The Woodstock Academy baseball team went on vacation as a unit to Myrtle Beach during spring break.
But baseball was still part of the equation.
The Centaurs played four games and lost three of them, but in the only game that will count toward their record, the Centaurs downed Westbrook, Maine, 11-1, in South Carolina last week.
“I think it was tough to focus sometimes, the venue was a little distracting for the kids. The one positive thing was that when we weren’t playing, we practiced several times so we got a lot of baseball in,” said Woodstock Academy coach Brian Murphy. “We have a certain format that we follow in practice and it was a grind. Altogether, it was something that some kids had never experienced before. I think our team will grow from it. It was a little bit of a distraction and flipping that switch from having a little fun to baseball.”
Luke Mathewson was the winning pitcher against Westbrook as he went six innings and did not yield an earned run.
The senior allowed only seven hits and struck out nine.
He helped his own cause with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate including a double. He knocked in three runs for the 6-2 Centaurs.
Doug Newton and Jonathan Smith each added two RBIs for the Centaurs in a bounce-back victory.
“It was a good win,” Murphy said. “We had lost in our first game down there to Greenfield High School of North Carolina in a tough game.”
Tommy Li pitched a three-hitter in that game but the Centaurs came up short, 2-1.
“The game against Westbrook was important to us so I went with what I considered was our best chance to win the game and that was with Luke (4-0) on the mound and the lineup that we have been going with,” Murphy said.
While the Centaurs (6-2) did lose the rest of their scrimmages, it also gave Murphy a chance to see some players who have not seen as much playing time.
“It allowed us the opportunity to get some kids in there and get a chance to look at them and see what their role can be or will be for the rest of the season,” Murphy said.
The 14-hour bus ride down and back also gave the Centaurs a very good chance for some team bonding.
“The bus ride alone is testing for anybody,” Murphy said. “That’s why when we play games; I make the players take the bus home. It’s about team and not only creating the team bond for the season, but it’s also about memories they will have after Woodstock Academy.”
The Centaurs return home to a full schedule.
They had games scheduled for Fitch in Groton April 22 and home against Ellis Tech on April 23. They go back on the road against Bacon Academy April 24 and will be home at the Bentley Athletic Complex versus Waterford April 26.
“I gave them the weekend off because they did get a tremendous amount of reps between games and practices. Now, we’re right back at it. We know we have to perform to be successful. We have to execute the basics of baseball and if we do that, we have a good chance of competing at the highest level. We have to scrap. We have to pitch well, field well and have timely hitting,” Murphy said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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Legal Notice
Town of Pomfret
Planning &
Zoning Commission
At the April 17, 2019, meeting of the Pomfret Planning & Zoning Commission, the following legal actions were taken:
1. NELTA, Inc., 10 Murdock Road, special permit application for a new crane training facility and an addition to an existing building. APPROVED with conditions.
Dated at Pomfret,
Connecticut
April 22, 2019
Lynn L. Krajewski,
Clerk
Planning & Zoning Commission
April 24, 2019
.
PUTNAM — It’s been well documented this year the success of freshmen Alexis Yetna at the University of South Florida. The former Putnam Science Academy Mustang made a ton of noise this past season with his play on the court and the match-ups against UConn in the American Conference.
Jeff Jacobs, a sports writer for the Connecticut Post, wrote in-length earlier this year about how Yetna was right in UConn’s backyard and how they missed out on the lengthy forward.
It turned out being a huge oversight that now head coach at UConn Dan Hurley more than likely wishes he had on his team.
Alexis Yetna went on to tally a total of 346 rebounds this past season for the Bulls while taking home Freshmen of the Year in the Conference along with making the All-American First team at forward. Yetna started his freshmen campaign with a bang posting an 11 point, 17 rebound performance against Georgetown in just the 4th game of the year. Yetna followed that up with an 18 point, 18 rebound game against Stetson that propelled the freshmen to win the AAC Freshmen of the Week award twice.
Jacobs bragged about Yetna’s play at the start of the season saying, “Through 12 games of nonconference play, Yetna is the only player in the American Conference averaging a double-double (11.8 points, 10.9 rebounds). Jacobs went on to add, “He is averaging 2.5 rebounds a game more than any player in the conference while also averaging five more rebounds a game than UConn’s leader, guard Christian Vital, and six more than any of the Huskies’ bigs.”
Yetna, with those 346 total rebounds, demolished records this past season in the white and green grabbing the most rebounds by a freshman in a single season in school history and finished second in rebounds in general for South Florida. The 346 rebounds were also the second most rebounds by a freshman in the NCAA this past season.
Alexis Yetna with his size and length was always great at crashing the boards on the offensive and defensive glass but it was his motor and relentless energy that stood out, according to PSA Head Boys Prep Coach Tom Espinosa: “I’ve never coached a kid like that before. His motor on the court was something we saw as a coaching staff day one.” That motor helped Yetna to an average of 9.6 rebounds per game this season which was the highest single season rebounding average by a freshman in the entire American Athletic Conference.
It wasn’t just UConn that missed out on the talented big, but the Bulls of South Florida will continue to trot out Yetna next year in the American Conference hoping Alexis can duplicate a historic freshmen season.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
caption:
Sign Letters
Left photo: Helena Delaruelle, center, signed a letter of intent with the University of New Hampshire. Right Abigail Robinson signed with the University of Albany. They are both standing with PSA Head Coach Derek Marchione and assistant coach Stephanie Coro. Courtesy photos.
PUTNAM —Two Lady Mustangs who played crucial roles for the Putnam Science Academy prep basketball team this year, inked their Letters of Intent April 17.
Helena Delaruelle and Abigail Robinson both signed during the late signing period with Delaruelle attending the University of New Hampshire and Robinson staying in her home state of New York at the University of Albany.
Delaruelle averaged 5.4 points per game and just over 2.5 assists a game all while leading the Lady Mustangs in steals with 1.6 in her post grad year from Paris, France.
Robinson anchored the paint for the Lady Mustangs grabbing a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game and scoring just under 7 points for the 22-7 Mustangs.
Head Coach Derek Marchione said: “I know Abby and I will always maintain a strong relationship and I can’t wait to watch you play and be successful at the next level.” Robinson played for PSA both years as a program under coach Marchione.
Before Delaruelle could sign, Marchione said: “Throughout the year, Helena was huge for us. Anyone who watched us down at Nationals saw how good she is and her effort that she brought off the bench.” In the program’s second year, the Mustangs took home third place in the Independent School National Championships and saw eight girls sign full-ride Division 1 and Division 2 scholarships.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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