Newtown 14s Second In State Tournament

The Newtown Bombers got all the way to the championship round of the 14-year-old Babe Ruth State Tournament before falling to host Norwalk in a decisive game this past Saturday.

Norwalk came away with the crown and a 4-1 record, managing to stay out of the losers’ bracket, while the locals finished 5-2 and used everything they had just to get to the winner-take-all final game. Norwalk saved its ace pitcher, Mike Hughes, for the deciding contest and managed to shut down the hard-hitting Newtown squad, only allowing three hits to Jon Hull, Chris Tenney and Rich Sandler, thereby securing the title.

The Bombers emerged from the losers’ bracket Friday by beating a scrappy Groton team 6-3 and earned the right to face the well-rested Norwalk team in the first game of the final round played immediately after the Groton game ended. Using the momentum from the Groton win, Newtown raced out to a 6-0 lead against Norwalk, paced by the strong pitching of Kyle Wilcox who struck out seven batters in four innings and the offensive punch of Reid Schmidt (3-for-4, two doubles) and Jon Hull (3-for-5, double). Catcher Chris Tenney, who caught all seven games in the tourney including both ends of the Friday double-header, singled for a key RBI and also scored a run. David Gerics executed a perfect suicide squeeze for an RBI, bringing in an insurance run late in the game. Norwalk narrowed the lead to 6-4 in the fifth inning, but relievers Dan Poeltl and Austin Bonadio combined for two-plus innings of gutty relief and the locals prevailed 7-6 after a hotly disputed final out recorded by Poeltl at second base in the bottom of the seventh inning. With runners on first and third and two outs, the last Norwalk batter hit a hard grounder up the middle which was smothered by Poeltl. The Newtown shortstop lunged for the bag, forcing out the runner from first base. The ensuing collision caused the ball to pop out of Poeltl’s glove, but the field umpire ruled that Poeltl maintained possession long enough to record the out, despite an impassioned appeal from the Norwalk coaches.

In the Groton game, won by the Bombers 6-3, Bonadio pitched six masterful innings, fanning five and allowing only two runs, while Tenney provided the offensive highlights at the plate going 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Schmidt (double, RBI, two runs scored), Rich Sandler (single, run), Poeltl (single, RBI), Wilcox (single, two runs) and Gerics (single) all chipped in with key hits.

Newtown faced Naugatuck in the prior game and prevailed 4-1, led by the strong pitching of starter and winner Wilcox (four-plus innings, two strikeouts and one run allowed) and reliever Poeltl (two-plus innings, no runs, four strikeouts). Wilcox also helped his cause at the plate, going 2-2 with a double and two runs scored. Tenney (RBI single), Mike Lengel (single, run scored), Bonadio (single, run) and Sandler (double) all hit the ball well.

Game three pitted Newtown against Trumbull and the locals needed eight innings to prevail in this well-pitched contest. Newtown won 3-2 on a walk-off hit to the fence by Sandler that plated Tenney, who had reached on a single leading off the bottom of the inning. Poeltl and Bonadio combined on the eight-inning gem, with Poeltl pitching five innings of one-run ball and Bonadio three innings, also allowing only one run. Boanadio and Sandler both went 2-for-4 on the day, Hull singled driving in a run and Hennessey had a key pinch-hit single and scored the Bombers’ first run on a long drive to left by Schmidt.

The locals played Groton in game two and Groton threw the Bombers into the losers’ bracket, winning by a 6-3 score. Wilcox led the offense with a long double and triple, Schmidt was 2-for-3 with two singles, Poeltl doubled and Tenney, Hennessey, Sandler and Gerics all contributed singles.

Game one saw the Bombers get off to a good start by clobbering Naugatuck 15-4 in 5 innings. Schmidt went 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs, helping stake starter and winner Wilcox to an early lead. Poeltl provided effective relief, spinning two scoreless innings. Hull got the Bombers energized during their first at bat of the tourney, setting the tone with a long double to left and eventually scoring on Schmidt’s triple. Wilcox helped his cause by going 2-for-2, driving in two runs and scoring four, Tenney singled and drove in two runs, Colton Sposta hit the ball hard as he did all through the District Tournament, Lengel drew two walks and scored both times and Hennessey reached base twice and scored a pair of runs.

The Bombers will complete their I-84 league schedule and participate in the league’s playoffs before taking a well-deserved August rest.