East Haven pushed then unbeaten Seymour to the brink of elimination before falling short, 3-2, in the second round of the Class M state tournament last season.

With the return of 13 letter winners and a talented freshman class, the expectations were certainly lofty for the Easties this season.

Those talented seniors and promising underclassmen have not disappointed. East Haven is 9-1, and ranked in the Register Top 10 Poll for the first time in school history according to Easties coach Ed Crisafi.

The fast start, though, is not completely unexpected. East Haven is unbeaten (4-0) in the Southern Connecticut Conference Oronoque Division.

“Honestly, we knew we were going to be good,” Crisafi said. “This good? No. But I knew we would have a shot at the division. I thought we would qualify for the SCC tournament and have a shot in the state tournament, all those goals that you set every year.”

The one area of slight concern was pitching but junior Talia Loda and freshman Ireland Miessau have both been effective.

“I don’t think we knew how good our pitching would be,” Crisafi said. “I knew Ireland would be good, and I knew Talia would be improved, but they have been outstanding. This is how we hoped it would be. I think pitching is the main reason why we are 9-1.”

Loda is 5-0 with 36 strikeouts in 37 innings and an earned run average of 0.38. She has allowed just two earned runs and 18 hits.

Miessau, meanwhile, is 2-1 with 19 strikeouts in 21 innings and an ERA of 1.33.

East Haven has also been sound defensively. The Easties have committed just two errors.  

As a team, East Haven is batting .404. Freshman third baseman Allison Luzzi, the team’s No. 2 batter, leads the Easties in average (.533) and runs batted in (15). Senior leadoff hitter Amanda Jessey is hitting .481 with a team-leading 11 runs and six stolen bases.

Senior catcher Brianna Spadacenta is hitting .355, senior shortstop Miranda Baldassare is batting .364 and senior center fielder Jenna Gaudioso is hitting .400.

Spadacenta recently surpassed 100 career hits. Baldassare is nine hits and Jessey 12 away from reaching that milestone.

The Easties have just one game this week, at Guilford on Thursday.

East Haven has the most wins of any team in the SCC and owns victories over North Haven (7-2), Foran (6-2) and North Branford (6-2).

“We’re stressing right now that they have to go out on the field like they’re the best team,” Crisafi said, “and that the other team has to play their best ball to beat you. We tell them all the time to act like you’re an elite team.”