April 28, 2008 - Ray writes for the Elm City Newspaper - When I think of Ed Marocco, I don‘t think of a Valley legend or one of the longest tenured baseball coaches in the state, of which he was both, I think of hot dogs.
It’s probably old news to most reading this by now, but Marocco - the Shelton High baseball coach since 1980 - died last Wednesday after suffering a heart attack the week before at the age of 58, the unexpectedness of which shocked the Valley, particularly Shelton High, where Marocco was also a long-time history teacher.
My dealings with Marocco were always brief, and I probably only covered a handful of Shelton High games over the years, but - as many others have pointed out before me - Marocco’s involvement with Shelton did not start and end with the baseball team. He was the scorekeeper for the basketball teams, was seen as many Shelton High events that had nothing to do with athletics, and was generally ubiquitous at high school sporting events in the Valley.
And he was also the P.A. announcer at Shelton football games, where I probably knew him best. Fridays in the fall are always hectic for me: from school to a soccer game, which if it’s away means I’m usually flying into my weekly football game right near kickoff. This is particularly the case for Shelton, which is a pretty good hike from Hamden, especially on Friday nights. Often times what gets left out of Fridays for me is eating, and it’s usually about halftime of the football game that my body reminds me. Of course at halftime, there are stats to be added up and phone calls to be made.
But at Shelton, as a member of the media, you don’t have to worry about food because Marocco always made sure everyone in the press box was taken care of. At halftime, a hot dog and soda would mysteriously arrive. You could offer to pay for it, but there’s no way Marocco was having any of that. It’s always just enough to hold me over until I can finally get home and eat something legitimate.
Now, in the grand scheme of life, obviously this is a small gesture, and it’s easy to take for granted. But a little thing like that can tell you a lot about a person. All of the stories I’ve heard about Marocco in the last few days are similar to the press box story. They all reflect a man who went out of his way to help people when he didn’t have to. He started scholarships, he worked on the CIAC baseball committee, he collected money for the United Way, all quietly.
There was much more to his life than I can write here: he served in the Navy, for instance. He finished his career with an impressive 380-231 record, he won the SCC title in 2000, and although he never won a state title (he did go to a pair of state finals).
Partly for that reason, and partly because all high school coaches do, Marocco had his detractors. However, in an era where wins and losses - even at the scholastic level - seem to make the man, Marocco was an increasingly rare commodity: a nice guy who went out of his way to help as many people as he could, even if it was just hot dogs.
BACK IN GREEN: Not that we ever wrote Guilford off for dead, but we have kind of put them on the back burner a little after a season opening loss to Amity and the shoulder injury to ace Will Jolin. But the Indians are moving right along quite nicely, thank you, as they entered the week with a record of 9-2 after avenging that season-opening loss with an 8-3 rout last Friday in Woodbridge.
Sam Greenberg and Jolin are back in the lineup (although Jolin won’t pitch for a while), but it was catcher Matt Lundberg and pitcher Craig Schiltter who led the way against Amity. Lundberg, batting in the No. 8 hole, went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs, while Schlitter - just a sophomore - held the high-powered Spartans to just four hits over five innings.
Guilford also began the week with an impressive 10-2 win over a hot Sheehan club and dispatched of Fairfield Prep 8-0 before the Amity game. Last season, the Indians won seven regular season games decided by three runs or less, all of their wins this year are by four runs or more.
And, perhaps, most impressively, after giving up 15 runs in the opening game, Guilford has given up just 19 in its next 10 games, three of them by Jolin before he was shut down with his shoulder. All of which probably makes them the favorite - again - to repeat as SCC champions.
AROUND THE HORN: Scott Gura, whose father Howie actually played with Ed Marocco at Shelton in the mid-1960s, will take over as Shelton head coach on an interim basis for the rest of the season and should be the front-runner to continue next season. Gura is also the Shelton girls basketball coach. The Gaels‘ games against Foran and Fairfield Prep were postponed, and Shelton resumed play against Sheehan on Wednesday. All of the other current SCC coaches were scheduled to attend the wake for Marocco on Sunday afternoon …
We’ve already talked about Guilford, but at the season’s halfway point, it’s still nearly impossible to call who will end up on top in the SCC. Amity, which has struggled at times with pitching, is still 8-3, Xavier is still hanging around, while Branford, Sheehan, Career, and Jonathan Law have all knocked off the “big” teams already this season. The SCC Tournament is only three weeks away …
That also means there is only three weeks left to qualify for the state tournament, which means it’s time to get going for teams like Cheshire, Lyman Hall, North Haven, and Hamden. Wilbur Cross, Fairfield Prep, and Hillhouse appear to be in deep trouble, while Derby looks like it could be on pace to make things interesting again this season after beating Lyman Hall last Wednesday. The odds are still against the Red Raiders, though …
Saturday afternoon’s tilt between Career and Fairfield Prep might as well have been called the “Two ships passing in the night” special: the Panthers’ 7-6 victory with their sixth straight, while the Jesuits have won just once all season, standing at an astounding 1-10, only three losses from postseason elimination …
The weather continued to be nearly perfect last week, although there was rain called for on Monday and Tuesday. There’s still not too much leeway in trying to get all the games in before the SCC Tournament starts on May 20.
GAME OF THE WEEK Amity at Shelton, Monday, 7 p.m. - It should be an emotional night in Shelton as the rival Spartans come to town in a key Housatonic Division battle. Some strange things have happened when these two get together at night in Shelton: extra innings, the lights going out, you name it. We don‘t expect this showdown to be any different.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK Brett Michael Doran, Jonathan Law - The sophomore homered in back-to-back days last Friday and Saturday as the Lawmen continued their resurgence by beating Sheehan 6-3 on Friday and then coming back to knock off East Haven 8-4 on Saturday. Doran also added a two-run double on Saturday and pitched a complete-game 5-hitter to cool off the Easties.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 29
Number of years Ed Marocco was the head baseball coach as Shelton before his untimely death last week. Marocco‘s tenure was second in the SCC (obviously well behind Bob Demayo‘s 50, but so is everyone else). His 380 wins were obviously second as well. Ironically, there were no coaching changes in the SCC coming into this season, every one of the 21 returned.
POWER RANKINGS
1) Guilford (9-2; Last Week 4) – Pretty big jump to get here, but the evidence for the top is strong.
2) Xavier (9-2; LW 1) – All three games last week were one-run affairs, Falcons won two of them.
3) Branford (8-3; LW 2) – Had a tough week, but seems to have righted the ship against Notre Dame.
4) Amity (8-3; LW 3) – Spartans are now mere mortals, although they‘re still pretty good mortals.
5) Jonathan Law (6-4; LW 10) – Record‘s not great, but strength of schedule for Lawmen very tough.
6) Sheehan (6-5; LW 6) – Like Law, strength of schedule tough, wouldn‘t bet against them in June.
7) Career (7-3; LW 13) – Scoring runs in bunches, and Rivera one of the best pitchers in the SCC.
8) Shelton (7-3; LW 5) – We‘ll miss you, Ed.
9) East Haven (6-4; LW 7) – Could that Florida trip be catching up with Yewllowjackets a little?
10) Foran (6-4; LW 12) – Both Milford schools hot at the same time, played each other Wednesday.
11) Notre Dame (6-5; LW 9) – Having trouble getting people out, need to find a way to soon.
12) Hamden (4-7; LW 15) – You can say this much for Dragons: they battle hard almost every game.
13) West Haven (7-4; LW 11) – Should be able to avoid a play down game this season in Class LL.
14) North Haven (4-7; LW 14) – Actually playing much better baseball of late, schedule just brutal.
15) Cheshire (4-7; LW 16) – Probably about time for the Rams’ late-season surge to postseason play.
16) Hand (4-5; LW 8) – The yo-yo for the Tigers points downward this week after two losses.
17) Derby (5-6; LW 19) – Red Raiders might get to that magical eight-win plateau after all.
18) Lyman Hall (3-8; LW 17) – Lost to Derby and Wilbur Cross in back-to-back games last week.
19) Fairfield Prep (1-10; LW 18) – At this rate, will be first SCC team eliminated from postseason.
20) Hillhouse (2-9; LW 20) – Scored a few runs last week and playing some better baseball.
21) Wilbur Cross (1-10; LW 21) – Toppled Lyman Hall to become last SCC team to pick up victory.
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