Western Connecticut Sluggers Lose In Semifinals Despite Protest

It was a controversial ending in the semifinals of the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament for Western Connecticut and its four Newtown players, Will Arndt, Colton Sposta, Ben Stoller, and Gary Braun.

Needing a win last week to advance to the championship against defending state champion Housatonic Valley, Western Connecticut fell to Stamford 11-1 at Naugatuck High School’s Legenza Field after its protest of the game was disallowed by State Commissioner Fred Bondi.

Despite the loss, Western Connecticut, which also included all-stars from Ridgefield, Danbury and Torrington, finished No. 3 in the state and opened some eyes in the tournament.

Western Connecticut may have been the tourney’s youngest team with a starting nine of high-school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, while Stamford, for example, had Division I college players from Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart universities, and top varsity players who had either graduated or were seniors at Stamford, Trinity Catholic, and Westhill high schools.

Western Connecticut, despite its youth, would not make a quick exit in the double-elimination tourney. The team rallied for a comeback victory in the opening game against Greenwich and its starting pitcher, Marty Clarke, who was undefeated on the mound for Williams College this year. After losing 5-1 to Housatonic Valley, which went on to beat Stamford and win the title again this year, Western Connecticut upended Water Oak and Southeast Connecticut to advance to the semifinals.

Stoller led Western Connecticut with a .600 on-base percentage, and his .500 batting average (six hits in 12 at-bats) was second on the team. He was second in hits and RBIs, led the team in walks, and didn’t commit an error despite numerous chances in five games at first base.

Danbury High School star Rocky Firmin had the team’s best average, batting .545 (six hits in 11 at bats), led the team in RBIs, and was second in on-base percentage (.583). Sposta pitched a brilliant, complete-game, ten-strikeout victory against Greenwich. He also pitched one-third of an inning in relief against Stamford to get Western Connecticut out of a jam.

Arndt crushed two long doubles and knocked in two runs in the tourney. Braun caught Western Connecticut’s pitchers in all five games, and recorded several outs on third-strike foul tips.

In the semifinals against Stamford, Western Connecticut argued that it had two grounds for protest. The Stamford team did not show up at the scheduled game time, was allowed a full warm-up, and it used two star players who had been ruled ineligible for the game, Western Connecticut Manager Gary Stoller said.

Gary Stoller requested written tournament rules when Stamford did not field a time at the scheduled 5:45 pm game time or the normal grace period for a late-arriving team. Tournament organizers said they had no written rules and questioned whether Stamford’s absence was a protest of the suspension of its two players — Ryan Walsh and Billy DeMartino — who were ejected from the previous game against Housatonic Valley. Walsh plays NCAA Division I baseball for Quinnipiac University, and DeMartino started for Westhill High School’s varsity team before graduating last year.

Tournament organizers were later told that Stamford’s players were stuck in traffic, and the organizers decided that the game would be played whenever Stamford arrived, Gary Stoller said. The organizers also informed Western Connecticut that Bondi had ruled Walsh and DeMartino ineligible for the game after getting thrown out of their previous game for cursing at an umpire, he added.

Prior to the tournament, Connecticut’s district Babe Ruth commissioners had voted to suspend for one subsequent game any player ejected from a game, according to District 4 Commissioner Bob Alicea.

Five minutes before game time, Western Connecticut was informed that Bondi had changed his ruling, and Ryan Walsh and DeMartino would be allowed to play after sitting out three innings.

The long delay last week before the start of the semifinal game appeared to take its toll on Western Connecticut. It started off very flat and without the dugout enthusiasm that was the hallmark of the team’s four previous tournament games. Stamford scored two unearned runs in the first inning off Western Connecticut’s ace pitcher Alex Johnson on an error and two passed balls, and another run in the second inning on a walk, a single, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout.

Western Connecticut’s first seven batters were retired in order before Ben Stoller walked to break up the perfect game being thrown by George Murphy, an ace pitcher for Trinity Catholic High School who graduated last month.

Leading 3-0 in the fourth inning, Stamford inserted Walsh and DeMartino into the lineup, and Gary Stoller told the home plate umpire the game was being played under protest. Bondi disallowed the protest on the spot and said he simply had changed his decision about the two ineligible players prior to game time. 

Western Connecticut immediately narrowed the score to 3-1 when Danny Coakley walked, moved to second on a groundout, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on an RBI groundout to shortstop by Johnson.

Walsh, who was an all-state selection at Trinity Catholic before receiving a baseball scholarship to Quinnipiac, led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single to reignite the Stamford offense, and the team scored three more runs to take a 6-1 lead on a weary Johnson, pitching in his fourth consecutive game. 

In the fifth inning, Ben Stoller walked and Rolen singled, but Western Connecticut didn’t score. In the bottom of the inning, Stamford scored twice before Newtown’s Sposta relieved and put out the fire on a groundout to shortstop.

Playing five games in six days caught up with pitching-depleted Western Connecticut in the sixth inning. Sposta was unable to bat in the top of the inning because of a severely sprained ankle and had to be removed for a pinch hitter. In the bottom of the inning, two Stamford runs scored on back-to-back doubles, and Walsh blasted a two-run, game-ending home run over the left field fence.