MONROE, CT — Hopes are high for success on the Masuk baseball diamond this spring.
“We have the goal of qualifying for our league and state tournaments and being competitive in every game we play,” Coach Brian Hourigan said. “Our team returns a good number of young players from last season and the players are working hard to improve each day. We are looking to increase our win total from the previous season and go farther in the league and state tournaments.”
Captains are senior first baseman/catcher Chris Welch, senior first baseman/pitcher Drew O’Hara and junior shortstop Chris Cascella.
Other key team members include senior pitcher/outfielder Jacob Mondo, junior outfielder Jackson Zylick, junior pitcher Justin Fanning, junior pitcher/outfielder Connor Fulchino and junior third baseman Steven Curtin.
South-West Conference rivals Brookfield, Joel Barlow and Newtown are all ranked in the preseason top 25, “so they will be very challenging. Bethel, New Milford and Weston also have excellent pitching, so those are always challenging games,” Hourigan said. “There are really no opponents in our league that are easy. Each game is challenging, because every school has good athletes and good coaches.”
Out-of-conference opponents the Panthers will face include two top 10 schools in Trumbull (No. 7) and Southington (No. 6). The nonconference schedule includes four games against FCIAC schools, which is traditionally one of the top baseball conferences in the state, Masuk’s coach notes.
“I think a strength of our team this year could be our starting pitching,” Hourigan said. “Jacob Mondo, Justin Fanning and Connor Fulchino all have the ability to keep us in the game against any opponent. We also have some very good athletes, many with power and speed, so we are hoping as the season goes on we will develop our offense into a strength,”
“Our players and coaches are very excited to start the season,” the coach added. “We had a very good offseason. Our players have been training since last September to get ready for the season. There has been very good energy at practice and an excitement to get to opening day.”
Masuk overcame some injuries to make the playoffs in 2024 and is hoping to stay healthy and build off of last spring. “This year’s team is committed to going deeper in the playoffs and threatening to win league and state titles,” Hourigan said.
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