Hamden Dragons' jersey in honor of Fred Gross.
The late Fred "Gee-Man" Gross.
Hamden High’s baseball team took the field for its final regular season home game Wednesday night amid a championship run with new jerseys — reading “Gee-Man” on one sleeve and a ribbon picturing on the other.
The jerseys honored Fred “Gee-Man” Gross. Gross was a fixture at Hamden High games, cheering on his grandsons Max and Zach, two of the school’s star players, along with the team as a whole. He died this summer from lung cancer.
The close-knit Dragons raised awareness for lung cancer during the game, raising about $2,000 through Venmo and bracelet sales. Proceeds will go to The American Lung Cancer Association.
“Having my grandfather’s memory live on the field today and throughout the season in general meant a lot to me, and the fact we raised so much money truly topped it off,” Zach Gross said with a smile. “I hope it inspired others to raise awareness in memory of someone they love too.”
Max is a graduate of Hamden’s class of 2021, and was named an All-Southern Connecticut Conference player during his senior campaign. Zach is this year’s captain and centerfielder, leading the team to a 9 – 10 record as they head into their run at a championship ring. (Eight wins are required to advance to the Connecticut Interscholastic finals rounds in Southern Connecticut.)
Zach Gross at bat Wednesday (above) and during pre-game ceremony (at right).
Zach leads the Hamden High Dragons along with Captain Angel Rivera, who holds it down behind the plate. In addition to Zach and Angel, the team has nine other seniors: Kyle Brandi, Glencel Castillo, Mike Civitillo, Anthony DeCaprio, Sean McGarry, Dan Moore, Isaiah Newman, Luis Roman, and Brayden Sullivan.
Brandi held down the second base position Wednesday evening while also going two for three at the plate. One of those hits drove in fellow senior, Anthony DeCaprio, who is the team’s designated hitter. In addition to Brandi, Rivera made his mark in the batter’s box. The six-foot powerhouse sent a ball to the fence, sending Hand’s outfield to the warning track.
On the defensive side, Zach Gross made a play running deep into the left field gap, catching the ball and crashing into the fence. It was a difficult play, Gross said: “Off the bat I knew it wasn’t dropping. After I was able to get a read on the ball, I knew I had to catch it.”
The Hamden outfield, also known as the “no-fly zone,” has consistently proved to be a strong suit for the team this season. Along with Gross, Roman and McGarry caught several pop fly balls throughout the game.
That didn’t prove enough Wednesday night against Madison’s Daniel Hand Tigers, though. The Tigers ended up beating the Dragons 12 – 3.
Hamden has one more regular-season game scheduled, Friday at Amity. The SCC playoffs begin next week.
Gross, Rivera and the rest of the Dragon’s will hold their memories of “Gee-Man” as they head into the state tournament, and hope to have a new banner put up in honor of him.
Kyle Brandi singles in the bottom of the second inning.
