Wilton Baseball Expected To Contend For FCIAC Title

Wilton baseball coach Tim Eagen remains as passionate about his job today as when he started with the Warriors more than three decades ago.

Eagen is entering his 31st season at Wilton's head varsity coach, making him the dean of all FCIAC mentors. During that time, he has built a strong tradition along Route 7.

His resume includes seven division titles, three appearances in the FCIAC championship game, one league crown and four trips to the semifinals of the state tournament. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment, however, is that his Warriors have missed the state tournament just twice under his stewardship.

"We've been a pretty solid program throughout the years," Eagen said. "We've built a tradition here at Wilton High that baseball is something special and wearing the uniform is something special. [The players'] responsibity is to keep the tradition going."

Eagen is expecting another solid year as the Warriors return a veteran pitching staff from a club that finished 15-8 and reached the second round of the Class L tournament, losing to FCIAC rival Darien, 1-0.

"Our goal every single year is to be playing in the month of June because you know if you're playing in the month of June, you've had a pretty good season. Those are the things we preach to these kids, and they buy into it- that being a Wilton baseball player is something special."  

The Warriors did lose a pair of three-year starters in catcher Casey O'Brien and shortstop Bashar Nabulsi, along with other starters in third baseman Jared Wyman, center fielder Chris Judge and right fielder Sam Fuentes.

However, Wilton's strength will be on the mound.  Anchoring the rotation is senior Kurt Marut, an all-FCIAC pitcher who will play his college ball at the University of Connecticut. Marut is Wilton's "workhouse," going 5-2 with 1.29 ERA last season.

Wilton's No. 2 starter is senior Jack Palombo, who earned a spot on the FCIAC all-East team after posting a 5-1 record in 2009. Bolstering the staff is the return of another senior, Austin Gambee, who didn't play last year but was 5-1 as a sophomore.

"They're all experienced pitchers," Eagen said. "The advantage there is you're always going to put a good kid on the mound."

Wilton's starting third baseman is junior Ryan Phillips, the son of former New York Mets general manager Steve Phillips, while the Warriors boast two three-year starters in the outfield in left fielder Matt Baird and center fielder Aaron
Shapiro.

Junior shortstop Kevin O'Connell and senior second baseman Darren Amelio form the Warriors' double-play combination.

"We think we're pretty strong up the middle," Eagen said. "To be a good baseball team, that's the area you look at. You look at  center field, shortstop, second base and catcher. We think we're pretty good in all those spots.

"I like these kids because they come with a real good work ethic every day. They're having fun playing baseball. They know there's expectations in this program this year and they're working hard to meet those expectations."

As a self-described "old-school" coach, Eagen is big on doing the little things, because they often make the difference between winning an losing, especially in the FCIAC, where 14 of the league's 19 teams made the state tournament last
season.

Remarkably, nearly half of Wilton's game last season were decided by one run, an indication of just how competitive the FCIAC is. The Warriors played ten such games, going 6-4.