Mark Brookes is in his 46th year as head coach of the Haddam-Killingworth baseball team, and the longtime skipper is showing no signs of slowing down. On the heels of a solid 2021 season, the Cougars are back on the ballfield this spring and picked up their first win of the year with a convincing victory over North Branford last week.

H-K features a good number of younger players on its roster this year. Coach Brookes is looking for the Cougars to get better with every inning they play and then start hitting their stride as the calendar turns to May.

“We’re a young team” Brookes said. “I’ve only got four seniors in the starting lineup. We are young at some positions that are critical. My hope for this team is that we can win enough and improve by the second half of the season to where we are a competitive team.”

H-K took an 11-2 home loss against Middletown in its season opener on April 2. Two days later, the Cougars bounced back by earning a 10-1 win against North Branford in a road game. H-K finished off its week with a 4-3 defeat to Morgan at home on April 8, putting the team’s record at 1-2 in the early goings.

Junior Liam Gordon allowed just 1 run in 5 innings of work for H-K in its victory versus North Branford, striking out 7 batters and giving up only 4 hits to get the win on the mound. Senior Alex Sheehan followed Gordon’s hot hand by delivering 3 strikeouts in 2 scoreless innings to close out the game.

Junior captain Callen Powers and sophomore Blake Kamoen each had 3 hits for the Cougars in the victory. Senior captain Nick Glynn hit a two-run triple and finished with 5 RBI for the day.

“The highlights from this game really came from our two pitchers. Liam went five strong for us, and then Alex came in and closed the deal with two scoreless innings. It was a strong performance by both of them,” said Coach Brookes. “Offensively, Callen and Blake were great for us, getting three hits each. Nick capped it off for us with his big day as he drove in half our runs.”

Four days after defeating North Branford, H-K hosted Morgan and dropped a 4-3 decision to the Huskies. The two teams were knotted at 3-3 heading into the top of the seventh inning, where Morgan scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly.

Sophomore Ryan Erskine got the start for the Cougars and pitched 5 innings, allowed no runs and striking out 7 hitters. Sheehan pitched the final two frames and struck out 3 for H-K. Glynn had 2 hits to pace the Cougars’ offense.

“I was pleased with our performance against one of the better pitchers in our league,” Coach Brookes of Morgan’s Garrett Garbinski. “Our defense was also solid in this one.”

H-K graduated several key seniors from a squad that finished last year with a record of 16-7 while qualifying for the Shoreline Conference Tournament and the Class M State Tournament. Consequently, Coach Brookes knows that there is a lot of work to be done if the Cougars want to replicate that type of success this season.

“We had a lot of great talent on that team last year, and four of those kids went on to play college ball,” said Brookes, who earned his 700th career victory last year. “I think the Shoreline is particularly strong, and we’re going to have to get good fast in order to contend.”

Glynn, a senior catcher; and Powers, a junior pitcher/infielder; are serving as the captains for Haddam-Killingworth this year. Coach Brookes considers both players integral components for the Cougars as they strive toward another successful campaign.

“Nick is great leader for us behind the plate. Callen pitches and plays the infield, and he’s been a solid contributor so far this season,” Brookes said. “These guys have their work cut out for them. We have to improve quickly, and they’ve done a good job of leading and directing the younger kids. They’ve got a lot of patience and they’re exactly what you expect captains to be.”

Aside from the captains, H-K’s roster also features seniors Caden Civiello, Lucas Kamoen, and Alex Sheehan; juniors Joseph Giaccone, Ben DeCrosta, Will Gordon, Jackson Pray, Dylan Coon, and Jack Whitehead; sophomores Ryan Erskine, Luke Mauri, Alex Blade, Blake Kamoen, and Elijah Carone; and freshmen Todd Butler and Matt Shea.

As he settles into season No. 46, Coach Brookes is looking forward to watching his young club jell and make another push for the playoffs in 2022.

“We are a young team, but improving every day,” Brookes said. “We always want to try and make the Shoreline and State tournament. We want to develop the kids to see if they can get better in both their personal life and as a ballplayer. We’re just trying to experiment and find out what makes us successful. It’s going to be an exciting season.”