It’s been a busy weekend for the CIAC, with state champions to crown in a ton of sports.

And after a cool spring weather-wise, mother nature went crazy yesterday, blistering athletes with temperatures in the 90s. Which meant in-season conditioning became a major factor for all the athletes involved.

Here’s a quick roundup of winners, losers (though to be politically correct, they are runners-up), and more, including clips from the local sports media…

FRIDAY:
Westhill wins Class LL Baseball Title
I slammed Westhill pitched T.J. Hickey’s mound antics in a post a few weeks ago. He’s recovered nicely and, on the mound, became the go-to guy a lot of us saw during the football season. As he kept Masuk batters in check, Bobby Migliazza and Greg Smith led the offense in a 12-1 win up at Palmer Field in Middletown.

The clips: Stamford Advocate game story; Stamford Advocate sidebar; Connecticut Post.

Also Friday: Darien takes volleyball title; Staples wins again in Class L.

SATURDAY
The links:

• Masuk phenom Rachele Fico shuts down Naugatuck: Connecticut Post; New Haven Register.
• Law upsets Ludlowe for Class L baseball title: New Haven Register; Connecticut Post.
• Danbury takes Division II girls lacrosse championship: News-Times; News-Times sidebar.
• Prefect ending for New Fairfield lacrosse team: News-Times.
• Prep tops Ridgefield in 3OT to take Class L lacrosse title: Connecticut Post.
• Darien girls defeat Wilton again for girls lacrosse championship: Stamford Advocate.
• Blue Wave Boys make it a lacrosse sweep: Stamford Advocate.

Fairfield Ludlowe senior center fielder Mike Paloian can’t remember if he was ever intentionally walked at any level of baseball. April 25 against FCIAC rival Staples, it happened three consecutive times during the Falcons 14-6 eight-inning win.

Why? Because Staples coach Jack MacFarland said he didn’t want Paloian, who was 2-for-2 at the plate before the free passes, to beat his Wreckers single-handed.

“We’re not going to let him beat us,” MacFarland said. “If someone else is going to beat us, fine, we can sleep at night. I’ve seen it happen way too many times in high school baseball.”

Paloian has Ludlowe off to a 10-1 start, including a 10-game winning streak and a 9-0 league record. But Paloian, who has put up very impressive stats during the Falcons first 11 games of the season, may want to enjoy it while he can. That’s because in just a few short months, he will be trying to find his place as a ballplayer at University of Southern California.

Though he wasn’t given a scholarship offer, Paloian visited and worked out for the Trojans in the fall, and was invited to walk on at his father’s alma mater. And USC already has one of the top recruiting classes coming in this fall, according to the Website studentsportsbaseball.com.

But if anyone can make that big of a leap to the next level, it’s Paloian, said Ludlowe head coach Keith O’Rourke.

“He’s going to be successful at USC because he’s the type of kid that’s going to work hard and put in the time to be successful at whatever he wants to do,” O’Rourke said. “Or at the least, he will get the most out of his ability for whatever he wants to do.”

But O’Rourke says he will miss more than Paloain’s bat, glove, and speed next season. He will miss Paloain the person as well.

“If I was to have a son, I would want him to be just like Mike,” O’Rourke says. “He’s every parent’s dream. He’s a good kid, he works hard, he does the right thing in school, with his friends, as a teammate, whatever. I’ve known him since he was in sixth grade and it’s been a pleasure watching him grow into the kid that he is.”

Click below for a video interview with Paloain, which was taken after the Fairfield Ludlowe-Staples game:

Shelton baseball coach Ed Marocco died Thursday at Yale-New Haven Hospital, about a week after emergency quadruple bypass surgery. Marocco, who was in his 29th year as the Gaels’ head coach, was 58.

As a coach, Marocco’s career record was 380-231, including an SCC title in 2000 and the Housatonic League crown in 1984. And his off-the-field credentials were just as impressive. The voice of Shelton football team and a scorekeeper for the Gaels’ basketball teams, Marocco stared 13 memorials or scholarships during his tenure, The Connecticut Post reports. He was also co-owner and operator of B&B Indoor Training Center in Shelton.

A 1967 graduate of Shelton High School, he held BS and MS degrees from Southern Connecticut and graduated from the Naval ROTC unit at Yale University. Before becoming a teacher, Marocco served as the communications officer on the USS Ticonderoga CV-14 and participated on the recovery of Apollo 16, Apollo 17, and Skylab I.

Marocco was a past chairman of the CIAC Baseball Committee and was presently on the executive board of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. He taught advanced placement U.S. History at Shelton in addition to his coaching duties.

Friends may greet the family from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 27, in the Riverview Funeral Home, 390 River Road, Shelton. On Monday, April 28, friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in St. Margaret Mary Church, 380 Long Hill Ave., Shelton.

Burial with full military honors will follow in Mt. St. Peter Cemetery, Derby. At the request of the family memorial contributions may be made to the Edward J. Marocco Scholarship Fund, established to benefit students at Shelton High School, c/o 120 Meadow Street Shelton, CT 06484.

The Gaels’ game today against Foran, and Monday’s contest at Fairfield Prep, have been postponed.

More about Marocco:

• Connecticut Post: Death of baseball coach Marocco stuns Shelton
• Connecticut Post: Shelton players, parents lent a hand in time of need
• Connecticut Post: Shelton baseball coach Marocco dies
• New Haven Register: Shelton baseball coach Marocco dies
• New Haven Register: Jim Fuller’s Blog