Laughs And Wins In Sunny Florida

On all levels, the Windsor High School baseball team’s trip to Florida during school vacation was what everyone hoped it would be – a good time with plenty of baseball. The Warriors played five games in the four full days down South. They played good baseball (winning four of the five), they did some touring, and they visited amusement parks throughout the greater Disney area.

Fun was not hard to come by. No one returned with frowns on their faces.

But it was a baseball-first vacation. Coach Joe Serfass used the games to evaluate his personnel further and most of the questions he had about Windsor’s versatility, depth and ability heading into the break have been answered. Serfass liked the additional information he gathered on how the Warriors are likely to perform once they resume their schedule.

One of the games counted toward qualifying for the CIAC Class LL state tournament. On April 19 at Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves, Windsor defeated South Windsor 6-1 in a CCC North game. Windsor’s other four games were unofficial, against teams from New York.

“It was a good trip from a coaching standpoint,” Serfass said after returning home. “I’d definitely say the trip was successful. We went down there trying to get better. We kind of went on a down, having started 1-2 but we played good baseball there.

“The kids had an absolute blast.”

The first scrimmage game on April 17 was a 10-0 victory over Caledonia-Mumford High School (Caledonia, NY). Brian Mazella pitched all five innings and got the win. He struck out six batters, allowed two hits and walked no one. Jay Nunes and Alex Laura both went 2-for-3 and Garrett Thomas drove in two runs.

Later that day, Windsor beat Byram Hills High School (Armonk, NY) by a score of 14-3 in another five-inning game. Joey Phelps pitched two innings and gave up a hit and a run, with three walks and no strikeouts. Jay Vibes pitched three innings and surrendered two hits, two walks and two runs with one strikeout. Aaron Berardino collected a double and a triple in three at-bats.

Devin Over, a senior captain and the ace of the staff, got the start against the Bobcats after a day of practice on April 18. He improved to 1-1 on a three-hitter with two walks and seven strikeouts, allowing an unearned run.

Windsor scored one run each in the first and second innings and added two in the third. In the bottom of the inning, South Windsor scored, then the Warriors pushed across a run each in the sixth and seventh innings for the 6-1 final. Nunes, Over and Albert Nunes each hit two doubles. Wes Hurty drove in  runs on a single and on a walk.

On April 20, Windsor earned a 13-4 victory over Rye High School (Rye, NY). Mike Cookson pitched four innings, allowing all four runs on three hits and three walks but he struck out five. Vibes threw for two innings, striking out two, walking none and giving up one hit. Laura went 3-for-3 and Albert Nunes belted a two-run homer.

The Warriors came two outs from completing the trip with a sweep, losing later that day on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh. Corcoran High School (Syracuse, NY) began the inning down 4-3 and rallied to win 5-4. Phelps pitched the first three innings and allowed three runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout. Casey Johnson pitched three-and-a-third innings and took the loss by allowing two hits and a walk, though he struck out three. Jay Nunes went 2-for-3.

“This was a good chance to play for the kids on the borderline of playing time,” Serfass said. “I’m trying to put the pieces in the puzzle and after this trip I have a good idea of what to do. I got a lot of ideas from what we did down there.

“The pitchers got a lot of innings in, many of the players got several at-bats and I had a chance to move them around.”

Albert Nunes, a senior captain, said the focus of the trip was the South Windsor game. “We took all the baseball seriously, even the scrimmages,” Albert Nunes said. “Everything was at real-speed, even the practices. When we had practices, they were for two-and-a-half hours. When it was time to have fun, we had fun.”

Upon arriving on April 16, the group visited Epcot Center in the evening. On April 17 after a double-header that started in the morning, they went to Hollywood Studios, a theme park in Disney World. A good chunk of time on April 18 was spent at Magic Kingdom. Following the game against South Windsor on April 19, the Warriors visited Animal Kingdom. After the morning-afternoon double-header on April 20, they had dinner at Planet Hollywood. Typhoon Lagoon was the feature attraction on April 21 before heading home, arriving at Bradley Airport and ending the trip late at night.

“Part of the other reason we went was for team-building and team-bonding,” Serfass said. “They had a chance to room together and to be around each other for the trip.”

The planning ended and the trip became reality in the fall. Fund-raising activities involving players, parents and coaches helped finance the trip, along with contributions from the Windsor Diamond Club, a booster for the sport within the town.

Serfass said an airline stewardess complimented the behavior of the team. All players met the nightly curfews and everyone arrived on time for each activity. There were no reports of misbehavior, Serfass said. “They were respectful the whole time,” he said. “Their behavior was excellent.”