BETHEL – For the first time in 22 years, a Newtown 15-year-old All Star team came home with the Bethel Jimmy Fund Tournament championship.

Newtown won four games (defeating Monroe, Aspetuck, and Fairfield twice) to capture the title. More importantly, the tournament – with the help of district president, Bill Pullan – raised $11,000 for cancer research.

Teams from Stamford, Monroe, Milford, Brookfield, Fairfield, Bethel and Newtown participated.

Newtown opened with a 13-2 win over Monroe. The locals banged out 17 hits, with Paul Peterson (4-for-4, HR, 3RBI) and Tyler Hull (3-for-4, 2 RBI) leading the way.

Greg Britton had a pair of hits and scored three runs. Will Fields and Joe Coated produced three runs between them while Mark Fracker pitched well and got solid relief from Al Mazur and Dan Jura.

Newtown went on to defeat Aspetuck, 11-5. Fracker had four hits while Hull and Mazur had three hits apiece to fuel a 15-hit attack. Mazur drove in three runs while Charlie Fulkerson banged out two hits and drove in three runs, as well. Jura pitched six strong innings for the win while Britton pitched well in the seventh.

Things got a little closer in the third game, with Newtown nipping Fairfield, 10-8. A 15-hit attack was led by Matt Glander and Hull, who had three knocks apiece. Jura and Fracker had two hits apiece. Hull and Jura scored three runs each while Fracker knocked in a couple of RBI.

Mazur pitched well for the win and Jura earned the save with a solid seventh.

Now in the finals, Newtown had to wait for the game between Fairfield and Milford in the loser’s bracker final – which Fairfield won, setting up a battle in the Saturday morning heat at Bethel High School on August 5.

Newtown jumped on top right away. Hill led off with a single and advanced on a hit by Jura. Fracker – the championship MVP – drilled a line drive over the centerfielder’s head for a triple, scoring two runs.

But when Fracker went to the mound, Fairfield reached the southpaw for a run in the first, two in the third, and one more in the fourth to put Newtown into a 4-2 hole. In the top of the fifth, though, Newtown rallied as Hull walked and stole second, then scored on a Mazur double in the gap. Fracker also doubled, driving in Mazur with the tying run.

Fracker shut Fairfield down in the fifth and the game remained tied at 4-4.

Newtown threatened in the top of the sixth with Britton resting on third and Fulkerson on second with one out, but it all came to nothing. Hull then came on to pitch the bottom of the sixth and held Fairfield scoreless thanks to the glove work of Mazur and Austin Bowes.

Bowes, in fact, saved the inning as – with runners on first and second – he ran down a long drive to right centerfield for the third out.

In the top of the seventh, Jura led off with a double, Fracker walked, and Peterson singled to load the bases. Bowes – who was able to play in just this one game – then lofted a fly ball to centerfield, scoring Jura with the go-ahead run and giving Newtown a 5-4 lead.

And in the bottom of the frame, with the tying run on third, Hull recorded the final out and earned the win as Newtown claimed the Bethel Jimmy Fund Tournament championship for the first time in 22 years.

Coaches David Coates, Tom Jura, Steve Britton and Jim Fields had to thank Dennis LaPak, Scott Graves, Mike Kerler, Josh Hull, Al Mazur, Dawson Newberry and Ray Peterson for their help and support and sent a special thanks to Frank Rocca for his help and dedication to Newtown Babe Ruth baseball.

Statistics . . .

Players       H      R      BI

Tyler Hull     10      9        4

Dan Jura        8        7        3

Al Mazur       6        3        4

Mark Fracker 9        3        7

Matt Glander 5        2        2

Paul Peterson 6        3        4

Greg Britton  4        4        2

Will Fields     2        3        0

Joe Coates    3        2        2

Charlie Fulkerson     4        3        3

Austin Bowes 1        0        1