SHORELINE CONFERENCE BASEBALL: Standings, analysis

Coginchaug walks off with a 3-2 victory against Old Saybrook on April 15.

On the first day of the season, it became clear the Shoreline Conference would have a shake-up year.

Portland beat East Hampton for the first time in at least four years, Jake DeCarli of Haddam-Killingworth pitched a three-hit shutout while striking out 15 and Valley Regional came back by scoring eight in the top of the seventh to defeat Coginchaug.

And that was just the first day. Here are some quick hits from the last few weeks of SLC baseball:

• Portland has been the surprise of the season thus far with victories over East Hampton, Old Saybrook, H-K, Westbrook and Old Lyme. The Highlanders sit atop the Small Division standings.
• The top two teams in the conference's Large Division (H-K and Cromwell) faced off on April 5. The Cougars nabbed a 6-2 victory against the defending state champion Panthers. It's the only loss so far for Cromwell (6-1).
• On April 16, H-K sophomore Brian Moskey threw a perfect game against Hyde Leadership, striking out nine on 72 pitches. The Cougars won 20-0.
• Two of Coginchaug's wins have come in walk-off fashion, a 3-2, 10-inning win over Old Saybrook on Monday and a 1-0 win over Hale Ray a week earlier.
• In summation, the Shoreline Conference is up for grabs, and there are some big games in the near future. On Friday, Coginchaug plays at Haddam-Killingworth, East Hampton at Cromwell, Morgan at Hale-Ray, Valley Regional at Old Lyme and North Branford at Portland.

Shoreline Conference baseball standings

Team Conf. Overall

Large Division

1. Cromwell 4-1 6-1

2. H-K 4-2 5-2

   North Branford 4-2 5-2

3. Coginchaug 4-3 5-3

4. Morgan 3-3 4-3

5. Valley Regional 2-4 2-4

6. Old Saybrook 2-5 2-5

Small Division

1. Portland 5-1 5-2

2. Old Lyme 4-2 5-2 (Head-to-head)

3. East Hampton 4-2 4-3

4. Hale-Ray 2-3 2-4

5. Westbrook 0-6 0-6

6. Hyde 0-7 0-6