Connecticut NABA: News

Week 3-May 5, 2013 

Orange and the Monsters made a statement this week with some impressive sweeps!!! The CT Owls are cruising right along…  

Orange stayed on top of the standings and perfect on the year against a good Hacker squad. In game one Kyle Birdsall went the distance striking out 9. Nick Baviello had three hits and Joe Pisano added two RBIs as Orange topped Naugatuck 5-3.

In game two Ned Wood got the win pitching six strong innings. Pete Testa and Dave Wirkus both had two hits. Testa also drove in three runs while Joe Pisano and Brian Speer had two RBIs each as Orange won the game 9-3 (Orange 6-0, CT Hackers 3-3)   

The Owls are off to a good start! They are undefeated so far and have put up impressive runs on the board. The Owls are averaging more than 11 runs per game to lead the league.  In Game 1 against The Southington After Shock,  they put up a 9 spot but it was the pitching who led the way in the 9-1 win. Tommy Roy pitched 5 innings of shutout ball while going 3-3 at the plate.  Steve Reiser, CJ Romanos, Jordan Colonese, Mike Biondi and Adam McCaherty all went 2-4 as the Owls had 17 hits in the game.  Kenny Berntsen finished the game for the Owls pitching 2 strong innings with 3 strikeouts.  For Southington, Kyle Lentini went 2 for 2 with a double, a run, and a stolen base. Mike Skurtowicz also went 1 for 1 with an RBI.  

In Game 2 Southington gave The Owls everything they could handle. Tommy Stagis pitched the entire game for Southingtom. He allowed 6 earned runs and struck out 7 in the intense game that went 10 innings. But in another dramatic finish for the second straight week the Owls stepped up for another walk off victory 7-6.  CJ Romanos went 3-4 at the plate with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. CJ also got the win on the mound throwing 6 strong innings in relief with 7 punch outs.  Tommy Roy and Steve Reiser went 2-5 at the plate, and Vinny Daurio threw 4 solid innings for the Owls. Southington’s Neal Ayotte went 3 for 4 with a run and Kyle Lentini stays hot going 3 for 4 with a run, a stolen base, and an RBI. (CT Owls 4-0, Southington 2-2)   

The Milford Monsters took it to the defending champions, Bridgeport All-Stars! In game 1 Josh Parrow took control, throwing a complete game only giving up 2 earned runs while striking  9 against a typically potient offense.

Milford would use it’s bats to overcome the All-Stars in game 2. Matty Talone continued to stay hot going 4-5 with 3 RBIs in the 13-4 Monster victory. Andy Eggleston picked up his first win in relief. (Monsters 5-1, Bridgeport 3-3)   

In Meriden, the Machine got back on track with a sweep of Cromwell. Josh Lovely pitched a complete game for the 10-3 win in game 1. Offensively AJ Silberman lead the office going 3-3 with 2 RBI, Justin Poirier had 2 hits and Dan Zarnik had 2 hits with 2 RBI.  

In game 2 Dan Zarnik pitched a complete game for the Machine in a 9-1 win. The offense was lead by Brad Lorusso who hit a 5th inning Grand Slam, Willie Rios and Ryan Thayer had 2 hits. Eric O'Brien led the offense for the Steamers throughout the day. He had 4 hits including 2 doubles and 2 stolen bases. Mike Boucher, TJ Grande, Justin Falcon, and DJ McQuillan had two hits a piece on the day for the Steamers. (Meriden 4-2, Cromwell 1-5)     

Durham’s pitching was dominant in a double header against the Nighthawks.  In game 1, Nick Toth pitched a great game giving up 5 hits that produced only 1 run with 12 strike outs! Nick Marchese went 1-2 with a game changing bases loaded double giving him 3 RBIs in the 4-1 victory. Mike McQuillan did everything he could to get the Hawks a win. He brought a no hitter into the 5th inning. The Nighthawks made things interesting in the bottom of the 7th loading the bases and pushing across 1 run off of singles from Shane Sweeney and John Filip. McQuillan pitched 6 1/3 strong innings in the losing effort. Sweeney and Filip each went 2-3. 

In game 2, Steve Simon was masterful and benefitted from some great defense by first baseman Nick Marchese. White went 2-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs and a run. Ross Burton was 1-2 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs. Nick Toth went 2-3 with 1 RBI and a run.  The Hawks were led by John Filip and Luke Altieri each went 1-2. (Durham 2-4, Nighhawks 0-6)

After four weeks the Owls jump out on top of the standings staying the only unbeaten team in the league with a sweep of the Heat. They continue to hit the ball, scoring 26 runs in the double dip played at the Sportsplex in Branford. In game one, Tommy Roy got the win only giving up 1 run while going 1-3 with a Home Run and 3 RBIs.  Mike Biondi led the Owls attack with 2 Home Runs and 6 RBIs, including a 1st inning Grand Slam.  CJ Romanos drove in 2 runs, and both Aaron Summers and Adam McCaherty had 2 hits while scoring two runs in the 16-5 victory. In game 2 they were backed by a strong pitching performance by Vinny Daurio.  Every Owls batter had a hit in the game.  Aaron Summers, Adam McCaherty, and James Ineson all had 2 RBIs. The Heat are still looking for their first win of the year. The Owls are in good shape for a title run but will be tested starting in week 7. They have a string of games against Bridgeport, Milford, Naugatuck and the Machine in that order starting on June 16 th Those four weeks will make or break their title hopes. I’m looking forward to the match ups… (Owls 6-0, Heat 0-8)  

Orange is quietly keeping pace. They suffered their first loss of the season to a formidable opponent, the Milford Monsters.  Game one was a typical battle between the two teams going 9 innings to determine a winner. Orange down 2-3 in the top of the seventh got a clutch single by Brian Hoffman to tie the game and force extra’s. A sac fly by Brian Speer in the top of the eighth put Orange ahead 4-3 but Milford countered to force a ninth inning where they won in the bottom half on a Dennis Hine game winning knock! Hines was 2-4 in the game and had 2 RBI's. Josh Parrow went the distance for Milford to pick up his third win on the year.  Kyle Birdsall pitched 8 strong innings for Orange and Pete Testa had two hits.

In game 2 Orange answered back from their first loss by exploding to mercy Milford 17-0 and handing them only their second loss in the year. Pete Testa had a home run while 8 of the 10 Orange batters had multi hit games. Ned Wood pitched well and got his 4th win for Orange. (Orange 7-1, Milford 6-2) 

Meriden swept the Nighthawks and have won 5 games in a row and is currently tied for 3 place in the standings.  In Game 1 the Machines defeated the Nighthawks 9-6. Offensively they were lead by AJ Silberman going 3-3 and an RBI. Rick Marrero, Mack Litke, and Ray Thayer each had 2 hits with an RBI. Willie Rios and Will Hammerstein also contributed a hit and an RBI each. Dan Zarnik pitch a complete game for the win. In Game 2 the Machines beat the Nighthawks 11-2. Offense was lead by Derek Drag going 3-3; 2 singles and a triple. Justin Poirer and Ray Thayer each had 2 hits in the game. AJ Silberman and Willie Rios each had hit in the game. Josh Lovely received the win on the mound. (Meriden 6-2, Nighthawks 0-8) 

The Hackers also won two games this weekend. They beat Southington 14-1 and 8-5. In game 1 the Aftershock bats were quiet with only one hit coming from Nick Dzioba. Jon Blais scored a run and Brian Thompson had an RBI for Southington. In Game 2 Southington’s Tommy Stagis and Kyle Lentini both pitched 3 innings a piece. Mike Severino was the main contributor going 2 for 2 with 2 doubles and a run and an RBI. The Aftershock led the whole game until two pass balls and an RBI single gave up the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Hackers the win. *No results were giving by Naugatuck so I have NO idea who pitched the one hitter (Hackers 5-3, Southington 2-4)  

Bridgeport and the Steamers split! In Game 1 Bridgeport used the left arm of Karl Derbacher and the bats of Alberto Martinez and Mike Lucas to pull out a 3-2 win. The Steamers, TJ Grande battled through 7 innings of well pitched baseball despite taking the loss for the Steamers.    In game 2 the Steamers were able to bounce back to even the series for the day with a 12-4 win. Dave Krochko pitched a complete game to pick up his second win of the season. Eric O'Brien was busy going 2-2 with a double, 2 walks, 2 SB's, and 4 runs scored. Mike Maksymiw went 3-4 including 3 rbi's. Joe Morales had 2 hits on the day for the Steamers. (Bridgeport 4-4, Steamers 2-6) 

Week 5-June 2, 2013

Things are starting to heat up…

Durham gave the Owls their first lost of the year and are showing the rest of the league that they have some talented pitchers. Nick Toth shut the Owls offense down in game one, pitching a solid game only giving up one run on a homerun in the 4^th.Nick Marchese and Steve Simon had back to back triples in the first inning giving the Chanticleers the early lead. Wes Beaulieu went 2-2 at the plate and carry Durham to a 2-1 victory.

In game two the Owls scored 4 unearned runs off of Steve Simon and the hole was too big to overcome as the Owls battled for a 4-3 win. Alex Kup got two RBIs on his hit for Durham. Despite the loss the Owls remain on top of the standings. (Owls 7-1, Durham 3-5)

In another huge match up Orange and The Machine split. In game one Kyle Birdsall was brilliant as he struck out 12 through 6 innings for the Concentration. The game had no score until the bottom of the fifth when an RBI single by Joe Pisano was followed up by a two run home run by Max Russell. Marc Demattie also had two hits for Orange as Orange won 9-3.

Meriden bounced back on the right arm of Josh Lovely. Lovely finished with a complete game 3 hit shutout against a strong Orange lineup in the 1-0 win. Ned Wood was the tough luck loser. Orange keeps pace and stays in second place while the Machine is holding the third place spot in the standings. (Orange 8-2, Machine 7-3)

The Connecticut Hackers are back on track sweeping the hot Milford Monster team. Mike Fox was brilliant once again pitching a complete game shutout. Fox has only giving up 4 hits over his last 2 starts. Rick Cool added a homer in the 7-0 win.

In game 2, Wes Dutton lead the offensive barrage with a grand slam in the 11-2 win. The sweep drops Milford from second place all the way to fifth and the Hackers jumps all the way into a third place tie with the Machine. (Hackers7-3, Milford 6-4)

Southington has been streaky so far this season but jumped back into the mix with a sweep of the Steamers 9-3 and 7-0. In Game 1 Southington’s Nick Dzioba pitched a complete game only allowing 1 earned run while striking out 8. Jon Lewis went 3 for 3 with 2 runs and an RBI. Neal Ayotte, Matt Bernacki, Nick Dzioba, and Brian Thompson all had a multi-hit game. The one shining moment for the Steamers was John Pember making his 2013 debut. Pember came in relief in the 5th and struck out 10 batters through 3 innings with zero earned runs. 

 In Game 2 Southington’s Tommy Stagis pitched his second complete game shutout of the year, allowing only 2 hits while striking out 8. Kyle Lentini and Mike Severino both went 2 for 3, combining to score 4 runs. Neal Ayotte went 2 for 2 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. The Steamers were led by Mike Maksymiw who went 3-4 with 2 runs and a double. Justin Falcon and Dave Gryga each had 2 hits. (Southington 4-4, Steamers 2-8)

  The Heat finally got in the winning collom with a sweep of the Nighthawks behind a vintage pitching performance from Len Rivera in game 1, The NABA veteran only allowed 3 hits.  Pedro Rosado had an RBI double to kick things off for the Heat.  In the 3rd, Alex Rivera had a 2 run double and Len Rivera had an RBI triple. Dan Brown contributed 2 hits and an RBI as well. Ryan Kinsella led the Nighthawks with 2 hits in the Heat 5-1 win.

In game 2 action, Bryan Winchell tossed a 2 hitter to earn his 1st victory on the year.   Phil King led the Heat offensive attack with 3 hits, an RBI and run scored.  The Nighthawks played excellent defense throughout the game to keep the game close despite the Heat threatening in multiple innings.  The Nighthawks threatened in the 7th inning by getting 2 runners on with 2 outs, but Winchell dueled for a final strikeout on the day to seal the win and a Heat 3-1 win. (Heat 2-6, Nighthawks 0-10)