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07/10/2022 12:00 AMAfter winning just two games last year, the North Haven Senior American Legion 19-U baseball team has turned things around and is sporting a record of 8-6 for the 2022 summer season. North Haven is playing consistently strong baseball against its Zone 2 opponents under the guidance of Head Coach Mike Busillo. Post 76 has taken several leaps forward in its quest for success this year, making this a breakout campaign for the ballclub.
Coach Busillo entered the season looking for North Haven to establish a solid foundation. Busillo wanted his players buy into his philosophy and perform well as a unit. Busillo’s goal to gain respect across the league is taking form, and he credits the dedication of his players for helping that goal come to fruition.
“They understand what we’re trying to do as far as to build the program back up to where it was a few years ago,” Coach Busillo said. “They bought in to the philosophy that everyone is going to have an opportunity at some point. We’re not just going to rely on a certain nine every day.”
Coach Busillo’s club entered last week after having recently swept a three-game series versus Branford. In last week’s action, North Haven lost three games against Hamden before splitting a doubleheader with Madison in Zone 2 play.
On July 5, Post 76 faced Hamden on the road for the first game of a three-game series. North Haven took a 5-4 defeat to Hamden when Post 88 scored 2 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for the walk-off win.
Despite the loss, Coach Busillo was pleased with how his team played while competing in difficult conditions.
“It was a competitive game. The conditions were tough, because it was raining. Our pitchers and probably their pitchers were having some difficulties handling the ball,” said Busillo. “I thought our guys competed as best they could under the conditions. At the end of the day, [Hamden] got a big hit in the seventh and ended up coming back to beat us.”
Chris Hager went 2-for-2 with a double and 3 RBI for North Haven in the game. Shaun Murray was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Ben Busillo went 2-for-2, and Ty Rooney went 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored. Derek Mortali pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief.
One day later, the two squads met again with Post 76 hoping for different results. North Haven got a solid start from Ryan Bauman, who allowed just 1 unearned run in 3.2 innings pitched, but came up on the short side of a 3-2 decision in a home game. Chris Hager went 1-for-4 with 2 RBI for Post 76.
It was the second-straight one-run loss to Hamden, but Coach Busillo was still impressed with North Haven’s effort while facing one of the best teams in the league.
“Hamden’s got a good record, and they’re at the top of the zone with West Haven in the standings, so I hope that we took away that we can compete with the better teams in the zone,” Busillo said. “Honestly, I think our guys already know that, but hopefully they went in with the understanding that there’s going to be days when the other team comes back on you. You’ll have days when you come back on them.”
North Haven went on to take a 5-1 road loss against Hamden in the final game of the series on July 7. Hager took the start and pitched 5.1 innings for North Haven, striking out 5 batters. Hager also went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Will Sullivan went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Following the Hamden series, North Haven played a doubleheader at Madison on July 9 and came away with a split of the set. Post 76 claimed a 7-4 victory over Madison in the first game of the doubleheader and then took a 9-3 defeat in the second contest.
North Haven scored 5 runs in the second inning on its way to the win in the opener. Chris Tobin earned the win on the mound after pitching 6 innings with 8 strikeouts for North Haven. Bauman notched the save by tossing a scoreless seventh inning.
Sal Giaimo went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI to pace the Post 76 offense. Manuel Lopes went 1-for-4 with a run scored and 3 RBI, Rooney was 2-for-2 with 2 runs and an RBI, Novicki went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and Tyler Signore was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
In the second game, Sullivan went 2-for-4 with a run scored for North Haven. Novicki was 1-for-3 with a double and a run, while Rooney went 1-for-4 with a double and a run. Giaimo tossed 2 scoreless innings in relief.
As his team enters the final week of its regular season, Coach Busillo feels proud of how North Haven has played this year and is happy to see his players’ effort translating to more wins on the scoreboard.
“This is a program where last year we won two games,” said Busillo. “I’m proud of the way we’ve competed so far, and I’d expect that to last the rest of the way.”
Coach Busillo praised North Haven’s pitching staff for its performance this year and added that Post 76 has received solid contributions from up and down its batting order. Busillo is looking for North Haven to cash on in its opportunities down the stretch and put together a strong finish to its bounceback season.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for us. We kind of got kicked around a little bit last year,” Busillo said. “This year, I think it’s a good opportunity for us to make everybody see what North Haven baseball is all about.”