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07/19/2014 12:00 AMNorth Haven Senior Legion baseball has had a rough go of things this summer as it was unable to reach the postseason, although Post 76 collected a nice parting gift last week by winning its series against Hamden to eliminate that squad from playoff contention.
Charlie Flanagan’s club first gained a 4-1 victory at Hamden on July 16 and then split a home doubleheader with Post 88 the next day, dropping the opener 4-0, but then rebounding with an 8-3 triumph in the rubber game of the series.
“It was nice because we were able to knock Hamden out of the State Tournament, which was something for us to play for and that we accomplished. Our pitchers threw well in all three games,” said Coach Flanagan, whose team then won at New Haven 3-1 to finish the season 9-21. “Hamden has had a better season than us and we showed that, when we put our best foot forward, we can play with a team like Hamden, which has beaten some good teams this season. It’s disappointing because we haven’t consistently played like that throughout the year, but at the same time, we showed that we have the ability to play better baseball.”
Chandler Andrewsen pitched a gem in upending Hamden on the road by a 4-1 count on July 16. The right-hander was in command as he needed only 72 pitches to twirl a two-hitter, inducing a slew of ground outs and pop outs. Andrewsen also had RBI singles in both the third and fourth innings with Johnny DeCusati adding an RBI single in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. Hamden plated a run in the fifth to make it 3-1, but then Trent Dillon scored an insurance run on an error in the seventh and North Haven went on to win. Flanagan’s club committed no errors in this contest and his athletes had no trouble making it home in time for supper as the game was completed in a clean 1 hour and 20 minutes.
“Chandler was very consistent in this game. He threw a lot of tight curves for strikes and totally fooled their hitters. Hamden’s batters were helpless; they couldn’t hit him. Chandler didn’t play spring baseball so the early part of this season was like the preseason for him and it took him a while to catch up, but he’s been very effective his last few times out,” said Flanagan. “We picked up every ground ball and caught every pop up and, when you limit your opposition to the amount of outs they’re supposed to have, which is three, strange things happen—you usually win.”
Unfortunately, North Haven committed six errors in a 4-0 loss in the opener of its home doubleheader with Hamden on July 17. Three of those miscues came in the first inning and helped Post 88 take a quick 1-0 lead. Hamden took advantage of more errors to score a pair of runs in the fifth and then scored one more in the seventh. Righty Erik Esposito went the distance and allowed no earned runs for Post 76.
“Erik is consistent with throwing strikes, but just has to be more consistent with his location in the strike zone. Erik has worked really hard through this whole season and I really can’t find fault with him in this game. He deserved a better fate. It seems every time he gets in trouble, we compound it with our mistakes on defense,” Flanagan said. “It was a sloppy game. We were slow with our reaction on defense and just slow all the way around.”
However, right after that game was in the books, North Haven and Hamden squared off again in the nightcap of this double-dip that decided the series. Post 76 prevailed 8-3 behind righty Mike Kurk’s complete game, five-hitter that put the kibosh on any chance Hamden had at making states. Hamden scored in the first and then North Haven tied it in the fourth when Chris Brockett singled home Hunter Iacobelli. Flanagan’s squad then broke loose with a five-spot in the fifth. In that frame, Noah Ramos hit a two-run single, Iacobelli’s squeeze bunt brought home a run, and then Dillon and DeCusati roped RBI singles to put Post 76 up 6-1. Hamden got one back in the top of six, yet North Haven countered with a pair in the bottom half on RBI base knocks by DeCusati and Dillon. Post 88 scored one in the seventh, although Kurk escaped any major danger and sealed the victory.
“We’ve extended Mike’s time on the mound as the season has gone on,” said Flanagan of Kurk, who has a knuckle-curve in his arsenal. “He’s worked on his mechanics and I think this performance bodes well for him next year.”
Post 76 then capped its week with a 3-1 win at New Haven on July 18. Andrewsen was the winning pitcher for North Haven, which took the lead when Iacobelli hit a two-run double that scored Ramos and Chris Tullo.