SCC baseball : Tournament review - Shelton not going anywhere

The torch might not have been passed last Saturday afternoon when Shelton beat Amity for the SCC title, but you may be able to say it was shared.
The last time an undefeated Amity team was stopped in the SCC final - three years ago - Guilford rode that momentum (and the right arm of Will Jolin) all the way to a Class L championship.
In 2008, the Indians had a remarkable regular season run before - as the top-seed - falling to Amity in the SCC semifinals, and then getting beaten by division rival Jonathan Law in the state semifinals. The last two seasons, Guilford has not been able to keep the momentum, failing to make the state tournament in both campaigns.
The signs point to the fact that Shelton may be a bigger long-term threat to Amity's supremacy atop the SCC baseball world. You were warned, by me and by others, that Shelton was coming. Under Scott Gura last season, the Gaels marched all the way to the Class LL semifinals before falling to West Haven.
But the step from believing to achieving can be a lot trickier than it seems. After all, Shelton is in the same division (Housatonic) as Amity, and the last time the Spartans didn't win the division title, most of the current Gaels hadn't even started their T-ball careers yet.
While Shelton did knock off Amity once last season, it never could completely figure its pitching out, en route to a 17-8 final record, very solid for most, but you felt like the Gaels were close to something big, which they obviously showed in the state tournament.
"Last year, we set the bar pretty high," Gura said before the 2010 season. "We wanted to make Shelton baseball a program that would be near the top of the SCC every year, but that's easier said than done. But last year was a great first step, but we want to be more consistent from year to year."
If they could only figure out a way to get past the reigning kings, Amity.
In their two regular season meetings this season, Shelton couldn't even manage a run off Amity, losing by scores of 2-0 and 5-0, respectively. And true to their championship form, the Spartans weren't going down without a fight on Saturday.
Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, three straight walks allowed Amity to tie the game, and it looked like more heartbreak for Shelton. But not this time. Dan St. George, as gutty as they come, induced a groundout to send the game to extra innings.
Somewhat surprisingly with the state tournament looming, Amity went to Lou Concato in relief for extra innings. But in his second inning of work, Tom Carroll and Jim Pjura touched the normally untouchable Concato for back-to-back doubles, and the Gaels - barely as the Spartans rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth - made it stand up.
Finally, Shelton had beaten Amity in a big game, and they were kings of the SCC for the first time in a decade.
"We've had a tough time winning tournament games," St. George said. "This year, coming in and beating three very good teams is a real statement for our program and I hope it continues in the state tournament."
In a single-elimination baseball tournament, obviously anything can happen. And Shelton's next loss (if there is one, the Register's Chris Hunn has predicted an Amity-Shelton Class LL final next week, and wouldn't that be a sight?) will be the final high school game for St. George and some others, including Eric Christensen, who will likely by Shelton's all-time hit leader sometime this week.
But this should not be the end, or even the beginning of the end, for Shelton baseball. Amity has done what they have done over the last decade with pitching, allowing them to win games even when their bats have an off day. And for the Gaels to make the next step long-term, that's where they will have to do it.
By the way, the reason why we started this story with sharing the SCC torch? While Amity will lose its share of players, they surely won't go very far. In fact, remember when they were undefeated and lost to Guilford in 2007? You know what they did next? Win the state championship, their second consecutive Class LL crown, of course. And there aren't many people doubting them in this year's state tourney, either.
"To beat a team like that, that's an historic win for us," Gura said. "Especially in extra innings. That's a classic. People are going to be talking about this win in Shelton for the next 20 years."
Or until they meet again.

SCC baseball - Week 4 : It's a Spartan world once again

All good things must come to an end, right? So you can forgive Amity's SCC rivals if they thought 2009 was the beginning of a downturn - finally - for the conference's marquee baseball program.
The Spartans lost nine times last season, including four of five at one point, lost before the SCC finals for the first time since 2002, and lost in the second round of the Class LL Tournament. After having only 11 total losses from 2004-2007, Amity had 15 combined in 2008 and 2009.
This season was going to be the one they finally capitulated to an improving Housatonic Division (which Amity has owned since 2000) and everyone else could finally get their shots in.
Um, good luck with that.
Amity is back, folks, and back with a chip on its shoulder. On a comically blustery day at a somewhat comically dilapidated Quigley Stadium last Thursday, the state's top-ranked Spartans mauled No. 2 Notre Dame 12-0 to finish the first half of the season 10-0 (they beat Guilford on Friday to make it 11).
"I still think we had a successful year last year despite everything," Amity coach Sal Coppola said. "I think what really hurt us is we lost (Joe) Ciancola, who was our No. 3 hitter and our No. 1 or 2 pitcher. We didn't quite have the pitching down the stretch we normally do. We lost a tough game to Law (in the SCC semifinals), we were still competitive, we were just a little short."
Ciancola missed the second half of 2009 with a meniscus injury, but is back to 100 percent now, holding the high-powered Green Knights scoreless through five innings last Thursday. He and Lou Concato form a formidable duo, and Coppola can call on E.J. Ashworth and Mark Esposito when he needs to.
But what has been really surprising about the 2010 Spartans is their offense. Nick Baviello and Brian Kernan bring speed to the top of the lineup, and you can let them get on base at your own peril, as both can run as well as anyone in the league.
"When you have guys like that at the top, it can ignite the team if they get on base, and make it tough on pitchers who have to worry about them on base, too," Coppola said.
Ciancola is helped in the middle of the lineup by Vin Siena and catcher Anthony Aprile, and Ted Ballou behind him has also been a very tough out for SCC pitching.
Amity came close to falling two weeks ago to Sheehan, but were able to come from behind, a hallmark of past Amity squads, with a hard-fought 8-7 victory. It was Ciancola, who was chased from the game on the mound, that came back to get the winning hit.
I've mentioned them before, but Amity's recent results in a sport like baseball, which does not lend itself to domination are worth repeating: a record of 96-11 from 2004-2007 with three SCC titles and back-to-back Class LL crowns in '06 and '07.
The Housatonic Division is as tough as it has ever been, with the Spartans fending off challenges from Cheshire, Sheehan, and Shelton in the first half of the season, challenges they will surely see again the second time around. In fact, when asked about the lopsided score of the Notre Dame contest, Coppola commented that it worried him a little because the Knights were a good team and might be a little angry the next time in Orange.
But that's what makes the Amity baseball program so good, for the most part, they take everyone's best, and they keep right on winning.
AROUND THE HORN: In the grand scheme of things, Foran was going to make the Class M Tournament, but Friday's 3-2 over Sheehan might turn out to be the day the Lions turned the corner. Foran had lost to hand the day before and trailed 2-0 with ace Brian Ward on the mound before the comeback. Just a guess, but coach Todd Williams agreed: "I feel this should be the turning point. We should build on it now." ... Doormats no more: Wilbur Cross picked up a 2-1 upset over North Haven last week, as Edison Rodriguez got two runs of support in the top of the first and made them stand up through seven innings. Not bad from a Governors' team that began the season down 20-0 to Hamden after just three innings. Three innings ... By the way, who is leading the Oronoque? That would be East Haven, who started the season 0-5, but has won five of six since, including beating Hand and Fairfield Prep in back-to-back games at the end of the week. Shelton is giving its fans their money's worth this season, as they played two more classic games to end the week, getting nipped by Amity 2-0, then coming back to stop Jonathan Law and Brett Michael Doran 5-4 in 8 innings. Dan St. George not only drove in the winning run, but got the win in relief, too ... Could four Housatonic Division teams make the SCC Tournament? Sheehan has been dealt a few tough losses lately, but still has the talent to make a run, and the other three teams (Amity, Shelton, Cheshire) look like locks ... The day before Amity beat them, Notre Dame lost to division rival Xavier, 5-3, as the Falcons are red-hot as well. The Green Knights did recover on Friday with a 10-2 pasting of Branford, the second time ND has put a big number on Branford this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Vin Guglietti, East Haven - Guglietti had three hits and two RBIs is East Haven's win over Fairfield Prep and added a pair of home runs in a game earlier in the week against Hand, leading the Yellowjackets to the top of the Oronoque Division at the season's halfway mark.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Cheshire at Shelton, Friday, 7 p.m. - Night baseball? It's that time, and this game is worthy of it. Both these teams have been as good as anyone not named Amity in the SCC this season, and the winner of this one still has a shot to try to knock the Spartans off in the Housatonic Division for the first time in a decade.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3
Combined number of hits in the Amity-Shelton game last season, which Amity won 2-0, despite picking up only two hits. Luckily for the Spartans, Lou Concato threw a 1-hitter to pick up the win. Dan St. George was the hard-luck loser for the Gaels.

POWER RANKINGS (see above)

1) Amity (11-0; Last Week 1) – The Spartans' train just keeps on keeping on. 20-0 will be tough, but not out of the realm.
2) Shelton (8-3; LW 3) – If I have to hear, "watch out for Shelton" again, I'm charging money. Gaels do deserve it, though.
3) Cheshire (9-2; LW 4) – Put up 16 more runs on Hand this week. Rams are just a dangerous offensive club.
4) Notre Dame (9-2; LW 2) – Hit a speed bump with a couple of losses, but still a contender going forward.
5) Foran (7-4; LW 6) – Big week coming up for Lions, a three-game sweep would mean that they're on their way.
6) Xavier (8-3; LW 8) – Falcons' record sneaked up on me, not the toughest schedule in the SCC, but they are hot.
7) Sheehan (6-5; LW 5) – Not a bad loss in the bunch, but the Titans did not win the schedule wars this year.
8) Jonathan Law (7-4; LW 7) – Tough defeat against Shelton, win there would have seen them higher here.
9) North Haven (6-5; LW 9) – Indians have gotten the pitching in order, but now their bats have gone to sleep.
10) East Haven (5-6; LW 13) – Speaking of getting their pitching in order, night and day with the Yellowjackets.
11) Branford (5-6; LW 12) – Hornets really don't have a great win this season, although they're playing a little better.
12) Hamden (6-5; LW 10) – Nearly got bitten by Wilbur Cross after a disappointing loss to West Haven last week.
13) Fairfield Prep (6-6; LW 11) – Prep has lost five of six after a solid 5-1 start. Seems to happen every year with them.
14) West Haven (2-9; LW 16) – Got a win over Hamden, but seems like making tournament is an uphill climb.
15) Guilford (3-8; LW 14) – Pitching was struggling anyway, bow with Schlitter gone for year, it will be that much tougher.
16) Hand (3-8; LW 15) – Got a win over Foran, but Tigers have given up way too many runs to be competitive.
17) Career (2-8; LW 17) – Panthers still hoping to make a run, but their pitching has struggled lately as well.
18) Wilbur Cross (4-7; LW 18) – After losing to Hamden 25-2, nearly turned it around, but was beaten in late innings.
19) Lyman Hall (3-8; LW 19) – Got a win over Hillhouse, got a chance for their revenge over Cross on Monday.
20) Hillhouse (0-10; LW 20) – Academics still pitching the ball better, if they can get some runs, you never know.