The West Haven Post 71 19U American Legion baseball team opened the season with three straight victories and is now 4-2 to start the campaign.
The Westies began the summer season with a 7-6 home victory over Wallingford. Dan Izzo picked up the win in relief of Hunter Axelrod. The Westies came from a 5-1 deficit to win the game.
Post 71 improved to 2-0 with a 3-0 victory at Wallingford. The Westies had only three hits in the game and scored all their runs in the first inning, with the big hit coming off the bat of Boni as his double scored Jones.
West Haven capitalized on Wallingford errors in the opening inning, but that was enough as Lorenzo Espinal was the difference in the game. Espinal threw seven innings of no-hit ball, striking out five and walking three.
The Westies improved to 3-0 with a 3-0 victory over North Haven. Supan tossed a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits while striking out seven.
Izzo led the offense with a double and triple, Supan had a run-scoring double, and Jones and Boni each had a hit and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
West Haven fell to 3-1 with a 2-1 loss at North Haven. Izzo pitched well with six strikeouts, but a two-run bloop single in the fifth was all North Haven needed in the victory. Supan’s run-scoring single was West Haven’s lone hit in the contest.
Post 71 got back on the winning track with a 4-1 road victory over North Haven on Saturday. Lorenzo Espinal allowed just one run on four hits in six innings of work in the victory.
Post 71 fell to 4-2 and dropped out of first place in zone action with a 7-2 loss at Hamden. Axelrod led the offense with a pair of hits, but it was not enough on the loss.
The team has cooled off since opening the season with four wins in its first six games. After a pair of losses dropped the Westies to 4-3, West Haven got back in the win column with a 10-0 victory over Hamden.
After a suspended contest, Post 71 fell to 5-4 with a 9-2 loss to Madison. Tyler Jones led the offense with two hits, a run batted in, and a run scored, while Wyatt had one hit and drove in the other West Haven run.
The team fell to 5-5 with a 5-0 loss to Wallingford. Supan pitched well over six innings, but the offense managed just five hits, including two apiece by Tyler Jones and Joe Santos.
The Westies dropped their third straight, falling to Branford, 7-3. Axelrod struck out four in four innings of work, but it was not enough.
The losing streak ended at three as the Westies improved to 6-6 with a 9-5 victory at Branford. West Haven scored twice in the first on two walks and a single by Santos, before pulling away with five runs in the fifth.
The Westies won their second in a row and improved to 7-6 with a 4-2 home win over Branford. Post 71 got on the board in the first when Izzo singled, Tyler Jones walked, and each came around to score.
West Haven added two more runs in the sixth as Boni walked, and three Branford errors allowed both Boni and Wyatt to score.
West Haven improved to 8-6 with its third straight victory, a 9-4 decision over Orange at Piurek Field.
West Haven fell on the road 3-2 against Orange to drop to 8-7. The Westies could not get going on offense as walks and errors produced the West Haven runs.
Post 71 then fell to Orange, 5-4 ,in West Haven. The loss dropped the Westies to 8-8.
Boni reached on an error and scored on a single by Wyatt in the first, before Boni drove in Evan Jones and Tyler Jones in the fifth. Trailing 5-3 in the seventh, West Haven got within a run when Harp and Tyler Jones each doubled for a run, but the Westies could not get the equalizer.
The Westies then traveled to Madison to complete a suspended game in which they led 1-0 as Izzo doubled and Tyler Jones (2 hits) and Boni singled in the first. The game was suspended with West Haven leading 1-0 in the third, but Madison scored the final four runs to drop Post 71 to 8-9 on the year.
West Haven dropped its fourth straight with a 1-0 loss to Stratford at Piurek Field.. Santos pitched well, allowing one run on one hit in four innings of work.
The 16U team started the season with five wins in its first six games. The Westies opened the season with a pair of wins over Bridgeport, winning the first game, 10-2 ,and the nightcap, 14-3.
In the opener, KJ Harp and Jesse Buonocore led the offense with two hits apiece. Harp scored twice and drove in a run, while Buonocore had two hits, two runs batted in, and a run scored. Mike Madera had one hit, scored twice and drove in a run.
Buonocore went the distance on the mound, allowing one hit and no earned runs. He walked six and struck out three.
In the nightcap, West Haven used an 11-hit attack to improve to 2-0. Harp and Madera led the way with three hits apiece, with Harp scoring three runs and driving and three, and Madera knocking in a pair.
Evan Jones and Haygen Axelrod each scored three runs, Cam Cruz scored twice and drove in a pair, and Anthony Constantinople had one hit, scored once, and drove in a pair.
Chase Supan and Constantinople combined on the hill in the victory as Supan allowed two runs, while walking four and striking out eight in four innings of work. Constantinople finished, allowing two hits and one earned run.
The Westies fell to 2-1 with a 6-1 loss against Northeast Clutch. West Haven was held to just three hits in the game off the bats of Madera, Jones and Harp. Constantinople pitched four innings, allowing three earned runs, while walking four and striking out one.
Post 71 got back on the winning track with a 6-5 victory over CT Grind White Thursday evening. A sloppy game by both teams saw West Haven prevail by scoring the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
Madera and Jones led the offense as each had a pair of hits, scored twice and drove in a run. Mark Lynch also scored in the victory.
West Haven improved to 4-1 with a 5-4 victory over City Angels Baseball Academy Saturday afternoon in the opening game of a doubleheader.
Dylan Supan led the offense with two hits and two runs scored, and Harp drove in a pair.
The Westies picked up their fifth win of the season with a 7-6 decision over the City Angels in the nightcap.
Harp and Axelrod led the offense with two hits and a run scored apiece, while Jones drove in three runs, and Madera scored twice in the win.
After a two-week layoff due to weather cancellations, the team returned to action with a split of a doubleheader in Orange against a pair of Grind teams. With the split, West Haven moved to 6-2 on the year.
The Westies defeated Grind White, 6-3, in their return to action at Brinley Field in Orange. Despite being held to just five hits, West Haven capitalized on nine walks it was issued in the contest.
Supan as the Westie pitcher scattered three hits in five innings of work, allowing three runs, one earned. He struck out eight and walked seven.
Post 71 fell to Grind Carolina, 11-4, in the nightcap. Carolina scored once in the first off Buonocore, then added four more in the third and one in the fourth for a 6-0 lead.
West Haven moved to 6-2-1 with a 5-5 tie against South Meriden in a game stopped after seven innings due to darkness. Jones led the offense with two hits, while Buonocore scored twice.
Trailing 1-0 in the second, West Haven evened the contest when Hume singled to score Axelrod, who had reached on an error.
The Westies took a 4-1 lead in the third as Jones and Harp singled and Buonocore walked to load the bases. Jones scored on an error for a 2-1 lead, before Axelrod reached on an error to score Harp and Buonocore.
After South Meriden evened the game at four, West Haven took a 5-4 lead in the fifth when a ground out by Cruz scored Buonocore, who opened the inning with a single.
Constantinople pitched five innings, allowing five runs, three earned, on four hits. The West Haven starter walked three and struck out four.