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BASEBALL 2024

Championship teams - 1967, 1973, 1984, 1988, 2009 (No. 1 in Ct.)

All-State Players - Anthony Pacileo '84; Mel Wearing '85; Mike Anquillare '86; Nick Piombino '88; Paul Mulligan '88; Dave Anquillare '89; Aaron Sellner '92; Kevin Jason '92; Shane Russell '93; Rob Farnen '94; Jason Criscio '95; Gary Tarquino '95; Pete O’Neill '96; Joe DeCrescenzo '97; Jerry Gambardella '00; Matt Cavallaro '02; Rich Mordente '03; Matt Gianini '03, '04; Nico Gambardella '05; Tom Lawrence '09; Eric Stone '10; Tyler Gambardella '13; Gianni Gambardella '21, '22 

Retired Numbers - Jerry Gambardella (Class of 2000) #21

Westies blanked by Greenwich
West Haven falls 2-0
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(March 30, 2024) - The West Haven baseball team was looking to get off to a good start. Chase Supan gave the Westies everything they could have asked for on the mound.
The senior pitcher tossed a complete game, allowing just two runs on two hits, while striking out two and walking two.
Unfortunately for Supan and the Westies, Greenwich pitcher Troy Goodwin was just as good.
Goodwin also tossed a complete game two-hitter, striking out six and hitting a batter as Greenwich topped West Haven 2-0 in Greenwich Saturday afternoon. He did not allow a walk.
The difference in the game was the fourth inning as John McHugh led off with a home run to center, and a two-out single by Goodwin plated the second run.
That was all the offense on the day for Greenwich, but Goodwin made the two runs stand up. West Haven had just two hits, a sixth inning single by Mike Madera and a leadoff single by Ray Gilbert in the seventh inning.
West Haven’s first baserunner came in the third when Brady Price was hit by a pitch, but he was caught stealing. Supan was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth, but he went no further.
Madera hit a one-out single in the sixth, but a fly out and a ground out left him stranded. Gilbert provided more life to start the seventh as he reached on a sharp single to third, but a pop out and two strikeouts ended any thought of a West Haven comeback.

Despite the Cardinals putting runners on base, Supan was in control of the contest. Supan picked off a runner in the first, worked around a two-out walk in the second, and picked off another runner in the fifth.

Westies fall in Hamden
Big hits propel Green Dragons
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 1, 2024) - The West Haven baseball team was looking to get its offense going and get in the win column in the process Monday afternoon in Hamden. While the offense showed life with seven hits, the initial win of the 2024 season did not follow as the Green Dragons posted a 9-2 victory over the Westies at Hamden High.
West Haven had its chances to score, but only capitalized in the first and fourth innings. Jose Padilla led the offense with three hits, while Chase Supan and Brady Price each had a pair of hits in the loss.
West Haven’s threatened early as Jose Padilla and Hudson Axelrod walked to lead off the game and Ray Gilbert was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Chase Supan singled to score Padilla, and with one out, Connor Hume hit a fly ball to right.
Axelrod appeared to score on the fly ball, but he was ruled out for not tagging up on the play.
Hamden then responded in the bottom of the inning, using a two-out, two-run double by Kam Gamm for a 2-1 lead.
West Haven threatened again in the second as Price and Padilla singled and Axelrod walked to load the bases, but West Haven could not get on the board.
The Westies evened the game in the fourth, but again left runners in scoring position. Price started the rally with an infield single, Mike Madera reached on an error, and Padilla double to score Price and send Madera to third.
With two West Haven runners in scoring position, Hamden again got out of the inning with a pair of ground outs to end the threat.
The Green Dragons added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, then blew the game open with five in the sixth for the 9-2 lead.

Supan singled, but was stranded at second in the fifth, and Padilla’s two-out single went for naught in the sixth.

Westies rally past Hall
WH posts 11-9 comeback victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 6, 2024) - Starting the season with a pair of losses, the West Haven baseball team knew the importance of getting on the winning side. The start of Saturday’s game against Hall was not the way the Westies drew things up.
Trailing 6-0 after a half inning and 9-3, West Haven rallied for an 11-9 victory Saturday afternoon at Piurek Field.
Cam Cruz led the offense with three hits, two runs batted in, and a run scored, Jose Padilla, Ray Gilbert and Chase Supan each had a pair of hits, while Padilla, Evan Jones, Gilbert, and Mike Madera each scored twice.
Hudson Axelrod picked up the win in relief, tossing four innings of three-hit, shutout baseball, walking four and striking out two. Supan picked up the save with a scoreless seventh.
Trailing 6-0 before they batted, the Westies chipped away with three runs in the bottom of the first. Gilbert doubled to score Jones, Supan followed with a single, Brady Price walked to load the bases, and Cruz doubled to score Gilbert and Supan.
Hall got those three runs back in the top of the second, before West Haven cut the deficit to 9-4 in the bottom of the inning. Madera led off with a double to left, Padilla singled, and an error plated West Haven’s lone run of the inning.
West Haven scored four times in the third with two outs to cut the deficit to 9-8. With the bases loaded, Gilbert singled to score Madera, Supan singled to right to score Padilla and Jones, and a double steal scored Gilbert to get the Westies within a run.
As Axelrod pitched his second shutout inning, West Haven took the lead for good with three runs in the fourth.

Cruz singled to left, Haygen Axelrod and Madera walked with one out to load the bases, and Padilla doubled to left, scoring Cruz and Haygen Axelrod for a 10-9 lead. Jones then lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Madera for the 11-9 advantage.

Westies fall to Cheshire
WH drops 9-2 decision
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 8, 2024) - After a comeback victory over Hall, the West Haven baseball team was looking to extend its winning streak to two games. Despite jumping on the board first, West Haven could not build and fell 9-2 at Cheshire Monday afternoon.
West Haven (1-3) had eight hits in the game, but the Westies could not come up with the clutch hit.
With the game scoreless after three innings, West Haven took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Evan Jones started the rally with a bunt single and moved to second on the play, before scoring on a one-out double by Chase Supan.
West Haven could not deliver Supan with another run in the inning, and Cheshire rallied with three runs in the bottom of the inning for a 3-1 lead.
The Westies rallied with two outs in the fifth, but they could not get any runs on the board. Mike Madera hit a two-out single to right and Jose Padilla followed with a double, but both runners were left stranded in scoring position.
The Rams put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the inning and added another in the sixth. West Haven added a run in the sixth as Brady Price and Cam Cruz singled with two outs, and Jey Scanlon doubled to score Price.

Haygen Axelrod started for West Haven and took the loss. Lucas Forgette pitched the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits and no earned runs. 

Supan leads Westies
WH tops Branford on senior's gem
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 9, 2024) - After a road loss to Cheshire, the West Haven baseball team had no time to ponder what went wrong. One day later, Chase Supan helped get the Westies back on track.
Behind a complete game two-hitter, Supan led the Westies to a 4-1 road victory over Branford Tuesday afternoon. Supan walked two and struck out four as West Haven improved to 2-3 on the season.
Evan Jones led the offense with two hits and one run scored as the Westies were held to just five hits in the game.
After Branford took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a leadoff double, sacrifice and ground out, West Haven tied the game in the third inning. Hudson Axelrod led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice, and scored on a two-out single by Jose Padilla.
Jones singled to put a pair of runners on, but Branford got out of the inning. The Westies, who went down in order in the first, second, fourth and seventh innings, threatened in the fifth as Mike Madera reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second, but he was left stranded.
Supan retired the last 13 batters he faced and allowed West Haven to pull away with three runs in the sixth.
Jones started the rally with a leadoff single, stole second and third, and scored on Gilbert’s sacrifice fly to center. Supan followed with a single to left, Brady Price walked, and Cam Cruz reached on an error to load the bases.
Jey Scanlon followed with a pinch-hit single to score Supan and Price for a 4-1 advantage. Scanlon went to second on the play, but he was left stranded to end the inning.

Supan did the rest, not allowing a ball to leave the infield during the final six outs.

Westies blanked by Shelton
West Haven falls 2-0
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 11, 2024) - The West Haven baseball team is looking for a winning streak to get the team going. Two days after topping Branford, West Haven had that opportunity.
Despite a solid pitching outing from Connor Hume, the West Haven bats were held silent against Shelton and the Gaels defeated the Westies 2-0 at a soggy Piurek Field Thursday afternoon.
Hume went the first five innings on the mound, allowing four hits and two runs, striking out four and walking three.
West Haven was held to just three hits in the game, two by Chase Supan and one by Ray Gilbert, in the loss. West Haven had just four base runners in the game as Shelton pitcher Will Hugya retired 16 batters in a row until Supan led off the seventh with a single.
Cam Cruz followed with a two-out walk in the seventh, but any late inning dramatics ended there as West Haven fell to 2-4 on the year.
West Haven’s best threat came in the first inning as Supan and Gilbert had two-out singles, but West Haven could not push the first run across.

The Gaels needed just one inning to score, putting two runs on the board in the third inning. Two singles, a West Haven error, and a sacrifice fly gave Shelton a 1-0 lead, before another West Haven error gave the Gaels a 2-0 advantage.

Westies fall to Law
West Haven drops 5-2 decision
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 15, 2024) - Looking to get back on the winning track, the West Haven baseball team had the right recipe. The Westies had jumped out to an early lead with their ace on the mound.
Despite a solid pitching performance from Chase Supan, Law scored twice in each of the fifth and sixth innings to top West Haven 5-2 at Jonathan Law Monday afternoon.
After Brady Price reached on an error and Connor Hume walked with one out in the second and were left stranded, the Westies took a 2-1 lead in the third.
Mike Madera led off with a single, Evan Jones hit a one-out single to put a pair of runners on, and Supan singled to right to score Madera and even the game at one. With runners on the corners, Ray Gilbert singled to score Jones, but Supan and Gilbert were left stranded.
After Law stranded a pair in the third, Cam Cruz singled with one out in the fourth and stole second, but he was left stranded.
A one-out, run-scoring double by Law tied the game in the fifth, before a West Haven error gave Law a 3-2 lead. A double steal gave Law a 4-2 lead in the sixth, before a bases loaded walk increased the margin to 5-2.
The Westies tried to rally in the seventh, loading the bases with one out as Madera reached on an error to start the inning, Jones hit a one-out single, and Supan singled to load the bases. West Haven could not get the clutch hit as a fly out and a ground out ended the contest.

Jones and Supan led West Haven with two hits apiece in the loss.

Westies top Hillhouse
Balanced attack leads to 10-2 victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 19, 2024) - The West Haven baseball team got back on the winning track with a 10-2 victory over Hillhouse/Career Friday afternoon at Bowen Field in New Haven.
Connor Hume picked up the victory, allowing four hits and two earned runs, while walking one and striking out eight in six innings of work.
Offensively, West Haven had 12 hits and took advantage of five Hillhouse errors. Jose Padilla led the way with three hits, two runs scored, and a run batted in, Evan Jones and Hume each had a pair of hits, Brady Price, Chase Supan, Ray Gilbert and Mike Madera each added a hit and scored a run, with Price driving in a pair and Supan, Gilbert, and Madera knocking in one apiece.
After a scoreless first inning, West Haven took a 2-0 lead in the second inning as Gilbert reached on a one-out error, Hume doubled to right, and Price grounded out to short to score Gilbert. Madera lined a double to left to score Hume for a 2-0 lead.
The Westies increased the lead to 5-0 with three runs in the third. Cam Cruz hit a one-out single, Padilla doubled to left to score Cruz, Supan singled to score Padilla, and Gilbert singled to left to score Supan.
Leading 5-1, West Haven put the game away with four runs in the fifth. Padilla led off with a single, Hume walked with two outs, Price singled to score Padilla, pinch-runner Josh Osborne scored on an error on the play, Madera reached on an error to score Price, and Jones singled to score Madera.

Haygen Axelrod scored the final West Haven run in the seventh when he walked and later scored on a wild pitch.

West Haven tops Law
Clutch hits lead to 6-1 win
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 20, 2024) - The West Haven baseball team won its second game in a row and improved to 4-5 with a 6-1 victory over Jonathan Law Saturday afternoon at Piurek Field in West Haven.
Hudson Axelrod picked up the win for West Haven as he tossed a complete game, allowing three hits and one earned run, while walking three and striking out four. Axelrod also had a solid day at the plate with two hits and two runs batted in.
Cam Cruz had one hit for the Westies and drove in a pair, while Mike Madera had one hit, walked twice, and scored two runs.
West Haven took a 2-0 lead in the third inning as Madera hit a one-out single, Evan Jones singled with two outs, and Cruz doubled to right to score Madera and Jones.
After Law went down in order in the top of the fourth, West Haven scored three times in the bottom of the inning for a 5-0 lead.
Chase Supan and Ray Gilbert opened the inning with consecutive triples for the first run, and Gilbert scored on a wild pitch. Madera followed with a walk, stole second, and scored on a single by Axelrod.

Law cut the lead to 5-1 in the sixth, but the Westies answered in the bottom of the inning. Brady Price reached on an error with one out, Madera walked, and Axelrod doubled to left to score Price.

Westies top Foran
Supan delivers in 8-0 victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 22, 2024) - The winning streak for the West Haven baseball team has reached three games. Behind solid pitching from Chase Supan, and timely hitting, West Haven defeated Foran 8-0 at Foran High Monday afternoon.
Supan tossed six innings of two-hit ball, striking out 1 and walking just two. Haygen Axelrod struck out the side in the seventh to close the contest as West Haven improved to 5-5.
After stranding one runner on base in each of the first three innings, West Haven took the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Ray Gilbert and Connor Hume hit two-out singles, and both scored when Mike Madera reached on an error.
After stranding a pair of runners in the first, Supan struck out the side in the second, stranded two more in the third, and again struck out the side in the fourth.
Supan escaped a bases loaded jam in the fifth with a strikeout, before the Westies increased the lead to 4-0 with a pair in the sixth.
After Brady Price was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Evan Jones and Cam Cruz singled with two outs to load the bases, before Jose Padilla drove in Price and Jones with a single to left.
West Haven broke the game open with four runs in the seventh inning.
Supan led off with a single to left, Jey Scanlon reached on an error, and Price followed with a single to score Supan. Hudson Axelrod singled to load the bases, Jones singled to score Scanlon, and Cruz singled to score Price and Hudson Axelrod.

Jones, Cruz, Padilla, and Gilbert each had two hits in the game. Cruz and Padilla each drove in a pair.

Westies run past Hamden
Padilla leads way in 12-2 victory
By MIKE MADERA
Westie Blue
(April 24, 2024) - The winning streak has reached four games for the West Haven baseball team. Behind two hits, two runs batted in, and three runs scored by Jose Padilla, West Haven pounded 10 hits on its way to a 12-2 victory over Hamden in a game stopped after five innings due to the mercy rule at Piurek Field in West Haven Wednesday afternoon.
Evan Jones and Chase Supan also had a pair of hits, with Supan driving in four runs and Cam Cruz scoring three times.
Connor Hume picked up the save in relief for winning pitcher Haygen Axelrod. Hume allowed two hits and no runs in two innings of work.
After Hamden scored twice in the top of the first, West Haven evened the game in the bottom half. Cruz reached on a one-out error, Padilla doubled to score Cruz, and Ray Gilbert hit a two-out single to score Padilla.
West Haven took the lead for good with three runs in the second for a 5-2 lead. Mike Madera led off with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a sacrifice by Brady Price and scored on an error on the play. Infield singles by Hudson Axelrod and Jones scored Price, before Hudson Axelrod scored on a sacrifice fly by Padilla.
The Westies added three runs in the fourth when Cruz led off with a single, Padilla tripled to score Cruz, Supan doubled to score Padilla, and Gilbert reached on an error to score Supan.

West Haven ended the game with four runs in the fifth as a Hamden error scored Hudson Axelrod, Supan singled to score Cruz and Jones, and Jey Scanlon walked with the bases loaded to score Padilla with the clinching run.