BASEBALL

12 Intro

Reds 9, Ridgefield 8 – The Reds fought back four times to erase Ridgefield leads in their most exciting game of the fall season at Walnut Tree Field in Sandy Hook.  Trailing 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Newtown’s Mike Scharfenberg singled and Kevin Shpunt and Harry Snellback walked to load the bases. Three Reds batters then came through in the clutch with two outs. Jon Hull singled sharply, Eric Terhaar walked, and Ben Stoller walked to tie the score. After Ridgefield regained the lead, 8-7, in the seventh the Reds rallied again as Nicky Sajovic walked, stole second base and went to third on smash single by Kyle Wilcox. Richie Sandler (who doubled in the first and finished with three RBI) crushed a walk-off double down the left field line that scored Sajovic and Wilcox with the winning runs.

Blue 21, Reds 5 – Reds pitchers couldn’t find the plate all day, yielding 16 walks, and the Blue capitalized at Newtown Middle School Field. The Blue were led by Brandon Cooper and Wyatt Depuy, who each had two hits. Cooper smashed a long double and knocked in two runs. Teammate Jeff Grasso also crushed a double to drive in two runs. On the mound, Grasso, Depuy, Mike Koch and Nick Heron combined for six shutout innings. For the Reds, Ben Stoller doubled down the left field line in the second inning to score Eric Terhaar. In the same inning, Jon Hull drove in John Hampford with a single, and Terhaar singled sharply to right field to score Riley Wurtz. Reds relief pitcher Ryan Daignault threw a shutout inning and retired six consecutive batters.

Reds 13 Southbury 1 – The Reds offense exploded for 11 hits enroute to the team's third straight win Sunday at Walnut Tree Field in Sandy Hook. Kyle Wilcox banged out four singles and drove in three runs while Eric Terhaar added three singles and Richie Sandler chipped in with two. Starting pitcher John Lebinski craftily escaped from a bases-loaded, no-out first-inning jam, allowing just one run, and then pitched a scoreless second before giving way to relief pitchers Wilcox, Sandler, Jon Hull and Mike Scharfenberg, who shut out the opposition for the rest of the seven-inning game. Stellar defensive plays were made by Nicky Sajovic, who threw out a runner on a hot grounder to third base, and Ryan Daignault, Hull and Scharfenberg, who turned a second-to-short-to-first double play.

Reds 14 Weston 10 – The Reds capitalized on 10 walks by Weston pitchers and ran the bases like Jose Reyes. Newtown scored four runs on wild pitches and another on a double steal.

Ben Stoller walked and reached third on two wild pitches. When teammate Ryan Daignault walked and stole second, Stoller stole home.

Kevin Shpunt stroked two singles and Daignault smacked an RBI double to right center. Daignault and Mike Scharfenberg each scored three runs.

The Reds made several excellent defensive plays. Center fielder Kyle Wilcox grabbed a single, threw to shortstop Hull, who flipped to second baseman Daignault to nail a runner. Sajovic ranged to the fence at third base to grab a foul pop, and Wilcox, playing catcher, threw out a base runner attempting to steal second base. Wilcox also threw the team's only perfect inning, striking out two batters in the fifth.

8/9

Lightning 22, Brookfield 4 – Zach Aumueller had four hits and scored four runs as the Lightning scorched Brookfield. Stephen Brittin, Michael Parker, Declan Sullivan, Matthew St. Jean, Matthew Stewart, Trevor Palmer and Jamie Cochrane all had two hits to power the offense. Matthew Ingwersen, Michael Ziluck and Owen Samson each reached based twice and scored runs. Patrick Berger and Pete Clifford also scored key runs for the Lightning.

Lightning 15, Southbury 0 – Zach Aumueller, Jamie Cochrane, Michael Parker and Matthew St. Jean combined to pitch a no hitter and strike out 12 batters. Stephen Brittin, Pete Clifford, Declan Sullivan and Patrick Berger all got hits to lead the offense. Matt Ingwersen and Michael Ziluck reached base and scored key runs.

Bombers 15, Woodbury 1 – David Berquist, Bobby Katrinak, Valentino Diiorio, Nick Randle and Austin Martinez combined to pitch a no hitter against an overmatched Woodbury team. Martinez also led the offensive attack with a single and a triple. Patrick Conte continued his hot streak by lacing three singles and Richard Ciamarra scored three runs.

Southbury (#3) 8, Bombers 6 – The Bombers suffered their first defeat of the season to a stubborn Southbury team. David Matthews struck out seven and gave up no runs and no hits in three innings of work. Matthews also crushed a ball to right field just missing a home run by a couple of feet and had to settle for a triple. Gustavo Porto made a running catch in right field to end a Southbury rally.

Bombers 16, New Fairfield (#2) 4 – Jack Procaccini, Richard Ciamarra and Joe Duero spear headed the Bomber attack by combining for eight hits and seven runs scored. Bobby Katrinak had two hits and Joey Carrino singled and battled the sun to make a fine catch on a bloop fly ball behind second base. Julia Monaco pitched brilliantly in her season debut.

Bombers 14, Gladiators 3 – Dave Matthews, Jack Procaccini and Joe Duero turned in dominant pitching performances to lead the Bombers to victory. Duero, Nick Randle and Patrick Conte each crushed long triples with Contes coming when the bases were loaded. For the Gladiators, Brian Kerins and Alex Daignault lead the offense with base hits while Matthew Hess and Dylan Tyrrell reached base twice apiece displaying patience at the plate. Defensively, Austin Huffman played a solid first base and Shawn McCarthy caught a fly ball.

Gladiators 17, Middlebury 6 – Matthew Hess went 3-for-3 and Glen Damota 2-for-2, both hitting triples, to lead the Gladiators to the win. Daniel Pearson hit a game ending base clearing double to round out the offense. Defensively, Luke Rustici stuck out five Middlebury batters in two innings of work while Dylan Tyrrell pitched well in relief.

Gladiators 9, Newtown (#2) 4 – Alex Klang started the Gladiators off in the right direction with a first-inning, two-run home run to set the pace of the game. Alex Daignault and Paul Whitaker each had two hits apiece while Whitaker and Shawn McCarthy each scored two runs. On defense, Trevor Lopez and Dylan Tyrrell each caught two fly balls while McCarthy and Spencer Johnson made two putouts in the field.

SOFTBALL

U12

Red Hot Hitters 12, Blue Flames 10 – Marion Blawie and Ivy Lee banged out two hits apiece to lead the Red Hot Hitters. Leonie Schmitt played great defense at shortstop and Carley Ferris pitched three strong innings. For the Blue, Alena Ruscoe led the offense with a double and single. Sarah Clements, Julia LeBlanc, and Alena Ruscoe all pitched well.

Red Hot Hitters 13, Green Lightning 13 – Cassie Ekstrom went 4-for-4 with a three-run double to lead the Red team to the tie. Ashley Headen made great plays at second base and Shaina Stamp was solid behind the plate. For the Green, Nadia El-Hag and Kimmy Gates combined to pitch three solid innings while Sidney Hutchison, Sarah Hull and Casey French provided the offensive punch.

Green Lightning 12, Red Hot Hitters 3 – Kimmy Gates pitched two clean innings and made several big defensive plays to lead the Green Lightning to the win. Both Lillia McEnaney and Sarah Hull showed smooth glove work in the field while contributing key RBI to help power the offense. For the Red team, Melanie Rotante led the defense with several plays at shortstop, third, and first base. Cassie Ekstrom contributed to the defense with a solid glove behind the plate.

Red Hot Hitters 11, Blue Flames 6 – Julia Frattaroli turned a double play, pitched three strong innings (including nine strikeouts), and also doubled and singled to lead the Red team. Carley Ferris also contributed with excellent base running – scoring three runs. Ashley Headen made great plays at shortstop and first base. For the Blue team, Hope McMorran led the defense with her debut as catcher. Mariah Joy had a strong showing for the first time on the pitchers mound. Amy Lee Anyoha led the offense with a powerful double.