The North Haven Senior American Legion baseball team is in contention to qualify for the State Tournament entering the last week of the regular season. Post 76 has lost six of its last eight games to own a record of 11-12 in Zone 2 and sits in seventh place, but can still make states if it closes out the regular season strong. The top five teams in the zone make it and North Haven is chasing New Haven (11-11) and East Haven (12-12), which are tied for fifth place.

Post 76 began its recent stretch of contests by getting swept in a three-game series with East Haven. North Haven lost both ends of a doubleheader in East Haven with scores of 5-0 and 4-1 on July 2 and then took a 9-3 home defeat the next morning. After that, Post 76 faced Orange for a pair and dropped the opener on the road, 4-0, on July 5 before prevailing 3-2 at home on July 8. North Haven then took on Zone 2 front-runner Stratford and was swept in a road doubleheader on July 9 with finals of 11-8 and 2-1. Post 76 wrapped up the week by hosting Stratford the next morning and prevailed 7-4.

Haven vs. Haven

Preston Young was the losing pitcher by giving up four runs in 4.2 innings in a 5-0 defeat for the opener of the East Haven doubleheader. Tom Myjak pitched 1.2 innings and allowed one unearned run. Hunter Iacobelli and Craig Somma both had two hits for North Haven. Iacobelli also walked, while Dom Fusco walked twice.

For the 4-1 loss in the second game, Mark Tantorski started and allowed a run in four innings. The game was tied at 1 before East Haven scored three in the fifth against Fusco, who took the loss. Fusco contributed three hits on offense, including a double. Iacobelli singled, doubled, and scored North Haven’s lone run that was driven in by Myjak, who had two hits.

In the 9-3 loss on July 3, Trevor MacDonnell gave up four runs in the third inning and Myjak allowed five in the fifth as North Haven fell into a 9-1 hole. Chris Stevens pitched two scoreless innings and Iacobelli tossed a scoreless seventh.

Iacobelli singled, doubled, and scored a run; Clark and Stevens both had a single with a RBI; Somma singled and scored a run; Erbe had a single, drew a walk, and scored a run; and Alphonse Fusco drove in a run.

A Pair of Oranges

In the opener of the Orange series, Tantorski got the loss as he allowed three runs (2 earned) in the first two innings of a 4-0 defeat. MacDonell gave up a run in two innings and Stevens tossed two shutout innings. Clark had two singles.

North Haven gained revenge against Orange by walking off with a 3-2 victory when Dom Fusco singled home Dom Onofrio for the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. North Haven scored twice in the first and led 2-0 entering the top of seven, when Orange scored a pair. After relieving MacDonnell and allowing an inherited runner to score the tying run, Young escaped a bases loaded jam to keep the game tied at 2. In the bottom of the inning, Onofrio, Clark, and Fusco singled in succession with Fusco’s hit winning it. MacDonnell gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk in six innings and Young allowed one hit in one inning and was the winning pitcher. Fusco had three hits with a run and a RBI; Clark had two hits, walked once, and scored a run; Onofrio had a hit, drew a walk, and scored a run; and Lucey added a double.

“[In the first game] We were overmatched by the Orange pitcher [Eli] Oliphant. He threw strikes, he was up in the count, he mixed speeds. We could not get any key hits with men on. This was a tough game to get any rhythm going,” Head Coach Charlie Flanagan said. “[In the second game] Trevor MacDonnell pitched a great game. He scattered hits and we made plays. Preston came in with the bases loaded and got out of the jam. Give Orange credit. They came back in the seventh to score two runs and tie us. Give North Haven credit to answer the challenge in the seventh with Dom Onofrio and Brendan Clark getting back-to-back hits with two outs and Dom Fusco plating Dom Onofrio with the winning run. This win was big and key to our playoff hopes. This win also showed a lot about the character of this team. We kept grinding.”

Battling the Best

The opener of the Stratford doubleheader was an offensive showcase that saw North Haven pound out 13 hits in an 11-8 defeat. North Haven led 5-4 before Stratford scored three in the fourth and four in the sixth. Tantorski allowed seven runs (3 earned) in 3.2 innings, DeBridgita got the loss by allowing three runs in 1.2, and Stevens gave up a run in his two-thirds of an inning. Kurk had three hits with a RBI and a run; Dom Fusco singled twice, walked, scored a run; drove in a run, and stole two bases; Iacobelli had two hits, walked, scored two runs, and drove home a run; Clark doubled twice, scored a run, and had two RBI; and Lucey had two hits with a run and a RBI. Additionally, Somma doubled, walked, and scored a run; Erbe singled and scored; Myjak walked and had a RBI; and Alphonse Fusco also had a RBI.

In the nightcap, Stratford scored a run in the first, North Haven tied it in the fifth, and Stratford plated the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Kurk started and gave up a run in two innings. Stevens pitched scoreless ball for 4.1 and Myjak took the loss by allowing the run in the seventh. At the plate, Dom Fusco walked two times and had a stolen base, Lucey singled and walked, and Iacobelli drove in Stevens on a sacrifice fly.

“We received very good pitching from Mark Tantorski, CJ DeBridgita, Mike Kurk, Chris Stevens, and Tom Myjak. I cannot fault the pitchers. We made errors in key defensive situations and we did not deliver hits with runners in scoring positions at key points in the game. We left too many runners on base. We had several situations that, with a hit, we would have gained control on both games,” said Coach Flanagan. “Stratford is good team, but they put on their pants just like us. We did not take care of business and that was the difference in both games. We have our work cut out for us know if we want to make the state playoff.”

North Haven rebounded to beat Stratford 7-4 in the series finale. Young gave up four runs in 4.2 innings and Myjak earned the victory by tossing 2.1 scoreless innings. Post 76 led 4-0 before Stratford scored four times in the fifth, North Haven retook the lead in the bottom of the inning and added two insurance runs in the sixth. Iacobelli had two hits, a run scored, and three RBI; Dom Fusco hit a pair of doubles, scored a run, and added a RBI; Clark doubled, scored a run, and drove home two; Alphonse Fusco had two singles, drew a walk, and scored a run; Kurk doubled and had a RBI; Erbe walked and scored a run; plus Onofrio and Stevens both singled and scored for North Haven.

“Preston Young pitched a very heady game for four-and-a-third innings. Tom Myjak came in, closed the door, and did a great job in relief. Both Preston and Tom located their pitches. We made some great plays,” said Flanagan. “Dom Fusco, Brendan Clark, and Mike Kurk had huge doubles. Hunter hit the ball hard and came through big time with clutch hitting. The team effort was great. We put ourselves back in the playoff hunt with this win.”