The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club Inc. will hold its annual Hall of Fame Induction dinner Oct. 17 at Monticello’s Restaurant in Meriden to honor those who have contributed to baseball in the region.


Those being inducted include: Dave Solomon (posthumously) of Meriden, longtime sports columnist of the New Haven Register; Jon Capone of West Haven; former West Haven High School athlete and the school’s athletic director; Mike Freda of North Haven, first selectman of North Haven and former athlete; Rich Marazzi of Ansonia, baseball rules consultant; Mike Reilly of Hamden, president of the Hamden Fathers’ Baseball/Softball Association; and Ernie Williams of Killingworth, former officer of the Greater New Haven Diamond Baseball Club and New Haven area ballplayer.

John “Buddy” Chernovetz will receive the Andrew Gassira Memorial Umpire Award. Dave Ruotolo of West Haven, Little League District 4 Administrator, will receive the Tony Mentone Memorial Distinguished Service Award.

Hors d’oeuvres will be at 5:30 p.m. Dinner follows promptly at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $55 per person and include a full-course surf and turf dinner or vegetarian, if preferred. For tickets and information, contact Rose Mentone before Oct. 10 at rmentone@comcast.net or go to southernctdiamondclub.org.

The Foran boys’ basketball program is holding the 2nd Annual Foran Hoops Mad Dash 5K Road Race/Fitness Walk on Oct. 14 at the high school.

The race will begin at 9 a.m. and is open to individuals of all ages and abilities. All pre-registered participants will receive a road race T-shirt. Trophies will be awarded to top finishers in each age division.

All proceeds from the race will go directly to the Foran boys basketball program. For more information or to register, contact Tim Swaller at (203) 449-6770 or send an email to Foranbasketball@aol.com.

 #ctvb – Girls’ volleyball season is coming up and on Tuesday at Shelton High the Southern Connecticut Conference coaches’ meeting took place. Changing the schedule, expanding the SCC All-Division team and rules and regulations were discussed.

The current SCC schedule pits top ranked teams against other top ranked teams in other divisions twice a season. Meanwhile, divisional teams play other teams in their division twice. Teams are ranked based on their record over the previous two seasons.

The proposed changes were a FCIAC-style schedule that would allow teams to play every SCC team once and an NFL style schedule. Although some coaches were in favor of changing the schedule to a FCIAC-style, the coaches voted to keep the current schedule format. However, some coaches still were in favor of changing the scheduling.

“If your division’s weak and you’re playing all these weak teams two times it inflates your record,” first-year Guilford coach Rachel Martinich said. “I don’t think that’s fair to teams in a more powerful division.”

Concerning the SCC All-Division team, the coaches voted to add a second team. Currently there is just a first team of seven players for each of the four divisions. If the proposed changes receive approval from the Athletic Director level board, there will now be seven more players added to a SCC All-Division second team.

“It’s for the kids. They get an opportunity to find success in a sport that they might not find success in normally because it was only one team of seven people,” Wilbur Cross coach Michelle Cabaldon said.

Cabaldon, who stepped down as girls' basketball coach to watch her daughter Aaliyah Robinson play in college, said she is in a good place right now.

“I’m excited that I do get to coach volleyball and I get to go see her play,” Cabaldon said. “I’m just ecstatic that I get to support her and fulfill my love of coaching.”

Although last season’s NHR All-Area Girls’ Volleyball MVP Katie Direnzo is gone, Shelton coach LeAnne Bianchine said she is still expecting big things from the Gaelettes.

“I’m bringing back 16 returning players,” she said. “Juniors and seniors mostly, I’ve got some good juniors coming up.”

Seventeen of the conferences’ 19 coaches were present at the meeting.

For more information on girls volleyball, keep checking right here until the season begins on Sept. 11.

– @NHRHENRYC

Patsy Kamercia, who started the Haddam-Killingworth field hockey program, enters her 36th season as head coach this season.
Kamercia has a 382-157-80-4 career record and has led HK teams to six CIAC Class S championship games and a Class M championship game in 1993. The Cougars have two state titles, both in Class S, in 1994 and 2005 (co-champs with Lewis Mills).
HK finished 11-5-1-1 last season and has a solid nucleus of seven returning players this season.
"Our team is focused and determined with a great work ethic and great attitude this season," Kamercia said.

The Cheshire Town Council chambers should be rocking tonight with one of the high profile issues in town on the agenda - refurbishing the boys' locker room at Cheshire High.
It has been determined that a separate outdoor lockerroom should be built and the Town Council will be voting on whether to move this project forward as a referendum item tonight at 7:30.
The new facility would house male and female lockerrooms and also meet the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) set forth by the state.
Along with the lockerrooms, the new building could have a new concession stand, new public bathrooms, athletic storage, new press box, new coaches office and athletic trainer's office.

By Mike Madera
Elm City Sports Writer

Milford coach Cliff Bugyi found himself in unusual circumstances Sunday night in the Northeast Regionals. Knowing his Post 196 squad was already in the championship game, regardless of a win or loss against Concord, New Hampshire Post 21, Bugyi’s team answered the call.

Faced with the reality a win over Post 21 guaranteed a team would have to beat Milford twice to take home the Regional title, Milford dismantled Concord 12-1 in a game stopped after seven innings due to the mercy rule in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
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