7-Year-Old Division

Art and Frame of Danbury vs Stratton Faxon Law: The Art and Frame of Danbury Killer Bees continued their impressive play both in the field and at the plate. Michael Early, Michael Ihlefeld, and Liam O’Sullivan all showed their hustle as they beat out throws from the infield for numerous base hits. Matt Pietrorazio, Hayden Miller, and Ryan Heran all hit deep shots to the outfield for standup doubles. Sean O’Sullivan also had a big day with four doubles. The Stratton Faxon Rockets hitting stars were Connor Faxon, Andon Bambino, and Zack Majeski, who each reached base in every at bat with solidly hit singles. The Rocket defense was led by second baseman Jimmy Dauber, who made a nice stop and got a force out at second while falling to the ground. The play of the day was made by first baseman Miller Tetreault, who made a spectacular scoop of a bounced throw to record the out.

Hollandia Nursery vs Landscaping Unlimited: Hollandia Nursery played is best all-around game of the spring season with a an impressive offensive display led by leadoff hitter Daniel DeBartolomeo, who went three for three and scored two runs while Ryan Verdi collected three hits and two RBI. Brendan Adams displayed a keen knowledge of the strike zone in waiting for his pitch, which resulted in three hits and three runs scored. Torin Kearney used his speed to leg out two infield hits and Walter Brady went three for three with a double and an RBI. Hollandia was also stingy on defense with Zander Kasbarian flashing his glove at first base and shortstop recording three outs and two assists. Peter Reelick was solid at second base, scooping a throw from Daniel DeBartolomeo to nail a runner at second base. Carter Ballard and Thomas Speiserwere both solid behind the plate. The Landscaping Unlimited Gators played some solid defense on Saturday as Josh Parsons caught a high fly ball in the second inning. Eric Gay saved an out with some quick thinking by grabbing a dropped ball and tossing it to Walker Previdi at first base. Evan Casagrande did a great job backing up the infield by stopping three errant balls in a row in right field. The Gators’ bats were potent with singles by Devin Herbstman, Michael Jewell, and Sam Cannizzo. Eric Gay smacked a double into right center. And Drew “Lightning” Poseno beat out a throw to first for a single and then again on the next play on his way to second.

Frate Custom Cabinetry vs Dr Baum Orthodontics: The Dr Baum Blue Sharks’ lefties Jake Hossler and James Celentano continue to baffle defenses with their mastery of opposite field hitting. The sticky glove gang comprising Athan Tavar, James Ciaramello, Tyler Harrison, and Jackson Newsom helped to keep their opponent’s offense at bay. Lewis Tomaj nestled in behind the plate like a chicken on a nest and did an excellent job. Trevor Jacozzi is starting to rack up big hits faster than the Beatles and Timmy “Man of Steel” Vigneau had the ultimate display of courage.

Apex Glass vs Spire: Apex Glass was on an offensive roll this week, led by Edwin Tout who had four hits on the day, and multi-hit efforts which included doubles by Nick Sortino, Ryan McMahon, Matt Sortino, and Andrew McMahon. Zachary Riley, Owen Browne, and Matthew McMahon also had multiple hits. Defensively, the catching rotation of Nick Sortino, Matthew McMahon, Ryan McMahon, and Andrew McMahon played well. Strong infield play of Zachary Riley and Owen Browne at second, and Matt Sortino who played well at each infield position, helped the team. The defensive highlight of the game was a great relay throw by Edwin Tout right on the money from center field to Andrew McMahon covering second base, just missing a tag-out on a double by the opposing team.

10-Year-Olds

Monro Muffler & Brake Teal Eels 8, Sugar Hill Auto 4: Sugar Hill Auto’s Orange Crush got solid pitching by Jack Miller, Simon Preston, and Sammy Kapur. Their offense was lead by Eric Moore, Doug Carriero, Thomas Usher, and Jake Holman. Playing great defense for the Orange Crush was Travis Huzina, Thomas Fitzy Fitzgerald, Justin Kahn, and Jack Forgione.

Ferris Acres Creamery Red Gorillas 11, Monro Muffler Brake Teal Eels 11: The offense of the Gorillas was led by two hits each from Ben Terry and Jamey Hobar, while Ryan Mailloux scored three runs. Harry Lucas, Connor Dinallo, and AJ Salaris played great infield defense and Aidan Ford was outstanding in the outfield.

Ferris Acres Creamery Red Gorillas 6, Allstate Insurance Bombardiers 3: The Ferris Acres Creamery Red Gorillas defeated the talented Allstate Insurance Bombardiers squad. Harry Lucas, Ryan Williams, Aidan Ford, Jeremy Fisher, and Ben Terry, who had three hits, all contributed to the ten-hit Gorilla attack. Two strong innings each from Ryan Mailloux and Ben Terry paced the Gorilla pitching and Jamey Hobar closed out the game for his first save of the year. Outstanding effort on defense was displayed by Connor Dinallo, AJ Salaris, and Aidan Ford.

Ferro Financial Green Machine 9, Mobil 1 Lube Express Blue Devils 6: The Green Machine jumped out to an early lead on the Blue Devils with four runs in the first. Tyler Trede led off with a single, followed by Tim Shaw and Kyle Roche reaching base. The big blow came from Bobby Ward doubling to center, scoring two. The Green team batted around in the third, tacking on five runs led by Sean McCleary, Jack Swanson, Luke Loudon, Eli Holmes, and Brandon Giglio, who reached base all three times in the game. Bobby Ward battled on the mound as did Shaw, Roche, and Michael Narducci.

11 Year Old Cal Ripken

Ingersoll Auto 9, Stratton Faxon 8: The Yellow Fever overcame a two-run deficit in the sixth for a walk-off win. With Chris Mok steady behind the plate, the hitting was paced by Joe Palanzo who was four for four, with a double and home run that sailed into Glander 1, and CJ Herde’s clutch two-out, two-RBI single in the fifth. The sixth was led off by Graham Dowd’s double, who was sent home by a single from Joe. Jack Bittman’s single and a walk from Ian Shull loaded the bases for Alex Hess, who drove in the winning run.

13-Year-Old Black Hawks: The Prep Newtown Black Hawks had a promising start to their season in a wooden bat tournament hosted by Southbury during Memorial Day Weekend. The team made it to the championship game on Monday but lost a very close game to a defensively-sound Cheshire team.

The tournament began Saturday for the Black Hawks against a familiar foe, New Milford. Newtown jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with four straight singles by Jeret DeVellis, Michael Parker, David Matthews, and Sam Czel to start the game. Jack Procaccini led off the second inning with a double and Erik Street was hit by a pitch. Two outs later, Parker drove them in with his second consecutive hit. They scored another run on an error to build the lead up to 5-1. The pitching of Stephen Brittin and Parker would make the lead stick. The final score was a nail biting 5-4 that ended with a bases-loaded pop-up to the pitcher by New Milford.

The tournament continued on Sunday for Newtown. Newtown scored four times in the seventh inning and held on for a 5-2 win over Brookfield in the first game. Matthews and Mason Melillo pitched well in the win, each only allowing a run. Brittin led the offense with two doubles. Michael Doyle and Chris Calo both made nice catches on line drives to rob what would have been base hits.

In the second game on Sunday, Newtown blanked Seymour 10-0. The starting pitcher, Procaccini, was helped out in the first inning by DeVellis, who made two diving catches in the outfield. After that, Procaccini and Brittin shut down the Seymour offense only allowing three hits and no runs. Newtown improved to 3-0 in pool play, propelling the team into the championship game.

The championship game against Cheshire proved to be a pitchers duel. Parker and Brittin pitched brilliantly for Newtown. They allowed only four hits and issued no walks. Parker was able to strike out seven batters over five innings. But Cheshire made the most of their limited base runners for a 2-0 win.

Overall for the tournament, Czel led the offense with six hits and a batting average of .600. Griffin Davis led the team with four RBI. The boys had a good time learning and adjusting to the wooden bats.

14/15-Year-Olds

Newtown Mobil 1 Lube Express 4, Ridgefield 3: Newtown jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead as Garrison Buzzanca led off the game with a single. Buzzanca promptly stole second base and was driven in by a Julian Dunn two-out double. Ridgefield came right back to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Ridgefield was threatening to add to its lead in the second with a man on first and one out. Brandon O’Sullivan started an inning-ending double play as he fielded a grounder at second, tagged the advancing base runner, and then threw to first to complete the double play. Ridgefield scored an unearned run in the third to take a 2-1 lead. Jim Parker pitched the first three innings for Newtown, surrendering just one earned run to keep Newtown in the ball game. Virgil Procaccini came on in the fourth and promptly retired the side on seven pitches. Ridgefield plated another run in the fifth to extend the lead to 3-1.

Newtown was able to retire Ridgefield in order in the bottom of the sixth, which set up The Express for one last at bat. Julian Dunn led off the seventh with a double. Dunn moved up to third on a wild pitch, then, with one out, scored on a fielder’s choice to make it a 3-2 game. Down to their final out and a man on first, Tim McGrath stepped to the plate and hit a double over the leftfielder’s head, setting up second and third with two outs. David Vallerie then walked to load the bases. Colten Moroney came to the plate and hit a ball to the right side of the infield that Ridgefield misplayed. Moroney hustled out of the box and was safe at first, allowed the tying run to score. Brandon O’Sullivan then worked a bases-loaded walk to bring in the go-ahead run. Connor Roche pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to get the win.

Newtown Mobil 1 Lube Express 3, New Milford 2: The Newtown Express continued its winning ways. Connor Roche started for Newtown and pitched three innings of one hit, shutout ball. The Express started hitting right in the first inning, with hits by Garrison Buzzanca, Virgil Procaccini, Julian Dunn, and Connor Roche, resulting in a quick 2-0 lead. The Newtown defense was equally impressive as Tim McGrath snared a smash liner and then stepped on first to complete the inning ending, unassisted double play in second inning. Garrison Buzzanca and Adam Israel both made outstanding running catches in the outfield. The Express put a fifth inning rally together after a leadoff single by Garrison Buzzanca, followed by a Jim Parker single, and a walk to Virgil Procaccini. The Express was only able to plate one run on a bases-loaded walk, but that run would prove critical. Julian Dunn came on to pitch in the fourth inning and retired the first six batters he faced.

After a leadoff single in the sixth, Dunn fielded a hard grounder back to the mound and fired to Procaccini at second, who then fired to first to complete the 1-6-3 double play. The Express went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, setting up the seventh inning drama. The inning started well as Dunn stuck out the first batter. The next batter reached on an error then stole second base to move into scoring position, but Dunn added another strikeout for the second out of the inning. The next two New Milford batters lined hard singles that resulted in two runs scoring, making the score 3-2. With the tying run on first, Jim Parker was called on to get the final out of the game. With a 2-2 count, Parker unleashed a high fastball that he blew by the batter for a game-ending strikeout. The Express have now won four games in a row.

18U Lightning

Lightning 6, Farmington 2: Playing its best game of the spring season Saturday night at Farmington’s Tunxis Meade Field, the Lightning put together solid defense, clutch hitting, and brilliant pitching to move into a tie for second place in the Connecticut Senior Baseball League. The win advanced Newtown into the first round of the single-elimination playoffs Friday at 6:30 pm at Fairfield Hills Field. Against Farmington, the Lightning was led by Eric Sutton, who threw a complete game, scattering six hits, yielding two runs, and striking out four batters. Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, Newtown’s Mike Herring drilled a single to right center, stole second, and was sacrificed to third by a Joe Maggio bunt. Nick Heron knocked him home by lining a clutch, two-out RBI single to left. In the next inning, Newtown’s Brandon Cooper crushed a base hit up the middle, advanced to second on a hit and run slapped to the right side by Ben Stoller and scored when Sutton flared a single to left.

The Lightning, sponsored by VFW Post 308, upped the lead to 3-1 in the sixth when Heron walked and was sacrificed to second by a Will Arndt bunt. Cooper grounded an RBI single through the right field hole. In the final inning, Newtown added three more runs. Alex Saviano and James Rebman smacked singles to center, and Maggio walked to load the bases. Nicky Sajovic slapped an RBI groundball to second base, and the throw was too late to nail Saviano sliding at the plate. Heron walked to knock in a run, and Arndt hit an RBI single to right.

Southbury 12, Lightning 5: Newtown led 5-3 after four innings, but fell apart under a barrage of Southbury hits and fielding miscues Saturday at Newtown High School Field. The Lightning’s Eric Sutton struck out six over the first four innings, departing with a 5-3 lead. But Southbury crushed nine hits and scored nine runs in the next two innings to seal the victory. Brandon Cooper led Newtown’s offense with a single, double, and three RBI. Will Arndt crushed a long double down the left field line and scored two runs.