Guilford Resident Wins Whitey Piurek ‘No ‘I’ In Team’ Award

GUILFORD, CT — Matt DiNardo, of Guilford, will be among the 34 honorees to receive the John "Whitey" Piurek "There’s No 'I' in Team" Award at the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club’s (SCDC) upcoming banquet.

The SCDC is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization whose stated mission is to foster and promote the game of baseball in greater New Haven. The banquet will be held on Sunday, June 8, at The Woodwinds in Branford. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. with the speaking program and a buffet brunch to begin at 11 a.m.

Tickets to the 2025 SCDC “No ‘I’ in Team” luncheon are $50 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.

Given each year to players from area high schools, the award is named for Piurek, the longtime West Haven High School coach, Seattle Mariners scout, and Greater New Haven Baseball Umpires Association commissioner, and is tagged with one of his favorite phrases.

Honorees were selected jointly by their coaches and directors of athletics. While it was recommended schools choose a senior, they were free to recognize any player they felt gave most unselfishly to their team.

Winners represent the Southern Connecticut Conference (19), Shoreline Conference (5), Naugatuck Valley League (4), New England Private Schools Athletics Council (3), Central Connecticut Conference (2), and Connecticut Technical Conference (1).

The SCDC will also recognize its Teams of the Year and Coaches of the Year at the luncheon. Honorees will be announced later this week.

The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club redirects all net proceeds back to the local baseball community. To make a donation, visit the link above or donate via Venmo @SCDC-1.

The 2025 winners of the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club John “Whitey” Piurek “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” Award are:

• Amity Regional – Carlo Lombardi
• Ansonia – Rey Alvarez
• Branford – Carson Jarvis
• Canterbury – Jake Petrin
• Cheshire – Nick Giampietro
• Derby – Michael Slack
• East Haven – Cameron LaCroix
• Fairfield Prep – J.J. Schachinger
• Foran - Mathew Krenicki
• Guilford - Matt DiNardo
• Haddam-Killingworth - Colton Merola
• Hamden - Armando Rodriguez
• Hamden Hall - Atticus Bird
• Hand - Cooper Burke
• Hillhouse/Career - Yadriel Gonzalez-Serrano
• Hopkins - Matthew Ragaza
• Law - Christian Galligan
• Lyman Hall - Owen Rich
• Morgan - Wyatt Luke
• Naugatuck - Kevin Cestari
• North Branford - Jason O’Connor
• Notre Dame (West Haven) - Nico Bonilla
• North Haven - Andrew Manzo
• Old Saybrook - Charles Carmichael
• Platt HS - Jayden Gaither
• Sheehan - Garrett Wilkinson
• Shelton - Ben Liberatore
• Southington – Marco Spataro
• Westbrook – Kyle Leandri
• West Haven – Zach Boutellier
• Wilbur Cross – Jean Guerrero
• Wilcox Tech – Ean Finkle
• Woodland Regional – Brett Lato
• Xavier – Evan O’Connor