After a convincing 9-0 victory at the start of the playoffs, the 19-U Huskies summer league baseball team’s season came to an end on August 5 after competing in five games in five days. The Huskies lost their third game of the day in the losers bracket for playoffs against the New England Knights, with a final score of 6-2.

Head Coach Willie Fritz has been coaching the team since 2011, and has also had experience coaching other teams in the summer league.

“We won 9-0 against New Haven on Thursday [August 3], [in the] first round of the playoffs. We had to play Madison Friday night, and we lost 6-2,” said Fritz. “Based on that, Clinton hosted the rest of the playoffs at Indian River Complex.”

The Huskies began their playoff run as the No. 4 seed after returning from a tournament in Delaware, where they fell short in the championship game, losing 8-0.

The Huskies hosted New Haven on August 3 and won by mercy rule in just five and a half innings with a final score of 9-0, despite missing several players.

“We were missing Nick Glynn, Dom Carpenter, and Luis Mendez, who were big contributors in Delaware, but we did have EJ Quint back in the lineup, at least for this game,” said Fritz. “Bryan Higgins pitched a gem, throwing six innings [with] no runs, one hit, and eight strikeouts. The Huskies jumped out early in the second, with a leadoff single by EJ Quint [and a] walk by Declan Christopher.”

Other top contributors from this game include Caden Civiello, who scored on a single by Higgins. In the third inning, Joe Giaccone, Lucas Kamoen, and Brady Fritz started off with three singles.

“Quint and [Declan] Christopher walked, and Civiello had a big single, leading to five more runs. The Huskies concluded the scoring in the fifth with singles by [Brady] Fritz and Quint and a walk by Civiello,” said Fritz. “[Brady] Fritz scored on [Declan] Christopher’s fly ball, and Quint was plated by a Ryan Donadio ground out.”

Following their short-handed win, the Huskies faced off against top-seeded Madison on August 4, falling 6-1. Fritz noted that this game proved to be challenging as the team played on a turf field, which they had not done all summer.

Standouts from this game included Brady Fritz throwing four innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on six hits, which found gaps in the outfield due to the speed of the ball on the turf. He also recorded six strikeouts. Liam Christopher was called up due to short numbers and pitched the final two innings of the game, giving up one run on two hits.

“Our offense just didn’t get going. We left runners in scoring position in the first, third, fourth, and fifth innings, finally getting a run in the seventh on a hit by Higgins and some heads-up baserunning by Higgins scoring on a throwing error on a grounder hit by Liam Christopher,” said Fritz. “Madison scored two in the first, one in the second, two in the fourth, and one in the sixth for a 6-1 win, putting us in the losers bracket.”

Following the August 4 loss, the team faced third-seeded Hanks Yanks on August 5, winning by a final score of 6-4. Hurler Ryan Donadio was a top contributor in the win, throwing seven innings while giving up four runs and striking out four, as well as being the benefactor of some outstanding defense.

“Yanks jumped out to a 1–0 lead in the first, but Huskies responded with hits by Joe Giaccone, Lucas Kamoen, Brady Fritz, Caden Civiello, Donadio, Tyler Greenhouse, Lucas Hedge-Terreri, who was called back up, Liam Christopher, as well as a walk to Declan Christopher,” said Fritz. “Greenhouse led us with three hits, and David Mantilla had an outstanding game behind the plate.”

The Huskies then went on to face fifth-seeded West Haven. The Huskies won this game 8-0 in just six innings due to the mercy rule. Liam Christopher pitched six innings, allowing no runs and three hits while striking out three batters. He only allowed one baserunner.

“Once again, the defense was great. The Huskies scored three in the third on a walk by Giaccone and Mantilla, singles by Hedge-Terreri, Kamoen, and a double by Fritz. Civiello hit a long fly to get Fritz home. Mantilla, Hedge-Terreri, and Liam Christopher also scored,” said Fritz. “In the third, Greenhouse reached on an error; Mantilla had a single, both stole and scored on a Hedge-Terreri hit.”

The Huskies’ third game of the day was against the No. 2 seed, the New England Knights, in which the boys saw their season come to an end. Despite the loss, Fritz was proud of what the team was able to accomplish this season, as well as during the playoffs.

“It was a great run and a tough grind. At the beginning of the playoffs, we went in with only 10 of our regular 14-man roster. By Friday, we were at nine, and [by] the end of day Saturday, eight. I give the guys so much credit, 11 games in 8 days, playing many guys out of position,” said Fritz. “Dave Mantilla caught all three games Saturday. Yet we still nearly got to the finals for the second straight year. Proud to coach these guys and see what a great group of guys they are and how they support one another.”

Fritz is assisted by Pete Christopher, who has been a steadying force for the Huskies for the past three years.

The Huskies’ full team roster includes Carpenter, Christopher, Civiello, Donadio, Fritz, Hedge-Terreri, Higgins, Giaccone, Glynn, Greenhouse, Kamoen, Mantilla, Mendez, Nick Spaziano, and Quint.