News

New Canaan Firefighters-Sponsored Mets Win NC Baseball A Division Crown

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New Canaan Firefighters Mets 14, Ed’s Garage Doors Marlins 4

An exciting 2015 New Canaan Baseball “A” Division season came to a close as the New Canaan Firefighters-sponsored Mets defeated the Ed’s Garage Doors-sponsored Marlins 14-4 in the championship game on Saturday, June 13. The final matchup featured the #1 seeded Mets (11-3) vs. the #3 seeded Marlins (8-5-1). Two of the three Mets regular season losses were to the Marlins which added to the highly anticipated final at Mead Park’s Mellick Field. After Mets starter John Bajaj held the Marlins scoreless in the top of the first, the Mets jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning on RBI singles delivered by Bajaj, second baseman Harry Mayock, first baseman Quentin Pearl and a 2-RBI double from left fielder Ned Smith.

Sports

New Canaan Baseball’s Smith and Giusti Earn All-State First Team Honors

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New Canaan varsity baseball co-captains Zack Smith and David Giusti were named 2015 All-State players by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. Smith has been New Canaan’s starting catcher for the past two years. Giusti, the team’s ace pitcher, along with other All State players, were honored at a special banquet Monday night in Southington. Smith and Giusti were two of 17 players from Class L to be named to the All State roster, and New Canaan is the only school in L with more than one honoree. All-State players were selected based on votes from 140 varsity coaches from across the state. Smith and Giusti, who were also named All-FCIAC players for 2015, will continue their baseball careers in college—Smith at Salve Regina and Giusti at Lafayette.

Around Town

‘An Extremely Committed Volunteer’: High Praise for Tracey Karl as She Steps Down from NCHS All Sports Booster Club

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Tom Stadler recalls vividly the first time he met Tracey Karl. It was more than a decade ago, and the pair stood atop the hill at Conner Field, watching 9-year-olds play in a baseball game that had dragged on for nearly three hours. Stadler, then president of New Canaan Baseball, recalled saying out loud that the game had been going on too long. “And she says, ‘Yes, it’s too long,’ and so we started this conversation and she says what about this and that, and I said, ‘Tracey, would you like to be on the baseball board?’ It was the first time we’d met and I didn’t know her from Adam.”

In characteristic fashion, Karl said ‘Yes’ to the demanding volunteer position and went on to make lasting changes to the organization that have streamlined and otherwise operations, all with a goal of improving the youth sports experience for New Canaan kids. “I think the world of Tracey,” Stadler said.

Sports

Errors Plague Rams As New Canaan Baseball Falls to Darien 6-1

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It was a contest pitting the top two teams in the FCIAC up against one another. Bitter rivals and storied programs with both teams featuring their respective ace on the mound. With hundreds of fans from both Darien and New Canaan lining the fences at Mead Park, it had all the makings for a classic showdown. In the end, it was the Blue Wave who took advantage of seven New Canaan errors, spoiling the home team’s bid for first place in the conference by besting the Rams 6-1. “It was, unfortunately, poor execution,” New Canaan head coach Mitch Hoffman told NewCanaanite.com. “We had more errors than either team had hits, which is not going to work.”

Sports

New Canaan Baseball Tops Trinity Catholic for Second Walk-Off Win of the Week

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On Monday it was Robbie Jones who came through with a two-run home run to help the Rams complete the come-from-behind win against Greenwich in extra innings. On Thursday, it was Brandon Abate’s turn to be the hero as with the game tied and the bases loaded, he connected on a single to right field to score Robbie Jones from third and cap off an incredible week for New Canaan Baseball. “I’m just trying to think of it as any other at-bat,” the senior co-captain told NewCanaanite.com. “You just gotta relax your nerves. You get a little bit jumpy out there—your heart starts pumping , and if you get anxious you’re gonna ground out or something. I was just thinking about hitting the ball up the middle.”