Durham Man Named To Local Baseball HOF For Distinguished Service

From the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club

HAMDEN, CT — The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club, Inc., will hold its 16th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at The Woodwinds in Branford. Among the honorees is Durham resident and Hamden native Matthew F. Mentone.

The SCDC, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization whose stated mission is to foster and promote the game of baseball in the southern Connecticut region, will recognize eight individuals in the Class of 2024. SCDC Hall of Fame members are selected by the group's Executive Board.

Tickets to the 2024 SCDC Hall of Fame dinner are $60 per person and will only be sold in advance. Tickets can be purchased online here or by contacting Rose V. Mentone, Executive Director, at RMentone@comcast.net.

Matthew Mentone will be honored with the Tony Mentone Memorial Distinguished Service Award, named after his late father. Mentone has been the treasurer of the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club since 2010. Among other contributions, he created the organization’s first website and formed it into a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

A 1995 Hamden High School graduate, Mentone is a coach in Southington South Little League and also volunteers as a youth travel basketball coach. He served 10 years as the vice president of the Middletown Men’s Softball League and is a three-time recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award. He was formerly a longtime volunteer with Junior Achievement.

Mentone completed a bachelor of science degree in management of sports industries from the University of New Haven in 1999 and an MBA from UNH in 2000. He has lived in Durham since 2012.

Also being honored this year are former Guilford High School coach Pete Civitello (North Haven HS ‘94), former Notre Dame High School and Wesleyan University standout Mark Consorte (Notre Dame HS-West Haven ‘88), two-time Derby High School all-stater Joe Lizza (Derby HS ‘95), former New York Mets draftee Michael Moras (Amity Regional HS ‘04), longtime Southern Connecticut State University head coach Tim Shea (Notre Dame HS-West Haven ‘82) and former Quinnipiac College slugger Vincent Siena Jr. (West Haven HS ‘82). Frank Pallone of Shelton is the winner of the Andrew Gassira Memorial Umpire Award.