Knights’ Baseball Team Captures District Championship

Newtown’s 10-year-old travel baseball team, the Knights, won their district tournament in Oxford recently. Game results are as follows:

Newtown 10, Woodbury 0: The Knights opened the tournament with a 10-0, four-inning mercy rule win over Woodbury. Lights-out pitching by Matt Gerics and Austin Kasbarian was complemented by a thunderous offense. Jake Oliger and Chris Blanco started things off with a pair of base hits. Bobby Haskins laced one to right field to drive both runners home. Blanco led off the third inning with another base hit. An error and walk loaded the bases and Haskins to hit a bases-clearing double. An inning later, after an error and two passed balls left Haskins on third, a base hit by Jack Moulder drove in the final run and the Knights called it a night.

Newtown 8, Oxford 3: Oxford was held to three runs behind strong pitching from Jamie Cochrane, Jack Moulder and Mitchell Savoca. Once again, the board lit up early with runs. Jamie Cochrane led off the game with a walk and Matt Gerics had an RBI double. Chris Blanco drove Gerics home with a base hit to centerfield. In the second inning Gerics and Blanco contributed additional RBI hits. Patrick Conte added a double and two RBIs to the Knights’ winning mix.

Newtown 15, Oxford 9: After falling behind 8-1 early in the game under threatening skies, which led to a 20 minute game delay, the Knights captured the championship with a big comeback. Every player on the roster contributed to this exciting victory. After an initial outburst, Jamie Cochrane and Austin Kasbarian quieted Oxford’s bats limiting the opposition to two runs over the final 4 2/3 innings. Jake Oliger hit three singles and had an RBI; two hits and three RBIs came from Matt Gerics’ strong bat; Bobby Haskins added two hits and three RBIs, including a bases-clearing triple. Chris Blanco, Justin Dunn, Mitch Savoca, Matt Davis and Austin Kasbarian’s trusty bats all kept the rally alive. Sam Duffy provided key support to his teammates throughout the tournament from his spot on the disabled list with broken hand.

The next stop for the Knights is in the State Tournament which begins Saturday in South Meriden.