7-Year -Old Division

Apex Glass vs Landscaping Unlimited: This week the offensive stars of the game were Michael Spanedda and Andrew McMahon, who each had multihit games, including doubles. Matt Sortino, Nick Sortino, Ryan McMahon, Matthew McMahon, Gregory Gargano, Edwin Tout, and Teddy Petit also contributed two hits apiece. Strong defensive plays were made at third base by Teddy Petit and by Matthew McMahon at first to record outs, and Matt Sortino did a great job behind home plate at the catching position.

Apex Glass vs Art and Frame of Danbury: Apex Glass was led by Nick Sortino, who slammed a double and two singles in the contest. Matthew McMahon and Owen Browne hit the ball well, collecting three hits apiece, while Ryan McMahon and Edwin Tout tore up the bases, each scoring 3 runs. Defensively, Andrew McMahon played a solid first base with a number of put outs and Matt Sortino made a stellar play at shortstop spearing a hard line drive. The Art and Frame Killer Bees were led by the solid hitting of Hayden Miller, who continued his season-long power display. Michael Ihlefeld ripped several hard singles and Michael Early also had a great game at the plate. Ryan Heran, Matt Pietrorazio, and Sean O’Sullivan also pounded out deep outfield blasts, while Aiden Gardner and Zachary Katsuleres continued hard hit singles and stellar defense. Landscaping Unlimited vs. Stratton Faxon Law: The Landscaping Unlimited Gators played a great game on Saturday. Big hits were made by Sam Cannizzo and Eric Gay. Michael Jewell smacked a big double down the left field line. There were also singles by Devin Herbstman, Evan Casagrande, Drew Poseno, David Crumb, and Benjamin Ochs. Cannizzo and Ochs backed up the infield with great stops in left and right field. Gay caught a pop-up to the pitcher’s mound in the second inning and Poseno made a great out at third base. For the Stratton Faxon Rockets, Steven Cotton led the hitting attack with two doubles. Also hitting for power were Miller Tetreault and Andon Bambino, each with a double. Jimmy Dauber and Connor Faxon both continued their hot hitting with some hard hit singles. Third baseman Daniel Lounsbury had a breakout game with two outstanding groundball stops, getting the force-out at third both times, plus he contributed some solid hits at the plate. Zack Majeski was also a defensive star with a few putouts at first base and Cooper Agresta stroked a few singles.

10-Year-Olds

Ferris Acres Creamery Red Gorillas 10, Monro Brake & Muffler Teal Eels 5: The Red Gorillas jumped out to an early lead and defeated the first place Teal Eels. The Gorilla offensive attack was led by the hitting of Connor Dinallo, Ben Terry, and Jamey Hobar. Ryan Mailloux and Harry Lucas pitched well, while Jeremy Fisher, Ryan Williams, and Cody Camputaro were outstanding in the field.

All State Insurance Bombardiers 7, Sugar Hall Auto Orange Crush 6: The Bombardiers came from behind and held off the Crush in the bottom of the seventh. Pitching depth was the key as Derrick Lewis, Liam Deakin, Cole Demirjian, and Ryan Burns kept the Bombardiers in the game. Tim Davis pitched a hitless final inning to close out the victory. The offense was led by Robert DiSibio, Deakin, Demrijian and Luke Sansonetti, who had the game-winning RBI. Not to be overlooked was the heads-up base running of Ben Drew, who scored from second in the sixth inning to tie the game. Solid defense by Jack Dooley, Alex Katsuleres, and Sean Connor help seal the victory.

Ferro Financial Green Machine 13, Sugar Hall Auto Orange Crush 2: The Green Machine bats came alive early with Bobby Ward collecting four RBI in his first two at bats. Tyler Trede and Tim Shaw led the offensive charge at the top of the lineup, with Eli Holmes, Brandon Giglio, and Michael Narducci efficient at the plate. Jack Swanson played tough at catcher with Kyle Roche pitching two solid innings to start the game followed by Jack Oltran for two more. Luke Loudon showed a consistent glove in the field. Sean McCleary, on the injured list, serves every game as the Machine’s scorekeeper.

14/15 Division

Newtown Mobil 1 Lube Express 18, Woodbury 5: The Newtown Express closed out their regular season in style. The Express used great team pitching and outstanding hitting to secure the victory. The Express jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead by scoring six runs in the second inning. David Vallerie, Jake Simonson, Brandon O’Sullivan, and Adam Israel all delivered consecutive hits and Virgil Procaccini delivered the big blow with a bases-clearing double. The Express continued the hitting barrage in the fifth inning when they batted around and hung another six runs on the scoreboard. The Express completed the scoring onslaught, scoring five more runs in the seventh inning to close out the impressive win. Jim Parker picked up the win, going two innings without allowing an earned run. Parker also went 3-5, with two RBI and three runs scored. Virgil Procaccini also went 3-5, including a single, double, and triple, to go along with his six RBI.

Julian Dunn put on a power display hitting a 300-foot triple in the sixth, then following it up with a mammoth 350-foot homerun in the seventh. Tim McGrath, Jake Simonson, Brandon O’Sullivan, and Adam Israel each contributed two hits apiece in the 20-hit attack. The pitching was equally impressive as six different players pitched in the game. Brandon O’Sullivan and Virgil Procaccini had 1-2-3 innings, while Julian Dunn, Adam Israel, and Garrison Buzzanca were also very effective on the mound. After starting the season 0-4, the Express reeled off eight consecutive victories and hope to ride their hot streak into their Friday night playoff game.

18 And Under

 

Spring Baseball Playoffs

Newtown Lightning 9, Pomperaug 7: Avenging two consecutive seven-run losses to Pomperaug during the regular season, the Lightning dominated early and held on late at Fairfield Hills Field to advance to the Connecticut Senior Baseball League championship game. Newtown reliever Ryan O’Keefe came in to face a pressure-packed no-out, bases-loaded jam in the last inning and retired three straight batters to save the game. O’Keefe got the first batter to groundout to shortstop Will Arndt, as Pomperaug’s Ryan Bolton scored from third to narrow the score to 9-7. With runners on second and third, Newtown first baseman Ben Stoller raced in to catch a foul pop-up, and O’Keefe struck out the final batter. Newtown scored the game’s first run in the first inning when Arndt drilled a single to left, stole second and scored on an error. In the second inning, Newtown’s John Lebinski ripped a double and later scored on an RBI groundout by Joey Maggio.

Pomperaug tied the score 2-2 with runs in the third and fourth innings off Lightning starter Eric Sutton. Stoller prevented two more runs from scoring from second and third bases in the fourth, scooping a bad throw in the dirt for the final out. Newtown took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the inning. Arndt walked, stole second and was driven home by an RBI single by Stoller. Pomperaug tied the score in the fifth inning, but Newtown buried the visitors with four runs in the bottom half, dropping bunts and stealing five bases. O’Keefe and Nicky Sajovic bunted beautifully for base hits, and James Rebman and Ryan Daignault hit ground singles. Pomperaug scored once in the sixth, and Newtown followed with two more runs. Arndt crushed one of the longest hits in Fairfield Hills history, a one-bounce triple off the 380-foot sign in left center. Brandon Cooper reached on an error that scored Arndt, and Cooper also scored on an error.

Amity 8, Newtown Lightning 5: Newtown repeatedly battled back during the championship game at Bethany’s Munson Field, but fell short against the class of the league — a powerful Amity team filled with former varsity and JV players from one of the state’s top high school baseball programs. Amity pulled a switch before the game started, refusing to play with wooden bats, which the teams had agreed to use before the season started. Using wooden bats, Newtown was the only team to beat Amity during the regular season. In the metal-bat title game, Amity jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. Amity third baseman Austin Keeney, a former varsity player, crunched a bases-loaded triple to left center and scored on a single in the first inning. Amity’s hard-throwing Neall Diammando, who left the varsity team in April, threw two shutout innings before Newtown bounced back for two third-inning runs. Alex Saviano walked, Ryan O’Keefe drilled a single to left and Mike Herring walked to load the bases. James Rebman ripped an RBI grounder that was booted by the second baseman and thrown wildly to first base, allowing two runs to score. The Lightning narrowed the deficit to 5-4 with two fourth-inning runs. Brandon Cooper and Ben Stoller singled off Diammando and moved to second and third on a wild pitch. John Lebinski knocked in a run with a towering sacrifice fly and Stoller scored on an error. Amity scored a run in the bottom of the inning and two more in the fifth to take an 8-4 lead. Relief pitcher Saviano made a brilliant stab of a sizzling groundball up the middle to prevent more runs from scoring in the fifth. Saviano had an RBI in the final inning. The Lightning ended the inaugural Connecticut Senior Baseball League season with an 8-5 record.

Regular Season

Newtown Lightning 12, Danbury Two 1: Colton Sposta tossed a one-hitter, struck out seven and knocked in two runs with an RBI single in the opening game of the Connecticut Senior Baseball League season. Newtown jumped out to a 2-0 second-inning lead in the wood-bat game. Gary Braun was hit by a pitch, stole second and was driven home by John Lebinski. Steven Michos reached on a single, and Tim Jorgensen lined an RBI single. Danbury scored a run in the third and threatened to score more by loading the bases with one out. Danbury slugger Tyler Davis drilled a high line drive headed for the left-center gap, but Newtown’s 6-foot-2 shortstop Will Arndt leaped high in the air, caught the ball and touched second base for an unassisted double play. Newtown responded with four third-inning runs. Sposta reached on an error, Arndt ripped an RBI single, Ben Stoller singled and Arndt and Stoller scored on throwing errors. Sposta drove home two runs in the fourth inning, and Newtown invoked the 10-run rule to end the game with a four-run fifth. The outburst was sparked by a long triple over the left fielder’s head by Mike Lobosco. Other runs were knocked in by Dan Milot’s groundball and a walk by Michos.

Torrington 6, Newtown Lightning 2: Newtown fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning, but it wasn’t enough. Torrington took a 2-0 first-inning lead and was headed for more before Newtown center fielder Mike Lobosco unleashed a perfect throw on the fly to catcher Dan Milot to nail a runner trying to score from second on a single. In the fifth inning, Newtown scored its first run when Tim Jorgensen and Ryan O’Keefe singled, and Scott Cunningham smacked an RBI groundout to the right side. The Lightning tied the game in the sixth when Lobosco drilled a double, John Lebinski singled, and Milot hammered an RBI single to left. Newtown’s Alex Saviano pitched 62/3 innings before Lebinski came in to retire one batter to end a Torrington rally.