15U/ 14U Summer Travel Baseball

Newtown Lightning 3 Fairfield 0: Seven pitchers combined on a one-hitter as the Newtown Lightning opened its summer travel season with a 3-0 win Sunday at Newtown High School Field. All seven – Greg Frattaroli, Kyler Harmerling, Anthony Maki, Alex Saviano, Ryan O’Keefe, John Hampford and Nicky Sajovic – looked sharp, combining to walk only three batters and hitting another. Frattaroli slashed two hard-hit singles. His second hit, in the fourth inning, scored Mike LoBosco and Maki, breaking a scoreless tie. The Lightning added another run in the fifth inning when Ben Stoller walked and stole second and third. He scored on an RBI single to right field by O’Keefe. Teammate James Rebman had the game’s longest hit, a wicked line-drive double over the right-fielder’s head. Second baseman O’Keefe made an incredible over-the-head running catch in right field to end the game.

Newtown 14E 13, Newtown Lightning 5: Led by the booming bat of Kyle Wilcox and the crafty pitching of Dan Poeltl, an experienced Newtown 14E team cruised to victory Sunday in the summer-league opener at Sandy Hook’s Walnut Tree Field. Wilcox knocked in three runs with two doubles and a single, and Poeltl tossed three one-hit, shutout innings. Wilcox, John Hull, David Gerics and Colton Sposta scored two runs each. Newtown 14E jumped out to a 9-0 lead after two innings before Lightning pitcher Alex Saviano shut the door with three shutout innings.

The Lightning, a team with eight new players this season, pulled within 9-5 with a five-run fourth inning. John Hampford crushed a double over left fielder Stefan Hennessey’s head, and Cole Baldino and Ryan O’Keefe walked to load the bases. Anthony Maki hit a towering fly that dropped for a two-base error, and Greg Frattaroli and Mike LoBosco drove in runs with singles. Maki and Frattaroli scored on an error by the first baseman. In the fifth inning, the Lightning again loaded the bases. Parker Lintz walked, and James Rebman ripped a single that was fumbled by the center fielder. Lintz went to third, and Rebman was thrown out in a controversial call at second base. Ian Kirner walked, and Hampford was hit by a pitch, but the Lightning failed to capitalize with the bases full. Newtown 14E put the game away, scoring four sixth-inning runs. The club took advantage of four Lightning errors, and Michael Lengel rapped an RBI single. Maki, the Lightning centerfielder, made a beautiful play to end the inning. He backed up, caught a long fly ball off the bat of Hennessey, and threw a strike to first baseman Kirner to catch a runner off base and complete a double play. Reid Schmidt got the save for 14E, hurling two hitless, shutout innings.