The East Haven baseball team enters the 2022 season with just five seniors on its squad, but also features several talented underclassmen. With a young roster, Head Coach Butch Johnson is looking for the Yellowjackets to refine their approach as the season unfolds and then make some waves in the playoffs this spring.

The Easties played one game last week, hosting Wilbur Cross for their home opener on April 4. The Yellowjackets posted a 4-0 shutout over the Governors to pick up their first win of the year and improve to 1-1 on the campaign.

East Haven scored one run in the first inning, two runs in the third, and then added another run in the fourth on its way to the win. Junior Jack Angelo pitched a complete game for East Haven, allowing just 4 hits to go with 11 strikeouts in 7 innings of work.

Junior captain Ryan Vallie had 3 hits in the victory, while sophomore PJ Carrangelo had a hit and scored a pair of runs.

“It felt good. You don’t want to start 0-2. We had a tough one at Fairfield Warde. They played tough. They didn’t quit,” Coach Johnson said. “It was nice to get a win against Cross. We made the plays we had to make, and Jack threw strikes. That was the game.”

The Yellowjackets are being led by two captains in senior first baseman Dom Golia and junior shortstop Vallie as they begin a new campaign. Coach Johnson said that Golia and Vallie are each providing leadership in their own specific ways and that everyone in the program respects them.

“They both have great leadership abilities. They’re both respected by everybody,” said Johnson. “Dom caught for us last year. He moved over to first. He’ll do anything we need. Ryan is only a junior, but everyone agreed he was one of the leaders on the team. They wanted him to be captain. It was a no-brainer.”

Joining the captains in the infield are Angelo, who plays second base when he doesn’t pitch; and sophomore Peyton Torre, who plays third. Carrangelo is East Haven’s starting catcher.

Senior Marcello Proto and sophomore Jason Kapinos are splitting time in left field for the Easties. Sophomore Mason McCarroll is in center field, while junior William Hay is patrolling right field.

Coach Johnson wants East Haven’s batters to be more aggressive at the plate this season. Johnson’s goal is for the Yellowjackets to get ahead in counts and have confidence every time they step into the box.

“We want to put the bat on the ball more than we did last season. Go after pitches and not get behind in the count,” Johnson said. “If you’re going to strike out, go down swinging. If the pitch is outside, take it that way. Put the bat on the ball and see what happens.”

When it comes to the team’s pitching staff, Coach Johnson said that East Haven is using a “pitcher-by-committee” approach at this point in the season. Angelo is the Yellowjackets’ ace right now. Johnson said that the junior is a hard strike-thrower who does a good job of mixing in his offspeed pitches.

East Haven’s second starting pitcher is freshman Janvier Diaz, whom Coach Johnson called a “pleasant surprise.” The Yellowjackets’ skipper said that Diaz is pitching as well as anyone early on and has worked himself into a major role in East Haven’s rotation.

Other players who are expected to see time on the mound this season include senior Tim Case, juniors Aaron McIntyre and Rocco Lombardi, and sophomores Torre and Joel Alvarado.

Whether they’re pitching or playing in the field, East Haven’s roster features several underclassmen who are getting ample opportunities to contribute at the varsity level this year. Johnson does not view the Yellowjackets’ youth as a weakness and feels that they’re already making strong strides in their development.

“We are very young. There might be a game where we’re starting three freshmen. But we have a lot of talent,” said Johnson. “They’re going to make young mistakes. But you just have to learn and get a little bit better every game. Think about the things you need to work on and take baby steps. They’re listening. We’ve already seen tremendous improvement.”

Coach Johnson is hoping that East Haven can record 10 victories while qualifying for both SCCs and states this year. While he wants to see the team succeed, Johnson is also looking for his young club to gain pivotal experience as the Yellowjackets continue to make their move toward the top.

“I’d love to shoot for 10 wins, maybe get a shot at the SCC Tournament. Then make some noise in states. Win a couple games in states and see what happens,” Johnson said. “I think that would be good, especially with a young team.”