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06/05/2022 12:00 AMSoftball
The North Haven softball team earned a win versus Rockville in the first round of the Class L State Tournament before taking a loss against Masuk in second-round action last week. North Haven finished the spring campaign with an overall record of 12-10 this year.
As the No. 17 seed, the Nighthawks began play in states with a first-round road game versus No. 16 Rockville on May 31. North Haven notched a 3-1 victory in 8 innings over the Rams to move into the second round of the draw. Sophomore Gabby Blanchard went the distance by pitching all 8 innings in a victorious effort, scattering 7 singles.
Alyssa Ferriouolo reached on a bunt single to start a rally for the Nighthawks that saw them score 2 runs in the top of the eighth. Senior Caroline Toni followed with another bunt that sent Ferriouolo over to third as Toni took second. Ferriouolo and Toni both scored on wild pitches, and North Haven went on the win the contest by a 3-1 score. Junior Kayla Balisciano had a single and a double in the victory.
Then on June 1, North Haven traveled to Monroe to take on top-seeded Masuk for a second-round contest. The Nighthawks took a 4-0 defeat to Masuk and were eliminated from the tournament with the loss.
Blanchard took the start and turned in another good performance while facing a powerhouse Masuk lineup. North Haven’s offense was held to 3 singles in the game.
Girls’ Tennis
The North Haven girls’ tennis team defeated Pomperaug in its opening match of the Class L State Tournament and then took a loss versus Avon in a quarterfinal contest last week. The Nighthawks completed their spring season with an overall record of 15-7.
No. 8 seed North Haven started off the state tourney by hosting No. 9 Pomperaug for a first-round matchup on May 31. The Nighthawks blanked Pomperaug by a 7-0 score at the North Haven Athletic Complex to advance into the quarterfinal round. Senior Ally Vollero earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory for North Haven in the No. 1 singles match. Freshman Sophia Padro recorded a 6-0, 6-0 shutout at No. 2 singles; junior Risa Tobin won a 6-0, 6-2 decision at No. 3 singles; and sophomore Alyssa Cherian notched a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles.
North Haven’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Zeena Mohamed and senior Taylor Morris posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory. The No. 2 duo of sophomore Chandler Morris and sophomore Samantha Ide earned a 7-5, 6-7, 10-8 win; and the No. 3 tandem of freshman Anna Hansard and freshman Emily Cerasoli netted a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Then on June 2, North Haven hit the road to take on top-seeded Avon in the Class L quarterfinals. The Nighthawks took a 5-2 loss against the Falcons in the contest. Padro notched a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles for the Nighthawks. Hansard and Cerasoli won their No. 3 doubles match by a 6-4, 6-4 score.
Prior to playing in states, North Haven finished its regular season with a 7-0 home win versus Nonnewaug on May 25. Vollero (6-1, 6-0), Padro (6-0, 6-1), Taylor Morris (6-1, 6-0), and Tobin (6-0, 6-1) earned wins in singles action for the Nighthawks. North Haven’s doubles teams of Mohamed and senior Noelle Carmody (6-2, 6-4), Chandler Morris and Cherian (6-4, 6-1), and Hansard and Cerasoli (6-1, 6-2) also prevailed in straight sets.
Baseball
The North Haven baseball team took on Lyman Hall for a first-round game in the Class L State Tournament last week. The Nighthawks lost a 3-1 decision against Lyman Hall to finish the 2022 season with an overall record of 9-13.
No. 25 seed North Haven traveled to Wallingford to face No. 8 seed Lyman Hall for a first-round states game on May 31. The Nighthawks took a 3-1 defeat to the Trojans.
Lyman Hall scored the first run of the game during the bottom of the first, but the Nighthawks came back with a run in the top of the second to tie the score at 1-1. Lyman Hall grabbed a 2-1 lead with a run in the bottom of the second and then added an insurance run in the sixth on its way to the win.
Bob DeMayo finished his 64th season as head coach of the North Haven baseball team this spring. DeMayo has 937 career victories as the Nighthawks’ skipper.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
Junior Yousef Gebril claimed first place in the shot put when the North Haven boys’ outdoor track team competed at the Class MM State Championship at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on June 1. The Nighthawks scored 27 points as a squad and finished in 11th place at the state meet.
Gebril launched a toss of 48 feet on his way to taking the Class MM title in the shot put. Gebril edged out runner-up Keenan Lamontagne of Woodstock Academy (47-11) to finish first in the event. Gerbil had previously placed second in the shot put at the SCC East Sectional Championship (44-10) and then finished seventh in the event at the SCC Championship (43-0).
Sophomore Nico Boyle finished third in the 3,200-meter run by crossing the finish line with a time of 10:07.73 at the Class MM State Championship. Senior Cole DeCusati finished third in the discus with a throw of 143 feet-8 inches, while junior Ethan Anderson took fifth place for the discus by throwing 132 feet-2 inches. DeCusati had recently won the discus at the SCC East Sectional Championship (143-4) and then finished fifth in the event at the SCC Championship (124-10)
Anderson also took sixth place (46-4) in the shot put and was followed by DeCusati in eighth place (44-2.25) at states. Senior Rolanyander Pizarro finished 19th in the shot put (39-2.75) for North Haven.
Senior Matthew O’Connell cleared 11 feet in the pole vault to finish in sixth place for the Nighthawks. O’Connell also hit a distance of 18 feet-8 inches in the long jump on his way to finishing in 17th place.
Sophomore Jake McCreven finished 12th for the preliminaries of the 110-meter hurdles by recording a time of 17.45 seconds. Junior Dan Thomas took 16th place in the 400 with a time of 55.37 seconds. Senior MJ DeVilliers finished 39th (12.46) in the 100-meter dash, and Thomas came in 43rd place (12.53) for the 100 on behalf of the Nighthawks.
Boys’ Tennis
The North Haven boys’ tennis team took a defeat against Bethel in its opening contest of the Class M State Tournament last week. On May 27, the 17th-seeded Nighthawks faced No. 16 seed Bethel on the road for a Class M qualifying-round match and lost the contest by a 5-2 score. North Haven finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 9-12.
Senior Ben Rudikoff claimed a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles for the Nighthawks in their states matchup versus Bethel. Freshman Seth Tobin posted a 6-4, 6-4 win in the No. 2 singles match for North Haven.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The North Haven girls’ outdoor track team was represented by several competitors in the Class MM State Championship meet at Willow Brook Park in New Britain on June 1.
Senior Brooke Waldron finished 12th in the long jump by reaching a distance of 29 feet-10.5 inches for North Haven at states. Waldron also competed in the 200-meter dash and came in 30th place by crossing the finish line with a time of 28.76 seconds. Sophomore Erika Fronte took 13th place in the shot put with a toss of 29 feet-8.25 inches for the Nighthawks.
North Haven’s 4x800 relay of junior Payton Orosco, sophomore Anna Mortali, freshman Grace DeNardis, and sophomore Rebecca Ford finished in 13th place (10:53.64) at the Class MM meet. The 4x100 relay featuring senior Grace Finch, freshman Brooke LaPierre, freshman Daniella Rapuano, and Waldron came in 20th place (55.82) for North Haven.