Prep Legion Baseball

East Haven was the first team to reach 10 wins in Zone 2 action and currently holds a four-game advantage over Stratford for first place with the regular season winding down. The 89ers have won their past five zone games with two wins over Branford, two against Stratford, and one versus West Haven.

On July 1 against Branford, Luke Delguidice started and went five innings, striking out six, and Sal Buffone got the win in relief. In the sixth inning with two outs, Ryan Spano and Gabe Longley had back-to-back hits with Longley's driving home a run and then Buffone had an RBI single to tie the game. In the bottom of the seventh, AJ Pacheco got a walk-off hit to win the game 3-2.

The next day, the 89ers won both games of a doubleheader against Stratford. In the first one, they prevailed 14-7. Longley got the win on the hill by hurling five innings. Sal Luzzi went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, two RBI, and three runs scored; Sal Buffone had three hits, three RBI, and three runs; Delguidice had three hits, including a triple, with two stolen bases, three RBI and two runs; and Longley had two hits, a stolen base, and three RBI. Carlos Lugo also got in on the action with two walks and an RBI. Game 2 was won 5-3 as Ryan Spano was on his game on the hill. He went six innings and struck out 11 to earn the win. Sal Buffone got the save. Luzzi remained hot at the plate with two hits and two RBI and Matt Pycela had two hits and two RBI.

On July 7, East Haven shut out Branford 10-0. Pysela got the win by pitching five innings and striking out three. Delguidice had two hits and two RBI and Jason Gieparda went 2-for-2 with two RBI. Sal Buffone had two hits and scored twice and Luzzi also scored two runs.

On July 9, the 89ers won via shutout again, topping West Haven 7-0. Spano got the win, tossing five innings and striking out six. Longley had two hits and two RBI, Delguidice had a hit and two RBI, plus Sal Buffone had a hit, a run, and an RBI.

East Haven finished the weekend with three non-zone games. It won the first by the score of 12-2 over Fairfield on July 11. Dom DeRosa pitched five innings and got the win. Longley went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI; Pysela had three hits and two RBI; Sal Buffone had two hits, two runs, and two RBI; and Anthony Buffone had two hits, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. DeRosa also helped his own cause with a hit and an RBI.

Things didn't go quite as swimmingly for East Haven in its doubleheader against Darien on July 12. The 89ers lost the first game 5-0 and then dropped the second 4-3. In Game 1, Longley started and allowed a run through four innings and then Delguidice allowed four runs in three innings of relief. The 89ers had just five hits as a team in the loss. In Game 2, they were left on the field as Sal Buffone took the loss. East Haven is 10-3 overall.

Senior Legion Baseball

The 89ers won two games over Ansonia last week and sit at 8-19 entering the final week of the season. After Ansonia won 6-5 in 10 innings on July 7, East Haven won a pair last weekend. The first was the continuation of a game that was tied 6-6 suspended due to weather from three days earlier. They resumed the game on July 12. Dan Petr got the game-winning single and Nick Carbone earned the win on the mound. Carbone also had three hits. After that, East Haven and Ansonia squared off again in a close game that same afternoon. Carbone hit a double to drive home John Kikosicki and Anthony Pepe to make it 3-2 and leave Ansonia on the field. Bryon Kucharski got the win on the hill.

For its other games, East Haven was in all but one. On July 6 against Orange, the 89ers lost 3-2. East Haven had the game-tying run on second base in the seventh inning, but Kucharski and Mike DeAngelo flew out to close the game.

"We've lost nine or 10 one-run games this year," Head Coach Lou Ciaramella said. "It's the most I've ever had. We've had our chances. We just couldn't get it done."

Against Ansonia on July 7, the game went to extras and Matt Wynne walked in the game-winning run in the 10th.

On July 8, the 89ers were defated by West Haven 3-2 and again had the tying run on second base.

On July 9 in a doubleheader against the zone's top team in Branford, East Haven lost a pair of close games. In the first, Dan Petr pitched great through six innings, but with a 1-0 lead entering the final frame, he loaded the bases and allowed a game-winning double. In the second game, the 89ers lost 6-4. East Haven had the bases loaded in the final inning, but Kikosicki lined into a double play to end it.

On July 12, East Haven lost 13-0 to close out the series.