Orange Resident Among Diamond Club Hall Of Fame Inductees

From the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club

ORANGE, CT — The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club, Inc., will hold its 16th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at The Woodwinds in Branford. Among the honorees is Michael Moras of Orange.

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.

Moras, a 2004 graduate of Amity Regional High School, was a 20th-round selection of the New York Mets in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft out of the University of New Haven. He played five professional seasons, including three in the Mets’ system, reaching Class AA with Binghamton in 2010.

Moras was a four-time all-conference and four-time all-region catcher at New Haven. As a junior in 2007, he was voted to the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-America Third Team. He batted .374 that season and set the school record of 70 RBIs, including 12 in one game. Moras graduated as the UNH all-time leader in doubles (53) and still holds the school career RBI record (169). He was inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

Moras, who was born and raised in Orange, completed a bachelor’s degree at UNH in 2008. He is the owner and operator of The Grind Baseball and Softball Training Facility.

Also being honored by the SCDC 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), 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 will be presented the Andrew Gassira Memorial Umpire Award, and Matthew F. Mentone of Durham is the winner of the Tony Mentone Memorial Distinguished Service Award.