Newtown 12s Finish Third In New England Cal Ripken Regional Tournament

Newtown’s state champion 12-year-old baseball team finished third in the New England Cal Ripken Regional Tournament this past week. 

At the opening ceremonies in Merrimack, NH, the Newtown players competed in various skills competitions along with counterparts from the eight participating teams. Pat Mullins took first place in the homerun derby/hitting contest and Dean Demers finished third. The four-man running relay team of Garrison Buzzanca, Matt Mossberger, Justin Devellis and Mullins also finished in first place.

In the first tourney game, Newtown beat Keene, NH 4-1. Brandon Marks allowed just one run in two innings and Mike Davis threw four scoreless innings to lift Newtown. Davis also compiled six strikeouts. Newtown put all of its runs on the board in the fourth inning on singles by Davis, Marks, Austin Raftery and Mullins and walks by Buzzanca, Devellis and Demers.

In the second game, Newtown came from behind and pulled away to topple Dover, NH 22-12. Newtown fell behind 9-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning but responded by scoring 15 runs, including 12 after two outs were recorded, to take an 18-9 lead. The big blows were a three-run homer by Marks, which gave Newtown the lead, and a grand slam by Mullins, his 26th homer of the year. In the fifth, Kaleb Rowe hit a three-run homer and Davis followed with a solo shot to end the game in a run-rule. The first three hitters in the lineup, Devellis, Bubba Leblanc and Mullins, reached base safely in all 15 of their plate appearances. Mullins was 4-for-4, Davis was 4-for-5, Devellis was 3-for-3 and Rowe, Leblanc and Raftery were each 2-for-2.

Against New Canaan in the winners’ bracket final Newtown sustained its first tourney loss, 14-3, after having beaten New Canaan twice in the states round. Newtown’s lone bright spot was a three-run homer by JP Blanco.

Newtown lost 10-7 to Greenwich to come in third in the region. Newtown fell behind 9-0 after three innings but fought back to make it close. Davis drilled two homers and had five RBIs to lead the charge. Mossberger reached twice and Mullins pitched three innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts.

The team was managed by Joe Devellis. Bobby Leblanc and Pat Mullins were assistant coaches.