in the Class LL second round.)

If this video doesn’t get you fired up for (St. Joseph) baseball season, nothing will

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 by:Sean Patrick Bowley
Comment
Comments
|
|

Going to go out on a limb and say we doubt any other baseball team (or any spring team, for that matter) has already produced its own seasonal video, to say nothing about a preseason video.

That’s OK. St. Joseph High School just grabbed the baton and lapped everyone, anyway with its ‘St. Joseph Baseball 2012′ video.

Inspired by a video done for TCU baseball, this homage is wonderfully shot, edited, scripted and narrated to Hans Zimmer’s menacing theme from Inception.

Forget that it’s about St. Joseph. Take the majority of and imagine it’s your baseball team getting the theatrical treatment. Heck, it makes me want to get into the weight room, bench press a few hundred pounds and then smack a few pitchers around.

So, yeah, the bar has been set, ladies and gentlemen… at least in the local sports digital world.

Let’s just hope the Cadets 2012 season lives up to the video’s underlying promise. In retrospect, it would be kind of silly if Jim Chaves’ boys don’t deliver.

Pressure’s on, men.

2012 SWC Baseball 5-Minute Guide

Sunday, April 1, 2012 by:Mike Cardillo
Comment
Comments
|
|

Masuk's Thomas Milone

Pomperaug’s two-year grip on the conference was loosened by several significant departures, but don’t count the Panthers out of a championship mix that more than a few coaches were willing to declare wide-open.

With seven seniors at coach Matt Memoli’s disposal, including hard-throwing righty Kyle Wilcox, Newtown makes the leap to contender this season, and several of the usual suspects — Bethel, Masuk, Stratford — will also jockey for position in the conference tournament.

As dominant as Pomperaug has been, it was nearly the other Panthers (Masuk) who took the crown last year before Pomperaug’s slew of veterans orchestrated a late rally for the win in the title game. And though there are a few favorites, the lack of a consensus No. 1 club should make the 2012 season one of the more competitive in recent memory.

After Pomperaug’s memorable run to the Class LL title in 2010, which included a 13-12 quarterfinal win over Newtown in nine innings, the conference failed to produce even a semifinalist in 2011. The parity among this year’s teams could groom them for a stronger collective stand, however.

The league is once again rich with next-level talent, including Masuk centerfielder Thomas Milone (a UConn commit) and Newtown’s Wilcox (Bryant).

An added storyline to watch is how the new aluminum bats standardized nationwide — which are said to significantly curtail the speed at which balls are contacted — will affect strategy. Teams adept at small ball could be at a significant advantage.

Pomperaug's Matt Paola tags out Immaculate's Joe Hannigan in a game played last season.

Teams to watch

Newtown: The Nighthawks won 14 games in 2011 to easily qualify for both tournaments but just missed on a signature win over top-seeded Pomperaug in the SWC quarters, falling 4-3. Coach Matt Memoli enters his third season with his best club, a balanced unit that includes All-SWC senior shortstop Evan Noonan and senior outfielder Rich Sandler to go with its ace, Wilcox.

Masuk: The Panthers, like the Nighthawks before them, had the champs on the ropes but were unable to pull the big upset. Coach Ralph Franco, who’s compiled a record of 192-94 in 12 seasons, watched his team’s lead slip away due to a wild, late-inning rally at Hunt Field in the SWC title game. Despite only two returning starters, Masuk will use a formula of solid defense and timely offense to stay afloat. The lack of a true No. 1 starter could cause a stumble in the early going.

Pomperaug: The two-time reigning champ graduated key members from a unit that racked up 25 straight wins between 2010-11, but the adage about reloading rather than rebuilding may very well apply to coach Mike Eisenbach’s Panthers. Eisenbach enters his 21st season with a solid core of five seniors intact, including All-SWC shortstop Matt Paola. The Panthers will hit but need a young pitching staff to make strides if they’re to capture a third straight conference banner.

Oxford: Fourth-year coach Ryan Hourigan lost nine seniors but brings back two studs in senior shortstop Alex Miller and senior centerfielder Cathain Pratt. The Wolverines are a trendy pick to make the SWC tournament.

Bethel: The longstanding pitching tradition hasn’t skipped a beat under new skipper Ray Turek, who will once again deploy one of the league’s best rotations to bolster the Wildcats’ postseason hopes. Senior southpaw Tyler Slavick, who manned first base last season, in his first full season following Tommy John surgery, could emerge as a surprise frontline starter.

Stratford: Joe Reitano’s Red Devils will go as far as two of the league’s best arms take them. Seniors Brian Caselli and Axel DeJesus are both coming off All-SWC seasons and should get better. Caselli was a Connecticut Post All-Star, posting an 8-3 record to go with his 3.04 ERA and 50/10 strikeout/walk ratio. DeJesus lost seven games but featured an ERA south of 2.00, so the ace tag isn’t clear-cut. More important than that, the 1-2 punch should wreak havoc on the league.

Newtown's Evan Noonan

Position players to watch

Thomas Milone, Masuk: The Panthers’ centerfielder had anything but a sophomore slump, batting .414 and committing to UConn.

Evan Noonan, Newtown: The Nighthawks’ senior co-captain has all the tools, as evidenced by his .371 average, 10 steals in 11 attempts and solid glovework at shortstop. He’s a shoo-in for another All-SWC selection in 2012.

P.J. DeFilippo, Notre Dame-Fairfield: A Connecticut Post All-Star in 2011, the junior shortstop posted a sparkling .408 average and drove in 18 runs to lead the Lancers.

Alex Miller, Oxford: The senior shortstop earned an All-State nod last season for his .421 average and 19 RBI. Should contend for the league’s batting title once again.

Pitchers to watch

Kyle Wilcox, Newtown: The senior righty, a Bryant University commit, possesses one of the league’s liveliest arms and will use it to anchor the Nighthawks’ solid rotation. Posted a 3-1 record and an ERA of 1.63 with 25 strikeouts in 30 innings of work last year.

Brian Caselli, Stratford: The senior will rack up the punchouts once again and should be harder to score on in 2012, this on the heels of an 8-3 campaign last season.

Axel DeJesus, Stratford: The other half of the Red Devils’ impressive starting tandem could win a lot of games with better run support in 2012.

Five games to watch

Kaynor Tech at Immaculate (doubleheader), April 4: Always a scrappy bunch under longtime coach Tommy Neville, the Mustangs kick off a three-games-in-two-days stretch against the CSC team.

Masuk at Staples, April 5: A solid interconference pairing.

Pomperaug at Newtown, May 2: A budding rivalry that hasn’t been short on drama in recent seasons is renewed under the lights.

Masuk at Pomperaug, May 4: A rematch of last year’s classic SWC title game.

Barlow at Bethel, May 9: Potential playoff preview under the lights at Hunt Field.

Conference outlook

Immaculate’s Tommy Neville is back for his 20th season and the Mustangs will rely on six returning starters to defend their divisional crown. The pitching staff, outside of deceptive lefty Mike Hughes, has some question marks, but All-SWC second baseman Joe Hannigan (.360 average in 2011), all-division shortstop Brad Mannion and all-division first baseman/pitcher C.J. Espinal are reason enough to hope for another SWC tournament berth. … New Milford’s John Wrenn is the skipper to beat when it comes to his tenure (season No. 32) and the Green Wave should have a shot at extending that season. Seniors Donny Ek (center field), Ryan Lacey (third base) and Austin Kisling (first base) are all reliable bats … Bunnell brings back five starters from last year’s 10-14 club, including senior pitchers/corner infielders Andrew Scully and Brandon Sheehan. Scott Szturma is optimistic about an extended season, provided the Bulldogs are able to hit in the clutch … Notre Dame-Fairfield’s P.J. DeFilippo is a star but the Lancers are young and somewhat untested. Of course Paul Fabbri’s bunch was even younger last season and managed to win nine games, so an SWC tourney berth is well within reach. … Led by a trio of seniors in catcher Alex Kowalski, centerfielder Jake Lightman and pitcher Logan Barer, Barlow is poised to bounce back from last year’s 5-15 campaign. Coach Jeff Rago likes the Falcons’ chances to do just that, pointing to the team’s deep pitching and sound defense as increased strengths with the new bats in play. … Weston is short on experience but does return four starters, including All-State junior infielder Charlie Ameer. Frank Fedeli enters his seventh season as coach of the Trojans with his sights set on one of the final SWC playoff spots.

Who will win the 2012 SWC baseball title?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

MORE PREVIEWS

FCIAC | SCC/NVL/CSC

2012 FCIAC Baseball 5-Minute Guide

Sunday, April 1, 2012 by:Dave Ruden
Comment
Comments(2)
|
|

St. Joseph's Joe Burns

No sport in the FCIAC enjoys greater parity than baseball.

Consider this: No team has won three successive league titles in the sport, and consecutive championships have occurred just five times in 50 years. Lower seeds have had almost the same success as higher ones winning the necessary three straight postseason games over the past 15 years.

All of which makes the recent run by Staples the closest thing there has been to a baseball dynasty in the league. The Wreckers have won three of the last four crowns, and are certainly positioned to make it four out of five this spring.

It will not be easy. The league is loaded with good players and there are more contenders, at least on paper in early April, than at any other time in recent memory.

How the new BBCOR bats will affect the outcomes of games remains to be seen.

With the prospect for stronger pitching and better hitting across the board, plus the likelihood of closer-scoring, more defensive-oriented games, this season has the potential to be one of the most intriguing in league history.

Staples' Bryan Terzian

Teams to watch

Staples: Write off the Wreckers at your own risk. A combination of veterans and highly touted newcomers will ensure that Westport will remain at the center of the FCIAC baseball universe.

McMahon: With the league’s best player in Bryan Daniello and experience up the middle, the Senators are poised  to improve on last season’s 18-6 mark.

St. Joseph: The Cadets’ only league title came in 1998. That might soon change. They are loaded and right now would appear the favorite after going 21-4 and losing in the FCIAC semifinals and state quarterfinals last season.

Greenwich: The Cardinals have a veteran lineup and no obvious weaknesses. It has been eight years since their last league crown. The pieces are in place for a reversal in fortune.

Wilton: After the first four teams, there is a pool of teams with a balance of strengths and weaknesses. With the new BBCOR bats, keep an eye on the Warriors, who might have the deepest pitching staff.

McMahon's Brian Daniello

Position players to watch

Bryan Daniello, McMahon: The UConn-bound shortstop/pitcher was the league’s Player of the Year as a junior. He batted .432, with three home runs and 25 runs scored, and had a 1.50 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 70 innings.

Bryan Terzian, Staples: The most valuable player in last year’s FCIAC final, the Wreckers’ third baseman batted .380 with four home runs and 31 RBIs.

Joe Burns, St. Joseph: A four-year starter at catcher, Burns will try and surpass his lofty numbers of a year ago — .423 average, three home runs and 25 runs batted in — before heading off to play at St. John’s.

Alexis Guadalupe, St. Joseph: Another dominant hitter, the three-year starter in right field led the team in average (.468) and RBIs (32) while hitting three home runs.

Willie Burger, New Canaan: The Rams’ third baseman led the team with a .487 average and is one of the league’s toughest outs.

Matt Ederle, Norwalk: With an inexperienced roster, the Bears will be counting greatly on their star catcher.

Chris DelDebbio, Danbury: A key reason the Hatters reached the FCIAC final was the center fielder who hit .432.

Pitchers to watch

Greenwich's Dylan Callahan

Dylan Callahan, Greenwich: Needing a win to reach the league playoffs, Callahan pitched a 1-0 shutout against Wilton. That kind of performance has become the norm.

Jim Kopack, Staples: The Wreckers’ senior ace was 7-1 with a 2.69 earned run average and will again anchor the staff.

Paul Merolla, Wilton: At 6-foot-7, the hard-throwing righthander stands tall on and off the mound.

Dan Warren, Fairfield Warde: The Mustangs will need a big year from Warren to remain a playoff contender.

Dillon Duncan, Darien: One of the league’s most underrated players, Duncan was 4-3 with a 1.43 ERA last season.

5 Games to Watch

New Canaan at St. Joseph, April 4: Are the Rams a team with just three good players or a legitimate contender? They start to find out on opening day against one of the FCIAC favorites.

McMahon at Danbury, April 9: Another early-season test between two teams trying to stay atop the league standings.

Wilton at Greenwich, April 16: The team with the deepest pitching staff faces the team with perhaps the best pitcher. If the rotations align, you should have plenty of time to make the early-bird special.

Staples at St. Joseph, April 27: Though there are a number of quality teams, this might be the most anticipated game of the regular season.

Greenwich at Staples, May 11: This game will likely have huge seeding implications heading into the final week of the regular season.

Players to Watch

Here is a list of the top FCIAC baseball players to watch by team, based on information and statistics provided by league coaches.

Westhill: Billy Druelhl SS/3B, Brandon Curto CF, Andrew Oakes P/1B, Bryan Piechel 2B/DH.

Trinity Catholic: Kyle DiVico CF/P, Jeff Cortese 1B/C, Kevin Epp 3B/P, Mike Palomba SS/P, Danny O’Leary P

Darien: Thomas Carruthers SS (279, 13 runs, 9 RBIs), Sam Gillespie C (.355, 2 HR, 14 RBIs), Dillon Duncan P (4–3, 1.43 ERA), Bryan Previte CF (.379, 1 HR, 17 runs), Kyle Mangan RF (.293, 7 RBIs).

New Canaan: Doug Reilly 2B, Andrew Casali P/OF, Casey Ouellette C, CJ Altman C, Gogo Jones 1B, Henry Lavieri 1B, Willie Burger  3B/P (.487), Dan Rajkowski SS/P, Brian Moran OF, Nick Cascione OF, Alex Curto OF, Alex Lapolice OF, Matt Toth INF/OF, Mike Keshin P, JR Anderson P.

Greenwich: Casey Gaynor P/OF, Dylan Callahan P/SS (.385), Matt Pruner 2B, David Berdoff OF/P (.385), Kyle Ballone 1B/DH, Steven Fisher P, Cameron Fennell 3B/P, Ricky Okazaki C, Taylor Olmstead OF (2 HR, 13 RBIs).

Brien McMahon: Joe Cox 1B, Jamie Restivo 2B, Bryan Daniello SS, Ricardo Torres 3B/P (4-2), Chris Holomakoff C/OF, Dennis Warfield OF, Zach O’Connor OF.

Staples: Jim Kopack P (7-1 2.69 ERA), Bryan Terzian 3B/ P (.380, 4 HRs, 31 RBIs), Matt Reynolds P, Zach Levins P/OF, James Frusciante C.

St. Joseph: Joe Burns C (.423, 3 HRs, 25 RBIs), Alexis Guadalupe RF (.468, 3 HRs, 32 RBIs), Jason Holcomb SS/P (.397, 23 RBIs, 1.71 ERA ), John Amoroso P (6-1, 2.92 ERA), Jonathan Vazquez  1B (.317, 14 RBIs), Matt Batten IF.

Trumbull: Marcus Jenkins SS, Casey Mack 3B, James DeNomme C, Brendan Moore OF, Joey Forren OF, Mike Yerina P, Gerard Spiegel P.

Ridgefield: Eric Jones C, Ryan Callahan P, Bryce Maher SS, Harrison Siclair 2B, Patrick Molyneaux P/OF.

Fairfield Warde: Dan Warren SS/P (.323, 18 RBIs), Joe Bartolomeo OF (.393, 19 RBIs), Devon Lofton CF, Dario Pugliano 3B (.311), Shane Goven P (4-3).

Fairfield Ludlowe: Tim Moran Sr. P, Mike Kochiss Jr. IF/P, Tyler Bulkley Sr. SS, Victor D’Ascenzo Jr. OF/P, Charlie Meder Jr. OF

Danbury: Chris DelDebbio CF/P (.432), Austin Calitro C (16 RBIs).

Norwalk: Matt Ederle C, Mike Parlanti CF/P, Steve Curran P.

Wilton: Paul Merolla P, Garrett Furnivall P, Brett Phillips SS.

Central: Paulie Hernandez P/1B, Eric Vilanueva P/SS, Christian Rodriguez P/OF.

(Stamford, Fairfield Ludlowe, Warren Harding and Bassick did not provide any information).

Who will win the 2012 FCIAC baseball title?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

MORE PREVIEWS

FCIAC | SWC | SCC/NVL/CSC

Page 4 of 5« First345