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Baseball

Ralph Franco retires as Masuk baseball coach, Oxford’s Hourigan takes over

Staff Reports | October 10, 2019

  • Masuk Head Coach Ralph Franco during baseball action against Bunnell in Monroe, Conn. on Wednesday May 2, 2012.
  • Oxford Head Coach: Brian Hourigan during baseball action against Ansonia in Ansonia, Conn., on Thursday May 9, 2019.
  • Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco, during baseball action against Trumbull in Trumbull, Conn. on Tuesday Apr. 8, 2015.
  • Cameron Kovachik (10) of the Masuk Panthers is congratulated by Head Coach Ralph Franco after 6-0 win over the Notre Dame of Fairfield Lancers at Masuk High School on May 21, 2016 in Monroe, Connecticut.
  • Masuk head coach Ralph Franco during the boys baseball game between Masuk and Joel Barlow high schools Friday afternoon, April 28, 2017, at Joel Barlow High School, Redding, Conn. Masuk defeated Joel Barlow 1-0 in the eighth inning.
  • Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against Stratford at Penders Field in Stratford, Conn. on Thursday May 11, 2017.
  • Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during SWC Baseball playoff action against Newtown in Monroe, Conn., on Saturday May 20, 2017.
  • Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against Notre Dame of West Haven in Monroe, Conn., on Wednesday May 31, 2017.
  • Enzo Merlonghi (5) of the Masuk Panthers gets a high five from coach Ralph Franco as he rounds third base after hitting a home run during a game against the Staples Wreckers at Staples High School on Saturday April 21, 2018 in Westport, Connecticut.
  • Masuk Head Coach Ralph Franco looks on from the third base coaches box during a game against the at Staples High School on Saturday April 21, 2018 in Westport, Connecticut.
  • Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against East Lyme in Monroe, Conn., on Saturday June 1, 2019.
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                        Photo: Christian Abraham
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                        Image 1 of 11
                        Masuk Head Coach Ralph Franco during baseball action against Bunnell in Monroe, Conn. on Wednesday May 2, 2012.
                        Masuk Head Coach Ralph Franco during baseball action against Bunnell in Monroe, Conn. on Wednesday May 2, 2012.
                        Photo: Christian Abraham
                        Image 2 of 11
                        Oxford Head Coach: Brian Hourigan during baseball action against Ansonia in Ansonia, Conn., on Thursday May 9, 2019.
                        Oxford Head Coach: Brian Hourigan during baseball action against Ansonia in Ansonia, Conn., on Thursday May 9, 2019.
                        Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Image 3 of 11
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco, during baseball action against Trumbull in Trumbull, Conn. on Tuesday Apr. 8, 2015.
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco, during baseball action against Trumbull in Trumbull, Conn. on Tuesday Apr. 8, 2015.
                        Photo: Christian Abraham
                        Image 4 of 11
                        Cameron Kovachik (10) of the Masuk Panthers is congratulated by Head Coach Ralph Franco after 6-0 win over the Notre Dame of Fairfield Lancers at Masuk High School on May 21, 2016 in Monroe, Connecticut.
                        Cameron Kovachik (10) of the Masuk Panthers is congratulated by Head Coach Ralph Franco after 6-0 win over the Notre Dame of Fairfield Lancers at Masuk High School on May 21, 2016 in Monroe, Connecticut.
                        Photo: For Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Image 5 of 11
                        Masuk head coach Ralph Franco during the boys baseball game between Masuk and Joel Barlow high schools Friday afternoon, April 28, 2017, at Joel Barlow High School, Redding, Conn. Masuk defeated Joel Barlow 1-0 in the eighth inning. less
                        Masuk head coach Ralph Franco during the boys baseball game between Masuk and Joel Barlow high schools Friday afternoon, April 28, 2017, at Joel Barlow High School, Redding, Conn. Masuk defeated Joel Barlow ... more
                        Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Image 6 of 11
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against Stratford at Penders Field in Stratford, Conn. on Thursday May 11, 2017.
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against Stratford at Penders Field in Stratford, Conn. on Thursday May 11, 2017.
                        Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Image 7 of 11
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during SWC Baseball playoff action against Newtown in Monroe, Conn., on Saturday May 20, 2017.
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during SWC Baseball playoff action against Newtown in Monroe, Conn., on Saturday May 20, 2017.
                        Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media
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                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against Notre Dame of West Haven in Monroe, Conn., on Wednesday May 31, 2017.
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against Notre Dame of West Haven in Monroe, Conn., on Wednesday May 31, 2017.
                        Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Image 9 of 11
                        Enzo Merlonghi (5) of the Masuk Panthers gets a high five from coach Ralph Franco as he rounds third base after hitting a home run during a game against the Staples Wreckers at Staples High School on Saturday April 21, 2018 in Westport, Connecticut. less
                        Enzo Merlonghi (5) of the Masuk Panthers gets a high five from coach Ralph Franco as he rounds third base after hitting a home run during a game against the Staples Wreckers at Staples High School on Saturday ... more
                        Photo: For Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Image 10 of 11
                        Masuk Head Coach Ralph Franco looks on from the third base coaches box during a game against the at Staples High School on Saturday April 21, 2018 in Westport, Connecticut.
                        Masuk Head Coach Ralph Franco looks on from the third base coaches box during a game against the at Staples High School on Saturday April 21, 2018 in Westport, Connecticut.
                        Photo: For Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Image 11 of 11
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against East Lyme in Monroe, Conn., on Saturday June 1, 2019.
                        Masuk Head Coach: Ralph Franco during baseball action against East Lyme in Monroe, Conn., on Saturday June 1, 2019.
                        Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media
                        Ralph Franco retires as Masuk baseball coach, Oxford's Hourigan takes over
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                        Ralph Franco, who coached Masuk’s baseball program for the last two decades, has retired and will be succeeded by Oxford coach and former Masuk standout Brian Hourigan, athletic director John DeGennaro announced Thursday.

                        Franco won 305 games at Masuk and coached the Panthers to five SWC championships and two state final appearances in 20 years as head coach.

                        Franco coached 45 players would go on to play in college during his tenure, including 12 to Division I schools and two Connecticut Gatorade State Players of the Year — Jeff Hourigan and Thomas Milone.

                        Franco coached two All-Americans and had four of his players drafted.

                        Masuk played in two state finals, in 2008 and 2014, but lost both times (to Westhill 11-1 and Notre Dame-West Haven 9-2, respectively).

                        He was the 2006 Fairfield County Coach of the Year after producing a team that went 24-3 and reached the Class LL semifinals. His final career record is 305-170. Masuk reached last year’s Class L semifinals, but lost to eventual champion Waterford, 16-5, in what turned out to be Franco’s final game.

                        Brian Hourigan, a former assistant under Franco and current physics teacher at Masuk, was an All-State player who led the Panthers to the 1998 Class LL championship game against Trumbull, a 6-3 loss. 

                        Hourigan went on to play at the University of Massachusetts. He became head baseball coach at Oxford High School when the school opened in 2007. The Wolverines won the Class S baseball championship in 2013. He had been the school’s only head baseball coach.

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