Early in the season, Avon 9 is off to a strong start

AVON – The Avon High baseball team has gotten off to a good start in search of a piece of its fifth league championship in eight years. The Falcons won six of their first eight games.

Avon (6-2, 6-1 NCCC) has hit the ball and pitched well. Long-time coach Marty deLiveron would like a bit more consistency from his pitching staff.

“It’s hard in high school baseball,” he said. “We have to stop making mistakes like giving up two strike hits. We need to deal with the situation.”

For the most part, the Falcons have successfully dealt with their opponents. Jared Rosenblatt’s RBI single to right field helped Avon beat Granby, 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh in the season opener.

Mitch Cappello had three hits and four RBI in a 20-6 win over Windsor Locks while Noah Hahn had a single, double and triple in a 9-3 win over Coventry last week. In a 3-0 win over Stafford, DiStefano went the distance, scattering four hits.

“The kids are working hard,” deLiveron said. “We have a pretty good nucleus and we hit the ball pretty well. We hit throughout the order.”

Through the first six games of the season, outfielder Dan Sheiker was hitting a team-high .526 followed by Cappello at .500, Patrick McKearney at .450 and Will DiStefano hitting .391.

Outside of four errors in a one-run loss to Farmington, the Falcons have been solid defensively. Hahn plays shortstop with Nick Sanderson at second base. DiStefano and Rosenblatt split time at third base.

Hahn, Cappello and DiStefano are the team’s top three pitchers. Hahn, who had a stellar season last summer with Avon’s American Legion baseball team, is 1-0. DiStefano is 3-2 with a 1.50 ERA in 19 innings pitched. Cappello has a 2.10 ERA and a 1-0 record with seven innings on the mound. Rosenblatt hasn’t given up an earned run after four innings.

“We have a lot of guys who can throw,” deLiveron said.

The Falcons have stumbled just twice. They coughed up a six-run lead in a 9-7 loss to Farmington despite a two-run home run from McKearney and a RBI double from Sheiker. Farmington had three hits with two outs in the seventh.

Pitcher Neal Janiga scattered nine hits to help Ellington outlast Avon, 7-4.

It should be a tight race in the NCCC. After about three weeks, the Falcons led the league with a 6-1 record with three teams with two losses in the league, including Canton, Somers and East Granby

After finishing with an 8-10 record a year ago, Avon wants to get back in the title hunt. Avon shared the league title in 2011, 2009 and 2007. They won it outright in 2008. 

Remaining schedule
APRIL: 29: EAST GRANBY
MAY: 1: ENFIELD, 2: SOMERS, 7, CANTON, 9: SUFFIELD; 13. at Enfield; 15: at Ellington; 17: BOLTON; 20: at Suffield; 22: at Farmington, 7; 30 and 31: NCCC Tournament at Windsor Locks
Home games at Buckingham Field. Games begin at 3:45 p.m.