8-9-Year-Olds

Team Via 10, Blue Dragons 3: The Blue Dragons and Team Via kicked off the 2011 fall 8–9-year-old baseball season. John Gordino opened the game with two strong innings of one-run ball, James Schumacher also had two scoreless innings for Team Via. The Blue Dragons’s Luke Galer and Tyler Fuori combined for three scoreless innings. Team Via broke it open with six runs in the third. The teams combined for 22 strikeouts out of a possible 33 total outs; Tyler Fuori had a double and Luke Galer a triple, each plating a run.

Monroe 14, Purple Crush 5: Monroe jumped out early having eight runs by the third inning. Purple Crush answered with three of its own. Newtown scratched two more in the fifth but never came close to Monroe. Trevor Tyrrell was 3 for 3, Dillon Robinson, Ben Talbot, Ben Pinto, and Jacob Hinden all had nice singles. Tyrrell, Talbot, Robinson, and Azzerito had strong pitching efforts combining for 11 strikeouts throughout the game.

Team Petersen 5, Wizards 4: The game came down to the final at bat as Team Peters clawed its way back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat the Wizards. With the game tied 4-4, Tyler Grosso drew a walk and then the excitement started. He hustled around the bases on throwing errors and scored on a close play at the plate to score the winning run. Grosso hustled into third on another passed ball and was able to score the winning run on an overthrow. Thomas Luciano had a strong outing for the Wizards in the loss, striking out five and giving up just one run in his two innings on the mound. Sam Eppers led the Wizards offense, getting on base in all three of his at bats and scoring twice.

Blue Dragons 10, Team Via 9: The rematch saw the Blue Dragons holding off a late charge by Team Via. Despite the total runs Team Via’s pitchers, Charlie Asetta Andrew Via, and John Godino combined for three solid innings giving up only two runs. Charlie Asetta, John Godino and James Schumacher all doubled in the third inning. Tyler Fuori went 3 for 3 with 4 RBI. Max Hubner, Luke Galer, Liam Murphy, Trevor Merrick and Matt Blanco all had two runs scored. Matt caught a blast from James Schumacher deep in Left Center, while Luke Galer had an unassisted double play.

Rios Reds 12, Oxford White 7: After trailing 2-0, the Reds erupted for 10 runs combined in the third and fourth inning to cruise to a 12-7 win. Jack Ketchum and Joey Rios led the offense with two hits each. Bobby Elston played a strong game behind the plate and picked off a runner at second base. Ryan McNerney played a solid game in the field. James Mok and Daniel Pond were impressive in their debuts on the mound.

Team Baily 9, Team Via 8: An early lead by Team Baily was met with a last inning charge by Team Via, scoring 6 runs in their final at bat and left the bases loaded as they came up one run shy.

Wizards 9, Oxford White 6: The Wizards needed a complete team effort to defeat Oxford White 9-6 on Sunday at Liberty Field. Starting pitcher Sam Eppers struck out six and gave up just one run over two innings. The Wizards offense was led by Ryan Rojas and Andrew Tomasino, each with two runs scored, and Ryan Nolan who belted a triple to right field. Josh Taylor struck out the side in the final inning to secure the victory.

Reds 8, Purple Crush 4: Ben Pinto, Marina Altimari and Ben Talbot all singled. Talbot got another hit while also making a superb defensive play at short stop. George Mohigel and Colton Procaccini both had hard singles. Strong pitching performances by Trevor Tyrrell, Luke Azzerito and Talbot, who rung up ten strikeouts in the four innings they pitched. The Reds, however, broke open a scoreless game with 5 runs in the third inning. Jack Sullivan led the Reds offense with three hits and scored two runs. Stephen Dooley and Shea Talbot pitched well on the mound. Ethan Goodman, Logan McAloon and Austin Cote helped the cause with great hustle and defense.

Team Hurley 10, Blue Dragons 8: Another tight game saw team Hurly come from five runs down and hold on late for the win. Patrick Hurley was 2 for 3 with a home run. Jake Kneski, Tyler Stroili, and Devin Johnson also had singles. For the Blue Dragons, Tyler Fuori was 3 for 3 with 4 RBI, Jeff Giode had a long single, RBI and two great defensive plays. Matt Blanco also had a single and RBI.

11–12-Year-Old Cal Ripken

Hammers 13, Blue Lightning 1: Co-Player of the week James Heran led the Hammers with his great pitching and defense, while Dylan Champagne led the Lightning

Lombardo 20, Rory 8: Nick Lombardo knocked in three runs and Will Huegi led the comeback for Lombardo, while Pete Boomer Debona hit a monstrous home run for Rory’s nine in defeat.

Ponyo’s 9, Classics 5: The first extra inning affair ended with Ponyo’s scoring big in the extra frame. Sam Grossano’s sac bunt turned into an excited three tallies as he raced around the bases. Sam Kapur tripled and Jack Whelan pitched well in defeat for the Classics.

Geckos 16, Orange Flames 10: Adam Bergeron and Liam Begany each had two hits as the Geckos offense exploded, Tim Cervera stung the ball for the Flames in defeat.

Lombardo 13, Hurricanes 7: Robert Lombardo and Robert LaPorta led the charge for the undefeated Lombardo nine, while Rhett Saunders and RH Clark led the way for the Hurricanes

Ponyo’s 17, Hammers 3: David Kohler and Ben Harrison pitched well for the Ponyo’s as Jeffrey Klein starred on defense.

Rory 9, Orange Flames 3: Great pitching from Ethan Aug and Jason Hebner led Rory to victory, while Tess Davenport played well in defeat.

Wizards 9, Classics 7: Co-player of the weekend Colin Kelly had two hits and starred on defense. Billy Kase made a great catch to secure the victory for the Wizards. Sam Kapur, leading the league in triples, continued his hot hitting, while Max McCleary starred on defense and at the bat for the Classics.

18U Senior Baseball

Newtown Lightning 3, Ridgefield 2: Newtown recorded its fourth straight victory Sunday at Fairfield Hills Field and moved into first place in the Connecticut Senior Baseball League. The win was led by the pitching arms of Colton Sposta and Dean Demers, the base running of Ben Stoller, the clutch hitting of Kyle Wilcox and the Lightning’s brilliant defensive play. Newtown jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead. Stoller walked, stole second, and after Wilcox walked, Stoller stole third with Wilcox advancing to second. Stoller scored on a wild pitch, and Wilcox scored on an RBI grounder by Austin Bonadio. Sposta limited Ridgefield to three hits and one earned run over five innings before leaving with the score tied 2-2.

In the second inning, Stoller made two consecutive defensive gems. He raced to the Lightning dugout and slid to grab a foul popup, and then scooped a weak throw from third base out of the dirt for the inning’s second out. Bonadio played brilliantly at shortstop, recording five assists, and catcher Jon Hull called a smart game and didn’t allow a single wild pitch or passed ball. Demers threw two shutout innings to get the win. With the score tied 2-2 in the last inning, Stoller walked, and on a run-and-hit play, Wilcox sliced a double down the right-field line. Wyatt DePuy slapped a grounder to the shortstop, but the throw was high, and Stoller slid home with the winning run.

 Newtown Lightning 6, Danbury Two 1: Newtown pitcher Austin Bonadio shackled Danbury for six innings with a blazing fastball and a sharp-dropping curve Saturday night at Danbury’s Rogers Park. Bonadio held Danbury to four hits and struck out eight batters over six innings. Jon Hull pitched a perfect seventh inning for the save. Newtown jumped out to a 1-0 first-inning lead when Hull walked, stole second and third, and scored on a RBI single by Chris Tenney. Newtown scored three more second-inning runs. Brandon Cooper reached on an error, Garrison Buzzanca ripped a single down the left-field line and Eric Pisani walked to load the bases. Cooper scored on a wild pitch, and Colton Sposta lined a two-RBI single to right center. In the third inning, Newtown’s Nick Heron walked, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a Hull single and scored on a fielder’s choice by Kyle Wilcox. Newtown’s final run scored in the fourth inning when Bonadio lashed a single, stole second and scored on Cooper’s double over the center fielder’s head. The Lightning made no errors the entire game.

Newtown Lightning 8, Brookfield 6: Behind the brilliant pitching of Dean Demers and Austin Bonadio, Newtown led 8-1 after six innings and then held on for the victory at Fairfield Hills Field last week. Demers allowed one run and three hits over the first five innings, walking one and striking out four. Bonadio pitched a shutout sixth inning, striking out two. Bonadio, Ben Stoller, and Chris Tenney led the offense, each scoring two runs, and Bonadio also rapped a two-RBI single in the third inning. Wyatt DePuy was a huge offensive force, slapping three singles and knocking in three runs. Brandon Cooper knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Jon Hull drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.