Schools
Play Ball! T-Birds' Baseball Season-Opener Today
North Branford baseball takes on Morgan today at 11 a.m. in the 2012 season-opener.
The baseball team has been busy getting ready for the 2012 season. Coach Billy Mitchell, in his fourth year at the head of the team, and the T-Birds have high expectations of postseason play. The T-Birds hope to start on a strong note today as they host Morgan at 11 a.m.
“We want to win the Shoreline title and make states–then we’ll give a shot at the state championship,” said Mitchell. “We have a young team after losing a lot of seniors, but we have a pretty good chance of making the as long as our pitching holds up.”
Almost every game will count toward making the Shoreline Conference Tournament as the T-Birds have only two out-of-conference games this season–hosting East Haven on April 7 and the season finale at Lyman Hall on May 22. See below for the full schedule.
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Mitchell and the T-Birds are looking forward to facing off against perennial rivals Haddam-Killingworth (home on April 9 and away on May 21) and Coginchaug (away on April 16 and home on May 11).
Mike Forgione and Matt Scavo will lead this year’s team as captains with Forgione anchoring the infield at shortstop and the offense after batting .464 last year. Scavo, however, is forced to lead from the sidelines with a torn ACL and he will be missed in the bullpen this season.
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Ricky Paolini and Kyle Johnson are expected to lead the pitching rotation, along with Mike Schettino, who also plays third base. Other key players include Nick Perrelli and Kyle Hart in the outfield, catcher Brandan Basil and second baseman Mike Funaro.
“We’ve got a strong defense and adequate pitching,” said Mitchell, who is assisted by Frank Mentone, Ron Raggozzino (freshman coach) and program alum Kyle Heins (volunteer coach). “Our ‘d’ will keep us in games and our hitting will be okay so we’re expecting some close games like last year. Some of these players got some varsity time last year, but having only one playing senior, these guys should get a lot of experience this year.”
North Branford 2011-12 Varsity Baseball Schedule
Fri., 4/6 Morgan Home - North Branford High School[Directions] 11:00 a.m. Sat., 4/7 East Haven Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 10:30 a.m. Mon., 4/9 Haddam-Killingworth Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Wed., 4/11 Portland Away - Portland High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Fri., 4/13 Valley Regional Away - Valley Regional High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Mon., 4/16 Coginchaug Away - Coginchaug Regional High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Wed., 4/18 Hyde Leadership Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Fri., 4/20 Westbrook Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Mon., 4/23 East Hampton Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Fri., 4/27 Hale Ray Away - Hale-Ray HS
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Mon., 4/30 Old Lyme Away - Old Lyme High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Wed., 5/2 Cromwell Away - Cromwell High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Fri., 5/4 Old Saybrook Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Mon., 5/7 East Hampton Away - East Hampton High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Wed., 5/9 Valley Regional Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Fri., 5/11 Coginchaug Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Mon., 5/14 Cromwell Home - North Branford High School
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Wed., 5/16 Morgan Away - Indian River Complex
[Directions] 6:30 p.m. Mon., 5/21 Haddam-Killingworth Away - Haddam Killingworth HS
[Directions] 3:45 p.m. Tue., 5/22 Lyman Hall Away - Lyman Hall, Pat Wall Field
[Directions] 3:45 p.m.
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