SCC baseball - Week 5: East Haven chasing history

The East Haven baseball team would have liked to think about things most teams do at the beginning of a season such as qualifying for the state tournament, making the SCC Tournament, and maybe capturing a division title.
Instead, though, the Yellowjackets had to concern themselves with more pressing matters. Like getting an out.
In April cold weather, pitching is supposed to be king, but East Haven's pitching went AWOL just as the regular season opened. The Easties allowed 60 runs in their first five games, never allowing a single digit number (less than 10) in any of those contests.
Needless to say, they were 0-5 (although their offense nearly got them a couple of wins, even in those games), and - with division play looming - just hoping to find a way to stay afloat.
However, a funny thing happened to the sinking Yellowjackets on their way to the bottom.
They found their pitching (and the defense to go with it).
And what has followed has been one of the most amazing runs in East Haven baseball history - at least in the SCC era - as the Yellowjackets have rolled off eight of nine wins to already qualify for the state tournament with six games to go.
East Haven's timing also couldn't have been better as far as the division goes, their winning streak coincided with the beginning of the division schedule, meaning that wins over Wilbur Cross (Monday) and North Haven (Wednesday), the Easties would be outright divisional champs for the first time in the 16 year history of the SCC. And that also means they will make their first appearance in the SCC Tournament (the Easties did share the Hammonasset Division title in 2002 and went on to the Class L title game, but lost the tiebreaker to North Haven in the division).
"It's pretty easy to say, but it all comes down to pitching," East Haven coach Butch Johnson said. "Even when we were 0-5, we were hitting the ball pretty well. But we couldn't get anyone out."
The thing was, on the surface, there wasn't a real good reason for East Haven's troubles. Paul Spadacenta was one of the hottest pitchers in the conference to close 2009 (including a season-closing perfect game) while Mike Anastasio had some experience as well. But both were nicked up in the preseason, and obviously didn't start the season well.
However, the slow start appears to be well back in the rear-view mirror as - now healthy and confident - East Haven suddenly has a shot to make this a memorable season.
The lineup, despite the slow start of the team, has produced, led by junior Vin Guglietti, who made very few outs in the first half of the season, including four home runs. He has cooled slighty, but he's been picked up by the veterans, including Anastasio, Mike Perry (an all-division selection last season), Lou Pane, and Bob Consolatore.
The Easties have also gotten help from shortstop Pat O'Brien and Spadacenta at the plate.
"Paul has turned himself into a pretty tough out at the plate, too," Johnson said. "That definitely helps our lineup."
After pulling out its second win over defending state champion Branford, East Haven was nearly upset by scrappy Career Friday at East Shore Park, winning 4-3. Being in the role of the hunted can be much tougher than being the hunter.
"I was very worried about that game because of the letdown factor, and the fact that Career, even though their record doesn't show it, has played a lot of teams tough this year," Johnson said. "We still have to learn to play every game."
It's not out of the realm of possibility for East Haven to finish with a record of 13-7, which would be only the second time in a dozen years that the Yellowjackets would finish the regular season with a winning record.
Ironically, the other time was 2002, when East Haven finished with a 13-7 regular season mark before going all the way to the Class L finals.
For now, though, Johnson wants to keep his team focused on the job at hand, which is the next game on the schedule.
"We still need to stay focused and not get ahead of ourselves," Johnson said. "The kids aren't stupid. They see the standings. They know where we are. But we have to stay focused."
AROUND THE HORN: So you want to play night games in mid-May, do ya? A freeze warning for the state went up for Sunday night as I write this and night-time lows are slated to hover around 40 for a lot of the week. It won't be that cold at most of the night games in the SCC, but it won't be warm, either ... Amity continues to roll on, moving to 14-0. In fact, the Spartans are one of only two teams in Connecticut to remain unbeaten, with Ellington (Class M) being the other at the end of last week ... East Haven may be the hottest team (sans Amity) in the conference, but Xavier is a close second. After beating Notre Dame last week, the Falcons have made short week of the rest of the Quinnipiac Division, beating Hamden, West Haven, and Fairfield Prep in relatively easy fashion to take command of the division ... Hillhouse got its first win of the season, and an SCC win at that, stopping Wilbur Cross in mid-week. Always hate to see any team go winless in a season, although you hope in the end that doesn't cost the Governors a state tournament berth ... West Haven and Career don't have great records, but playing relatively difficult schedules, they have managed to give plenty of teams difficulty without getting a victory. Before the East Haven loss, the Panthers had nearly beaten North Haven earlier in the week, while West Haven had a lead after six innings against Sheehan before falling, and the day before were tied with Foran late, only to fall 2-1 ... Foran was beaten by Jonathan Law for the second time this season which obviously gives Law the inside track on the road to the Hammonasset Division title ... As for the SCC Tournament race, you can pencil in Amity, Xavier, and Jonathan Law. Notre Dame, Shelton, and Cheshire seem likely. East Haven will get one spot if it beats North Haven, so that leaves one more spot between probably Foran and Sheehan, with the Lions currently having the inside track.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Shaun Coughlin, Xavier - It's not a coincidence that the Falcons' resurgence has coincided with Coughlin's hot streak on the mound. He threw a 5-hitter as Xavier beat up on Fairfield Prep last Friday, pushing the Falcons to 10-4 on the campaign and on the verge of the Quinnipiac Division title.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Shelton at Amity (at Old Tavern Rd., Orange), Thursday, 7 p.m. - It will be a little chilly on Thursday night most likely (which may rule out the obligatory pre-game trip to Dip Top next door, but is this the day Amity finally falls? And how many times have I asked that question before?

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
13
Combined number of runs of the last seven losses by West Haven and Career, a number that is inflated plenty by a 6-2 loss to Xavier by West Haven last Wednesday. But other than that game, none of the losses are by more than two goals, tough to take when the combined records are 4-23.

POWER RANKINGS

1) Amity (14-0; Last Week 1) – Looking ahead, Shelton game Thursday could be only No. 2 of 4 meetings.
2) Shelton (10-4; LW 2) – Another week, another tough loss, but no one wants to see them in LL, I'm sure.
3) Xavier (10-4; LW 6) – The nightmare for rankings such as this, win a big one, lose a big one.
4) Notre Dame (12-2; LW 4) – Three wins, all at home. Schedule not really the toughest at second glance, is it?
5) Cheshire (10-4; LW 3) – Another Power Rankings nightmare, give up 23 runs than proceed to beat Shelton.
6) Jonathan Law (10-4; LW 8) – Pitching has carried them to the top of the division and to this lofty perch.
7) Foran (9-5; LW 5) – Couple steps forward, one step back. Would like to get into SCC Tournament.
8) East Haven (8-6; LW 10) – Won eight of nine, and should be in SCC Tournament for first time. Impressive.
9) Sheehan (8-6; LW 7) – Like Foran, not the greatest record, but not a team you want to see in the postseason.
10) North Haven (7-7; LW 9) – Indians would like to get one more win quickly to avoid tournament fears.
11) Branford (6-8; LW 11) – Speaking of the tournament, Hornets should make it, but should is not do sometimes.
12) Hamden (7-7; LW 12) – Gave ND quite the run, but lost to Lyman Hall in the game prior to that unfortunately.
13) Fairfield Prep (7-8; LW 13) – Got a big win over Hand, doesn't look like there's going to be a play-in this year.
14) Hand (4-10; LW 16) – Seemed to have the pitching sorted out, but can't score any runs all of a sudden.
15) Lyman Hall (5-9; LW 19) – Some life on their tournament hopes if they can pull off an upset or two late.
16) West Haven (2-12; LW 14) – Have to give Westies credit for battling, but just can't find a way to come out on top.
17) Guilford (4-10; LW 15) – Does look like the Indians are going to miss the tournament again this season.
18) Career (2-11; LW 17) – Unfortunate that we won't get to see them in Class S, could beat most of those teams.
19) Wilbur Cross (4-10; LW 18) – Tournament hopes fading away for the Governors as well in 2010.
20) Hillhouse (1-12; LW 20) – Despite the win, can't quite move them off bottom. But a tip of the cap for perseverance.