It was a hiccup, but a hiccup that could have spelled the end for the defending New England Regional champions.

The Newtown Babe Ruth 10-year-old All Stars lost a pair of games to Southbury in the District Tournament – once in the round robin and once in the final round – and one more loss would have seen their bid for a state championship, New England championship, and a trip to the Cal Ripken World Series all come to an end.

It was in the first game of the final round, where Southbury needed to defeat Newtown twice in order to advance to the state tournament. An inexplicable implosion in the early going had the Blaze falling into a deep, deep hole.

Had they failed to recover, it all could have been over.

But the Blaze recovered and now stand on the brink of another trip to the New England Regionals.

“Ever since that hiccup,” said manager Bill Kneisel, “the kids have been playing great. They have been rock solid.”

The 12-8 loss to Southbury did little to damage the confidence of the Blaze. The locals quickly followed up with a convincing 10-2 win to advance to the Connecticut Babe Ruth State Tournament, where they easily defeated Danbury (8-2) and Danbury (9-0).

“The kids are absolutely peaking,” said Kneisel. “They are right on it.”

The Blaze were set to play Brookfield on Wednesday night. A win there would put them in the championship round, needing to win just once against whatever team (such as Brookfield, Cheshire, Danbury, West Norwalk, or Hebron) that comes out of the loser’s bracket.

Because of some timely juggling of the lineup, the Blaze had a full complement of pitchers ready to go on Wednesday.

The locals have been able to advance this far because of their mantra (“Throw strikes, field ground balls”) and because everyone contributes.

“The beauty of our team,” said Kneisel, “is that the kids are interchangeable. A lot of teams are top heavy, but we are extremely deep and versatile. It is a true team effort.”

w Ryan Tita (pitcher) has been dominating on the hill for the Blaze, allowing just two earned runs in 31 innings of work this summer (0.38 ERA). At the plate, he is hitting .700 with a pair of home runs (that cleared the 200-foot fences).

w Sean Burson (shortstop) has played like a miniature Ozzie Smith in the field with some spectacular defensive plays.

w Sean Ross (centerfield, second base) bats in the two hole and has been a terror on the base paths.

w Oliver Powers (rightfield) has recovered from a slow start to become a dominating hitter at the plate.

w Ryan Powers (leftfield) has been a great all-around player with a .700 on-base percentage.

w Chris Tenney (second base, catcher) was a big go-to guy last year and continues to shine in the field.

w Jack Kneisel (first base) is not only a superb fielder, but is the most disciplined hitter on the team and – in the words of his manager – is always on base.

w William Arndt (third base) is a jack of all trades, earned the MVP of the Bethel Tournament and then throwing a no-hitter against Brookfield).

w Dominick Fedak (catcher, pitcher) gets people out whether he is behind the plate or on the mound and has become an invaluable hitter.

w Austin Bonadio (centerfield) is a pure outfielder whose finest moment, perhaps, was pitching four innings of no-hit baseball against Cheshire.

w Curtis Droniak (catcher) has been a big surprise, hitting well and pitching solid ball in the Bethel and District tournaments.

w Colin Morris (infield, outfield) offers versatility as the “original” utility player, according to his manager. Morris has played everywhere on the field except on the mound and at first base, stepping in whenever needed.

This cast of characters is coached by Bill Kneisel (manager), Dusty Tenney (third base), Mike Burson (first base) and Dave Bonadio (bench) and all of their statistical exploits have been recorded by Sean Dardine, a kid who has never played baseball before but one who has become part of this team through his affinity for numbers and averages.

With all of those people working together, the Blaze seems destined for another trip to the New England Regionals (this year in Winchester, Massachusetts).

9-Year-Olds

Second In Bethel

An impressive run through a tough losers’ bracket earned the Newtown Babe Ruth 9-year-old All Stars a spot in the finals of the Leonard Tournament in Bethel.

Coming out of the losers’ bracket, the Bombers needed to defeat West Norwalk twice in the championship round in order to capture the tournament title and did manage to take one (10-3) before falling in the final (12-7) to finish in second-place.

In the first game, the Bombers built a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Dan Poeltl walked and eventually came around to score on Gary Braun’s RBI single. Nick Barreto extended the lead to 2-0 in the second by working a walk, stealing second and third and coming home on a wild pitch. Poeltl and Braun came through again in the fourth as Poeltl tripled and Braun drove him in with another RBI single.

Newtown padded its lead in the fifth, helped by West Norwalk’s wildness on the mound. Barreto, Chad Magoulas, Dylan O’Connor and David Gerics drew successive walks, leading to the first run of the inning. Colton Sposta then drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and Poeltl and Braun drew two more walks, forcing in two more runs.

The Bombers then iced the game in the sixth with three more runs. Stephan Hennessy led off with a single and was moved into scoring position by Reid Schmidt, who also singled. Barreto then singled, driving in Hennessy. Magoulas and O’Connor drew two more walks driving in Schmidt and Dean Demers drove in the last run of the inning with a fielder’s choice.

Poeltl (two innings pitcher, 5 Ks), Sposta and Magoulas (two innings pitcher, no runs, three Ks between them) anchored the mound duties for the Bombers.

In the championship game, Newtown raced to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first. Hull led off with a single, but was erased on a fielder’s choice. Andrew Kelly then hit a line shot down the left field line that he turned into an inside-the-park home run, scoring the first two runs. Hennessy then singled and scored on Schmidt’s double. Barreto’s RBI single plated Schmidt with the fourth run.

West Norwalk took advantage of some uncharacteristic sloppiness by Newtown in the field and began to pile on the runs, eventually building a 10-4 lead. The locals were unable to score again until the fifth inning despite hits by Demers, Braun, Kelly and Magoulas.

Newtown finally got the bats going again in the fifth and cut Norwalk’s lead to 10-7 as Demers led off with a walk, moved to second on a single by Gerics and scored on a single by Hull. Poeltl drove in two more runs with a single, scoring Hull and Gerics.

The Bombers gave two runs back in the bottom of the fifth and were down by five heading into the final frame. Hennessy and Schmidt led off with successive singles, but were stranded to end the game.

Despite the high score of the game, there were several outstanding defensive plays turned in by Newtown. Hull made a great diving catch at third and Barreto made a diving stop at second on a tough grounder and a diving catch of a ball hit to center field. Magoulas also turned in a gutty performance on the mound, pitching three tough innings.

The Bombers were in the thick of the District Tournament this week at Liberty Field, facing Bridgeport and Southbury.

13-Year-Olds In

District Finals

A first-round loss to Ridgefield has not prevented the Newtown Babe Ruth 13-year-old All Stars from reaching the District Finals.

Problem is, they have to face Ridgefield again … and beat them twice. The locals have reeled off four wins in the last four days and played the first game Wednesday at 5 pm.

Of the 11 players that are on the team, nine of the players have played together since they were nine. The group has hung together and has added two top-notch players. They are all a great group of kids and have played with a lot of heart and desire.

“I know it will be tough to beat Ridgefield twice,” said coach Roy Muraskiewicz. “But I am very proud of how they made it back to the championship game beating some very tough competition along the way.”

The 13s are coach by Muraskiewicz, Paul Meisel and Guy Mascola.

14-Year-Olds

Fall Twice

With Weston nursing a five-run lead and darkness swiftly approaching last Tuesday, the Newtown 14-year-old All Stars had just one opportunity to pull off yet another comeback. And they took full advantage of it.

Greg Larnerd walked, Nick Saviano was hit by a pitch, Jared Modzelewski ripped a base hit, Kyle DiNicola walked, Francis Oggeri and Nick Urso singled, and Ryan “RC Express” Clark belted a three-run double.

When the inning was over, the locals – with an awesome display of heart and grit – had pushed six runs across the plate to take an 11-10 lead.

And that’s where it ended, as the game was called due to darkness.

“Weston is a very well coached and talented team,” said coach John Modzelewski, “but the Newtowners were more than equal to the task. I’m proud of my kids and their ability to never give up.”

Urso went 3-for-4 to lead the offense while Jacob Burg, Clark and Oggeri banged out two hits apiece. Larnerd, Saviano and Modzelewski also contributed hits. Brett Mauro, Walt Murphy, Wilson Davidson, DiNicola, and Tucker LaPak had solid games.

The win helped the locals rebound from an 11-8 loss to Aspetuck two days before.

Newtown jumped out to a three-run lead as Oggeri singled and Urso (double), Burg (single) and LaPak (single) all followed with RBI hits. Aspetuck answered back with three runs in the top of the third, but the locals then came back with a double by Clark to give themselves a 5-3 lead.

But in the top of the fourth, Aspetuck scored five runs on a six hits – one of those a three-run homer – to take an 8-5 lead. The locals stayed close in the bottom of the frame, though, as Oggeri collected a two-out hit and scored on a triple by Urso to trim the lead to 8-7.

Aspetuck padded its lead in the sixth with three more runs and held on for the win.

Despite the loss, Urso owned the day as he went 4-for-4 with a single, two doubles, and a triple. He missed hitting for the cycle by some three inches; one of his doubles just hit the top of the fence. Oggeri and Clark each went 2-for-4 while Burg, LaPak and Larnerd all had hits.

DiNicola, Murphy and Davidson played solid defense while Saviano pitched two scoreless innings.

Now, the 14-year-old All Stars will be hosting the Babe Ruth State Tournament at Newtown High School starting on Friday, July 23.

Newtown will open the tournament against the winner of the District 3 Tournament. First pitch is slated for 5:45 pm, which will be preceded opening night ceremonies (including a dedication of the new scoreboard) and the first pitch thrown by First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

On Saturday, July 24, games will be held at 10 am (District 4 vs District 2), 1 pm (District 6 vs District 8) and 4 pm (District 1 vs District 7).

Loser’s Bracket games will begin on Sunday morning with Winner’s Bracket games to follow on Sunday afternoon.

Games will run through Friday, July 30, with the championship slated for a 5:45 pm start.