The 2015 season has proven a difficult one for the North Haven Junior Legion baseball team as Post 76 won just three games and missed the State Tournament. Head Coach Chris Farina identified a number of factors for the squad’s problems, such as its poor defense and base running. However, these struggles have also been beneficial in a sense because they’ve provided North Haven’s players with valuable learning experiences that can benefit them as the progress into higher tiers on the diamond.

North Haven’s biggest strength this summer was its pitching. The staff of Jake Bencivengo, CJ DeBridgita, Luca Lawrence, Geno Giano, Jason St. Peter, and Brendon Ziaks (who all right-handers) displayed good command and kept Post 76 in some games despite the squad’s inconsistent defense and offense. Coach Farina said that each pitcher has improved and he handed out some praise to them.

“Jake has made a lot of strides and quickly developed a strong breaking ball. CJ has a very good fastball and can strike batters out,” Farina said. “Luca’s fastball has improved significantly and he has been able to keep batters off-balance using it and his breaking ball. Geno throws hard and is improving his command. Finally, Brendon pitched well [in a recent defeat] against Branford.”

Bencivengo attributed his success this season to his improved command and a good curveball.

“I worked a lot on hitting my spots and improving the mechanics of my curveball,” he said. “When I pitched well, I was able to throw a lot of strikes and keep hitters off-balance. My curveball was breaking a ton by the end of the season.”

Coach Farina added that his pitchers did a good job of maintaining their composure following errors in the field and helped each other improve their approach against hitters.

“They’re an enjoyable group of kids who are always working hard and stay focused,” he said.

North Haven received great defense and solid pitching in its three wins this season. Post 76 defeated Orange by a 6-5 score on June 10, beat Milford 8-6 on July 5, and then recorded a 7-4 victory versus another Zone 2 opponent in East Haven on July 12.

While North Haven’s defense played well in its wins, it rarely did so in losses. Farina said his players developed a habit of making errors on what should have been routine plays, which led to some big innings for opponents.

“In most games, we were competitive in the first four innings and then made costly errors that took us out of the game. We’ll get two outs, and then fail to make a basic play or two and the floodgates will open,” Farina said. “Our inability to execute in rundowns are a great example of this. The quality of baseball at this level is very high and, if you give teams extra outs, they’ll make you pay.”

Bencivengo added that Post 76’s inexperience sometimes caused issues for them with the gloves.

“We’re mostly younger and less experienced than other zone teams and I think we had tendency to lose focus in the field,” he said. “In some innings, we just got overwhelmed.”

North Haven’s also offense struggled this year, although Farina said it improved through the course of the season. The team’s young hitters had difficultly adapting to the strong quality of pitching in Zone 2.

“There was definitely an adjustment period for them when facing good, experienced pitchers,” Farina said. “They struggled to lay off pitches and with anticipating what pitches would be thrown in certain situations.”

Farina said his primary pitchers were also the team’s top hitters, singling out Bencivengo, DeBridgita, and Lawrence for their ability to recognize pitches and hit the ball to the opposite field. When not pitching, the trio split time between center field and third base. Farina felt his hitters improved the most at staying back on pitches and hitting the ball to all fields.

Farina also said that North Haven cost itself some runs by not being aggressive enough on the base paths, citing examples of runners not tagging up on deep fly balls and not taking a large enough lead when in scoring position.

“A lot of our guys are fast, but they still need to learn how to take advantage of their speed at this level,” Farina said. “That will come with confidence and hard work.”

Still, despite his club’s difficult season, Coach Farina felt proud of the work ethic and effort his team showed.

“They always worked hard in practice to improve in the areas we were struggling and came to play every game,” he said. “I give them a lot of credit for continuing to give 100-percent effort. They’re a tough group of kids who want to succeed at this level. No one made excuses or felt bad for themselves when we lost.”

Bencivengo echoes Farina’s sentiments in that regard.

“The competition was difficult, but we fought hard against every team and kept games close,” Bencivengo said. “No matter what, we stuck together.”

Many of North Haven’s players are again expected to play for next season’s squad. Coach Farina believes the knowledge and experience gained this summer will help that team have a much more successful campaign.

“This season, they saw what it takes to be a winning team at this level,” Farina said. “Many of these guys can be star players. They just have to stay focused and keep developing their skills.”

Bencivengo feels the same was as his coach that 2016 should see some more wins on the board for the North Haven Junior Legion baseball team.

“Next season, I think we’ll be more confident and prepared to face this level of pitching and hitting,” Bencivengo said. “We already have the work ethic we need.”