Perfect Week for Morgan Baseball; Golf Starts Strong
Baseball
The Morgan baseball team had a perfect 4-0 week with victories over Shoreline Conference foes Portland, East Hampton, Hale-Ray, and North Branford. On April 11, the Huskies went to Portland and pounded out 15 runs en route to the 15-2 blowout. Next was a home date with East Hampton and the Huskies showed they could win a defensive contest by nipping the Pirates 2-1. Morgan’s bats came alive again versus Hale-Ray as the Huskies scored 15 runs for the second time during the week in their 15-0 shutout of the Noises. Finally on April 16, Morgan traveled to North Branford and won decisively, 11-4, to finish off its unbeaten week. The Huskies are now 5-1 and have five straight after dropping their season opener to Cromwell on April 6.
Softball
The Huskies’ softball team went 1-2 on the week by defeating Haddam-Killingworth at home and then losing to North Branford and Coginchaug on the road. Morgan opened the week with a 7-6 victory over H-K on April 11. Next, the Huskies faced North Branford at Totoket Park on April 13 and took a 6-2 defeat. In the last game of the week, Morgan went to Coginchaug where it lost a defensive battle 3-1 on April 14. Morgan is now 2-2 on the season.
Golf
At Clinton Country Club on April 12, Morgan faced off against Portland and won a squeaker, 173-175. For Morgan, Kevin Daley finished as a medalist with the low score of 40 as he played the back nine at 36 par. Burton Caldwell shot one behind Daley at 41, Jack Bugg finshed with a 44, and Mike Van Ness totaled a 48.
Later in the week the on April 13, the Huskies faced Fitch and Waterford at the Shennecossett Golf Course, playing the front nine at par 36. Morgan shot a total score of 178, easily distancing itself from Waterford (222) and Fitch (225) for the victory.
“Really just warming up in these two non-conference matches. Players getting their swings and tempo back after winter break,” said Morgan Head Coach Eric Bergman. “We have an important match on [Monday] April 25 at Portland Golf Course. Should be very telling.”
Girls’ Lacrosse
It was a good week for the Morgan girls’ lacrosse team as the Huskies won two of three contests to climb to .500. First up on April 11, Morgan lost to Old Saybrook 18-11 at home. The next day, Valley Regional came to Indian River Complex in Clinton and the Huskies handed the Warriors a 16-14 loss. In its third game of the week, Morgan bested Haddam-Killingworth at home in a high-scoring duel, 18-16, to move to 2-2 on the year.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Morgan boys’ lacrosse squad split its two games last week by beating Valley Regional in overtime and then losing a close contest to Haddam-Killingworth.
On April 12, Morgan hosted Valley in what was originally a road game, but was switched to the Indian River Complex in Clinton due to inclement weather. The Huskies jumped out to the lead, yet struggled in the fourth period as Valley came back to tie the score at 9-all and force the extra session. In overtime, the Huskies won when Mateo Zumpano scored the game winner 30 seconds in for the 10-9 triumph. Zumpano finished the game with five goals and one assist, Anthony Choronzy and Jake Anselmo had two goals apiece, and Zak Johnson added a goal for the Huskies.
After that, the Huskies traveled to Haddam-Killingworth on April 14 and lost 11-9 to drop to 2-3 on the season.
Boys’ Tennis
The Morgan boys’ tennis team won two of three matches last week as the Huskies defeated Coginchaug and East Hampton before losing their first match of the season at Old Lyme.
On April 11, the Huskies downed Coginchaug 5-2. In singles action, No. 1 Tejas Patel defeated Brian Jubelirer 6-0, 6-1; No. 2. Sam Morgan bested Garrett Puchalski 6-3, 6-0; No. 3 Austin Remetta won over Riley Carey 6-1, 6-2; and Kevin LaFrance topped Thomas Seibert 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4. For doubles, the No. 2 team of Drew Marzano and Vincent Tino defeated Dominic Pascarelli and Kyle Bubier 6-0, 6-2.
Next on the schedule was a home date with East Hampton and the Huskies also took that match with a 5-2 final. Patel won over Aaron Romero 7-6 (7-3), 6-4; Remetta took out Garrett Jorday in straight sets 6-2, 6-3; and LaFrance beat Kiernan Tierney in a hard-fought three set match, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (7-9), 6-3. In doubles play, Patrick Markovics and Matt Newfield defeated Tyler Porter and Tom McGuire 6-0, 6-3, while Marzano and Tino defeated Cullen Buchan and Frank McGuire in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
On April 14, the Huskies traveled to Old Lyme, where they dropped their first match of the season 6-1. In singles, LaFrance had Morgan’s only victory by beating Kiran Nadkami 6-1, 6-2. The Huskies now sport a record of 4-1.
Girls’ Tennis
The Huskies’ girls’ tennis squad dropped two of three matches last week by losing to Coginchaug and Old Lyme, while defeating East Hampton.
On April 11, Morgan lost 4-3 versus Coginchaug at home. In singles play, No. 1 Emma Phelps defeated Emily Leibiger 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 Riley Smith won in three sets over Melissa Fowler 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; and No. 3 Darcy LaFrance also won a three setter against Emily Stanwood 6-2, 0-6, 6-1.
Next, Morgan went to East Hampton and won 4-3. Smith took the only win in singles over Emilee Karalus, 6-2, 7-5. The Huskies’ doubles duos stepped up their games to sweep East Hampton as Brenna Andrews and Lily Cummings defeated Signe Lee and Ana Cloutier 4-6, 7-6, 6-4; Angela Rienzo and Rebecca Walton made quick work of Lindsay deBrito and Alexis Abbats, 6-1, 6-0; and Grace Hull and Yashveen Rai topped Erin Gannon and Marissa Zadziniak 6-3, 6-1.
In the final match of the week on April 14, Old Lyme beat the Huskies 6-1. No. 4 singles player Gabriella Rodriguez had Morgan’s only win. The Huskies are now 4-1 on the year.