By Dave Stewart
MaxPreps.com
STAMFORD, Conn. - The Stamford Black Knights entered the FCIAC baseball season as preseason favorites and thus far, the Knights haven’t disappointed.
After bumping off Staples 14-2, Ridgefield 5-3 and Trinity Catholic 22-6 last week, Stamford sits at 10-1 overall and 8-1 in the FCIAC, and is primed for a strong second-half run at one of the league’s top seeds.
The Knights are one of three 10-1 teams in the conference, as the Ridgefield Tigers and Fairfield-Ludlowe Falcons are also in position to contend for the regular-season title.
Head Coach Bobby Augustyn’s Stamford Knights have done it with a veteran roster — 13 seniors and three juniors — a solid pitching staff with a stellar 1.47 ERA, and an offense which features seven regulars with a .350 or higher batting average.
On Wednesday, Stamford handed Ridgefield its first loss of the season with a 5-3 decision behind the pitching of junior Mark O’Meara.
O’Meara tossed shutout ball for six innings before surrendering a three-run home run to Ridgefield’s Paul Bossidy in the seventh. Stamford senior Todd Savatsky then came in and retired three straight batters for the save. Luke Anderson homered and Anthony Pandone had two RBI doubles for the Knights.
Stamford returned starters at six of the eight field positions this spring, including senior first baseman/pitcher Gavin McCullough, who leads the Knights in batting average (.516), on-base percentage (.634) and runs scored (17). He also has a .645 slugging percentage.
The outfield features seniors Carl Battinelli in left, Sean Cribbin in center and Anthony Pandone in right.
Pandone is having a standout season with marks of .513 BA, .488 OBP and .667 SA. He also has a team-best 17 RBIs and his 14 hits include six doubles.
Cribbin’s marks are .417 BA, .511 OBP and .639 SA, with 16 RBIs and 16 runs scored, while Battinelli’s numbers include a .375 BA, .464 OBP and .750 SA.
Senior catcher Luke Anderson leads the team in slugging at .800 with a .343 BA and four home runs. Senior second baseman Greg Palumbo (.364 BA) and Savatsky (.359 BA) are also having solid springs.
Savatsky is undefeated on the mound with a 4-0 record and has a microscopic 0.60 ERA. In 23 innings, he’s allowed just 20 hits and nine walks while striking out 24.
McCullough is 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA and has allowed four walks and 17 hits, while striking out 19 in 16 innings.
O’Meara is 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 23 innings, having allowed just 15 hits and five walks while fanning 22.
Further up I-95 in Fairfield, senior centerfielder Michael Paloian is leading the way for the Ludlowe Falcons, who have seven regulars batting over. 300 and have ripped off 10 consecutive wins.
The Falcons lost to Notre Dame-Fairfield 5-4 on opening day, but have been untouched since, most recently grabbing a 14-6, eight-inning victory over the Staples Wreckers last Friday. Ludlowe is the only team to have beaten Stamford this season, 4-3, on April 16.
Paloian, who will play at Southern Cal next year, leads the Falcons in every important offensive category, including batting average (.552), on-base percentage (.705) and slugging (.655). He’s 16-for-29 with 12 runs scored and 12 RBIs and is a threat on the basepaths with 13 stolen bases.
Senior shortstop Craig Rittberg is 16-for-31 for a .500 batting average, and also boasts a .568 OBP and a .625 SA.
Also over the .300 mark in hitting are senior Connor Roach (.389), sophomore Tom Nagy (.370), senior Kevin Keys (.361), sophomore Rob Ferrara (.353) and junior Jonathan Servilla (.323).
Both Keys and Josh Orosz are 3-0 on the mound, with Jack Vacheron also unbeaten at 2-0. Vacheron has a 0.82 ERA in 17 innings pitched, with 19 Ks, 11 hits and 10 walks. Orosz’s ERA is not much higher at 0.93 and, in 15 innings, he’s given up 10 hits and one walk while striking out 10. Keys has an ERA of 1.14 in 18.1 innings and has allowed 15 hits and 14 walks with 25 strikeouts.
Ridgefield was the last unbeaten team in the FCIAC, but suffered its first loss to Stamford last Wednesday.
A big part of the the Tigers’ first-half success has been senior pitcher Hayden Metz, who is unbeaten with a 5-0 record and a 1.65 ERA. In 25.1 innings, Metz has allowed 18 hits and five walks, while fanning 22.
Senior Sam Roberston is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.00. In 21 innings, Roberston has allowed 16 hits and walked nine, while striking out 31.
At the plate, the Tigers are led by junior shortstop Zach Shea’s .438 batting average. Shea also has a .455 OBP and a .563 SA, with 11 runs and 10 RBIs.
Senior first baseman Paul Bossidy leads Ridgefield with a .655 slugging average, and has two home runs and 10 RBIs. He’s also hitting .379.
Also over the .300 mark are senior outfielders Bobby Dunphy (.417), Jay Lavardera (.407) and Sean O’Dea (.325), along with Roberston (.400).
Boys Lacrosse: Blue Wave Still Perfect
While much of the FCIAC’s early-spring hype has gone to boys’ lacrosse teams such as defending champ Greenwich and the surprising Ridgefield Tigers, the Darien Blue Wave continues to motor along.
The Wave took on traditional New York power Yorktown Thursday night and came away with a decisive 12-5 victory. The win helped improve Darien’s record to a spotless 9-0, a mark which includes wins over Jamesville-DeWitt, 19-7, and arch-rival New Canaan, 7-6.
The Wave lacks some of the superstars it’s had in the past, but with more than 100 athletes in the program, Darien boasts an extremely deep roster.
Senior midfielders Mike Ryan and Colin Delaney lead the scoring — Ryan with 21 goals and 11 assists and Delaney with 20 goals and nine assists— while junior attack Nikki Dysenchuk has 17 goals and a team-best 16 assists.
Junior attacks Tyler Foley (17 goals, 10 assists) and John Bolton (11 goals, 3 assists) are also in double digits in scoring.
Darien’s depth was on display against Yorktown, with seven players scoring, with Delaney (3 goals, 1 assist), Foley (2 goals, 1 assist), Bolton (2 goals), Dysenchuk (2 goals), senior midfielder Brendan Eppley (1 goals, 2 assist), Ryan (1 goal, 1 assist) and junior defenseman Corey Caputo (1 goals all hitting the net. Senior goalie Jameson Love also came up big with 13 saves against 18 shots.
For Yorktown (6-3), junior midfielder John Ranagan had two goals, and junior attack Thomas Casey, sophomore attack Remy Lieberman, and sophomore Kevin Interlicchio also scored.
Ridgefield Jolts FCIAC by Beating Greenwich
The Ridgefield Tigers raised some eyebrows last Monday when they knocked off preseason conference favorite Greenwich 13-10 and improved to 9-0 this season.
The Tigers, led by former Wilton Warrior Andy Stockfisch, had defeated their coach’s alma mater 10-8 on April 5, but the victory against the Cardinals has propelled Ridgefield to the top of the league standings with Darien.
Through their first seven games, the Tigers were led in scoring by junior attack/midfielder Matt White with 23 goals and 26 assists, both team-high marks.
Senior Mike Galione has 19 goals and 11 assists, followed by junior attacks Brendan Walsh (17 goals, 3 assists), Colin Scott (11 goals, 11 assists) and Matt Baker (9 goals, 13 assists).
Ridgefield will take on the Blue Wave at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at Darien High School.
Rams and Whitten Tip Wilton
The New Canaan Rams and Wilton Warriors began a new chapter in their long-standing rivalry with a new twist this season as Alex Whitten returned to his alma mater as the Rams’ first-year head coach.
The contest was low-scoring, but the decisive goal was an impressive one, as five Rams worked the ball through transition and attack Charlie Stanton scored with 9:24 remaining for a 4-3 victory. Freshman Joe Costigan delivered a perfect pass to Stanton off the right post to set up the scored.
Stanton finished with two goals, and Teddy Citrin and Mark Simone also scored. Wilton goals came from Vinnie Cannon, Mike Francia and Harrison Hess. Both teams are 6-3 this season, but New Canaan moved ahead in the FCIAC standings with a 6-1 league mark to Wilton’s 5-2.
Dave Stewart, the Sports Editor of the New Canaan (Conn.) Advertiser, is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He may be reached at 203-966-9541 or at sports@ncadvertiser.com
