The dream of a fourth straight New England Regional championship and a trip to the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland, remained alive for the Newtown Babe Ruth 12-year-old All Star team with a wild, 11-10, win over West Norwalk last week in the Connecticut Babe Ruth state tournament championship.

Meanwhile, the Newtown 11-year-old All Star team finished second in the District 4 tournament but earned a spot in the state tournament with an eye on another trip to the New England Regionals.

Read on –

12s

Newtown 11, West Norwalk 10

Sometimes the pitching is spotty.

Sometimes the defense fails to pick up the ball.

As the Newtown Blaze 12-year-old All Star team discovered last Friday night against West Norwalk in the championship round of the Connecticut Babe Ruth Baseball state tournament, sometimes – especially when things ain’t working so great – tournament baseball is all about staying alive to see another game.

The Blaze committed five errors and allowed 10 runs but still managed to defeat West Norwalk, 11-10, to advance to the New England Regionals in Keene, New Hampshire.

“It was not a typical game for us,” said manager Bill Kneisel, “but survive and advance … that’s what it’s all about.”

The Blaze – undefeated in the tournament – were in search of their fourth consecutive state championship and had the benefit of another championship round game to fall back on and West Norwalk looked as if it might force that deciding game when it jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first thanks in large part to a two-run homer from Andriak (the first of two taters for the West Norwalk slugger in the game).

The Blaze got a run back in the bottom of the frame when Ryan Tita singled and reached third on a pair of passed balls before scoring on Ryan Powers’ ground out to second. In the bottom of the second, the Blaze took a 4-3 lead when Tita smashed a three-run homer, scoring Colin Morris (who had doubled to lead off the inning) and Dom Fedak (who had walked).

“It was a real slugfest,” said Kneisel. “The ball was just flying out of the park. It was a wild game.”

In the top of the third, West Norwalk tied the score, 4-4, on a home run by Flemming but in the bottom of the third the Blaze plated three more runs to take a 7-4 lead. Sean Burson singled and Curtis Droniak reached on a fielder’s choice mistake before Fedak singled in Burson. Will Arndt then reached on a fielder’s choice mistake to score Droniak and moments later an infield grounder by Oliver Powers scored Fedak with the third run.

West Norwalk got a run back in the top of the fourth on a home run by Peabody, but the Blaze answered back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame when Burson clobbered a two-run homer, scoring Sean Ross (who had doubled).

At that point, the Blaze were sitting on a 9-5 lead … but were hardly comfortable.

And for good reason.

West Norwalk scored four times in the top of the fifth to tie the game, the big blow a two-run homer by Andriak. The Blaze made a pair of errors in the frame, but a force out at home – the second out of the inning – was a key play.

The game did not stay knotted for very long as Austin Bonadio and Oliver Powers both blasted home runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the Blaze out on top, 11-9. And in the top of the sixth, Bonadio was back on the hill and started things off by whiffing Andriak. Two more errors made things interesting, but the Blaze surrendered just one run before recording the final out on a grounder to second.

All told, there were 20 hits in the game – eight of them home runs.

The Blaze will open the New England Regionals on Saturday, July 29, against Vermont in Keene, New Hampshire.

11s

Newtown 6, New Milford 3

Newtown 8, Brookfield 2

Danbury 10, Newtown 7

Newtown 5, Southbury 1

Newtown 5, Danbury 3

Danbury 7, Newtown 5

The Newtown Bombers have a new nemesis – Danbury.

The team that finished fifth in the nation with its performance last summer in the Cal Ripken World Series in Russellville, Arkansas, the Bombers had to battle their way through the District 4 Tournament and finished second to a significantly-improved Danbury squad.

Counting the Leonard Tournament in Bethel and the District 4 Tournament in Southbury, the Bombers – who opened the summer 7-0 while capturing a Memorial Day Tournament trophy – dropped three of four games to the Hatters.

Two of those came in the districts. But their second place finish earned the Bombers an at-large bid for the Connecticut Babe Ruth Baseball 11-year-old state tournament opening this weekend at Ewald Park in Southbury.

The Bombers – coming out of the Loser’s Bracket – split the two District 4 championship round games with Danbury this past weekend, winning the opener 5-3, but losing the decider, 7-5, after a Danbury rally in the bottom of the sixth inning.

In that final game, Newtown took a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first against Danbury’s ace and had several more chances to put the game out of reach in the first two innings but were unable to deliver the knockout blow.

Jon Hull and Reid Schmidt both worked walks to start the game and were followed by Andrew Kelley’s single loading the bases. Gary Braun then drew a walk, driving in the first run, and Kyle Wilcox plated the second run on a fielder’s choice before Dan Poeltl walked to re-load the bases. Colton Sposta delivered the key blow, singling sharply to right field to drive in two more runs.

Sposta pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning and the Bombers loaded the bases again in the second, but could not score, and gave the Danbury squad momentum into their half of the inning, which resulted in a run.

Sposta worked out of a jam in the bottom of the second, assisted by a diving catch of a liner by Poeltl and a slick 6-3-2 double play that was perfectly executed by Poeltl, Schmidt and Braun. Newtown went down in order in the top of the third, providing Danbury with more optimism which it then converted into three runs and a tie game at the end of three innings.

Danbury took the lead 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth and the Bombers desperately needed to re-start their offense, which they did in the top of the fifth. Wilcox stroked a single to right to lead off and Poeltl worked a walk, which brought Richie Sandler to the plate. The hard hitting Sandler found himself in unfamiliar territory when given the bunt sign, but executed perfectly, moving both runners into scoring position. Joe Davis then drove a ball to the gap that was caught, but brought Wilcox in with the tying run.

Poeltl then held Danbury scoreless in the bottom of the frame, but the Bombers wasted a single by Kelley in the sixth and failed to score, setting the stage for a Danbury rally that plated the winning runs in the bottom of the sixth.

In the first game of the championship round, the Bombers played near flawless baseball and prevailed over Danbury 5-3. In this contest it was Danbury that got off to a quick start, scoring three runs in their first at bat, but that was to be all the scoring for them this day. The Newtown pitching staff of Poeltl, Hull and Sposta shut down the Hatters’ big bats the rest of the way, allowing the Bombers to get back in the game. Braun led off the second with a single and eventually came around to score on a single by Mike Allwein, making the score 3-1.

Poeltl shut down Danbury in the top of the third with some help from Kelley in center, who gunned down a Danbury runner trying to stretch a single into a double, allowing Newtown to turn on their offense in the bottom of the frame. Davis hit a long double that one-hopped the fence to start the inning and moved to third on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Hull. Schmidt then singled driving in Davis and Kelley followed with another single, setting the table for Braun who launched a long home run to left that scored three more runs and gave the Bombers a lead that Hull (who also made a spectacular diving force play at second in the fifth) and Sposta would hold over the final three innings with stellar defense all around.

Sandler and Schmidt combined on a nice play in the final frame, with third baseman Sandler snaring a hot smash and throwing across to Schmidt who scooped the low throw for the second out of the inning.

In a 6-3 opening round win over New Milford, Dean Demers stroked a two-run single in the decisive fifth inning, Kelley doubled and drove in two runs, and Sandler singled to ignite a rally. Sposta and Hull kept the Bombers close until the fifth inning fireworks and Poeltl shut down New Milford with two scoreless innings to end the contest.

In an 8-2 win over Brookfield, Davis led the attack as he stroked his first career home run over the left center field fence, effectively putting the game out of reach in the fifth inning while Kelley put a charge into another errant Brookfield pitch, sending a ball into the parking lot for three runs in the fourth.

After wasting a line drive single by David Gerics in the second inning, the Bombers got a key hit in the third with the Bombers clinging to a tenuous 3-2 lead, but this hit didn’t go quite as far as the Davis and Kelley homers. Kelley and Wilcox both reached base via singles, bringing Allwein to the plate with one out and runners on second and third. Allwein delivered a perfect suicide squeeze which he beat out for a base hit and plated Kelley and an alert Wilcox, who saw that the Brookfield first baseman was not watching him round third.

Other key hits were delivered by Demers (double, run scored) and Poeltl (two singles, two runs scored).

The first District battle between Newtown and Danbury – played over three days due to lightning and inclement weather – resulted in a 10-7 win over the Hatters. Danbury raced to a 5-0 lead before the Bombers bats got going in the bottom of the second. Braun, Wilcox, Hull and Gerics all reached base on a combination of walks and hit batsmen scoring the first run. Schmidt then singled sharply to right field driving in two more runs, but the ball eluded the right fielder allowing a third run to score making the score 5-4.

Danbury scored two more runs in the top of the third before lightning forced a stoppage of play with the bases loaded, one out, and Danbury’s best hitter (Nunez) striding to the plate. Poor weather delayed the game yet another day and when play finally resumed, Poeltl had two days to ponder his predicament but Nunez worked out a walk that plated a third run.

Poeltl then settled down, striking out the next two hitters and preventing what could have been a disastrous inning for the Bombers.

The Bombers responded to Poeltl’s heroics by scoring two runs in the bottom of the third on doubles by Kelley and Braun and a sac fly by Hull that brought the locals to within two. Poeltl held Danbury scoreless in the next two innings and Newtown was able to score one more run in the fourth on a fielder’s choice by Wilcox that drove in Kelley.

Unfortunately the Bombers could muster no more offense this day.

Needing a win over Southbury to advance, the Bombers secured a 5-1 decision as Schmidt (double, single, two runs scored), Braun (RBI single) and Wilcox (double, run) providing the offensive power. Sposta (three scoreless innings) and Hull (three innings, one run) were masterful on the mound and were aided by the trademark Bombers defense.

10s

Woodbridge 5, Newtown 4

Newtown 4, Oxford 1

Newtown 13, Greenwich 4

Newtown 8, Hebron 7

Woodbridge 2, Newtown 1

 

With a District 4 title already in their pockets, the Newtown 10-year-old All Stars saw their summer come to an end after being bounced from the Connecticut Babe Ruth Baseball state tournament.

The Big Blue finished third behind New Canaan and Woodbridge.

The locals began the tournament against Woodbridge and jumped out to a quick first inning 3-0 lead. Justin DeVellis, Bubba LeBlanc and Garrison Buzzanca all scored on a base hit by Brandon Marks, a walk to Mike Davis and a fielder’s choice.

Woodbridge chipped away to tie the game in the fourth inning, but in the top of the fifth Newtown loaded the bases with base hits by Patrick Mullins, Austin Raftery and a walk by Eric Laaksonen. Matt Hoyt then came to the plate and delivered a clutch, go ahead base hit scoring Mullins.

The lead didn’t last long as Woodbridge scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to win the opener 5-4.

Newtown was led on defense by Robert Linden and Mike Davis.

After their first loss Big Blue put together an impressive three game winning streak that kept them alive.

The locals beat Oxford 4-1 behind the strong pitching of Mike Davis and Brandon Marks. The two pitchers only allowed two hits, three walks and struck out 10 batters.

LeBlanc (two hits), Raftery, and Mullins powered the Newtown offense.

The next night Big Blue banged out 19 hits to beat a tough Greenwich team, 13-5. DeVellis (three hits,  three runs), LeBlanc (three hits, two runs), Buzzanca (four hits), Laaksonen (two doubles and three runs), and Matt Sabia fueled the hitting attack. Defensively, Newtown was led by Linden, Greg Horne, and Sabia, the catcher, who picked off a Greenwich runner on first base in the last inning.

Big Blue followed up with a 13-hit attack in an 8-7 win over Hebron. DeVellis had a pair of singles and a two-run triple to key the offense while LeBlanc banged out another three hits, giving him 10 in four state tournament games. Marks belted a two-run double.

Greg Horne made a diving catch of a line drive in right field, choking off a scoring opportunity and saving the game.

Those three wins pitted Newtown against Woodbridge again and once again it was a one-run victory (2-1 this time) for Woodbridge that knocked the Big Blue out of the tournament.

Davis and Marks pitched well while Hoyt, Buzzanca and Raftery (throwing out a base runner attempting to steal third in the last inning) sparked the defense.

The Big Blue held a 1-0 lead heading into the final stanza (the lone run was scored by Marks in the top of the sixth), but in the bottom of the frame Woodbridge tied the game and in the next inning pushed the winning run across.

Big Blue finished the Allstar season with a combined 14-5 record and a District Championship.

14s

Newtown 6, Bethel 1

Danbury 9, Newtown 5

The summer run comes to an end as the Newtown 14-year-old All Stars were bounced from the District 4 tournament with a 9-5 loss to Danbury. The locals had stopped Bethel 6-1 to advance in the competition.

In that win over Bethel in the third round, pitchers Mike Coates, Jeff Spencer and Pete Wlasuk were backed by a solid defense. The locals broke open a scoreless game, scoring five times in the third. Spencer drove in two runs with a long double to left centerfield. Coates also doubled in a run as did Tyler Edwards and Keith McGrath. Anthony Gruce (3B) and Edwards (CF) made nice defensive plays throughout the tournament.

In the loss to Danbury, Newtown played well on defense as its infield turned two double plays, but the locals couldn’t contain the powerful Danbury offense.

With the score tied 1-1, Newtown went ahead in the bottom of the fourth. Gruce singled to left and Edwards reached on an error. Dan Milot ripped a single to right center, scoring two, as Edwards raced home narrowly beating the throw to the plate.

Danbury bounced back in the top of the fifth to tie the game, 3-3. In the bottom half of the inning Gruce’s squeeze bunt plated Mike Lago as Newtown regained control, 4-3. However, the Danbury bats came alive and a six-run explosion ousted Newtown from District play.

Wlasuk (.500), Gruce (.444) and McGrath (.357) powered the Newtown offense throughout the tournament as Mike Coates led the pitchers with 14 solid innings.

LIGHTNING/KNIGHTS

Lightning 11, Knights 1

Middlebury 10, Lightning 7

The first Connecticut Summer Baseball League All-Star game Monday at Quassy Field in Middlebury featured 10 Newtown players.

Six (Nicky Sajovic, Kaleb Rowe, Patrick Thornberg, Tyler Gibney, Ben Stoller and Dan Gustafson) came from the Newtown Lighting and four (Ryan O’Keefe, Kyler Harmeling, Dan Aurelia and Erik Samuelson) came from the Newtown Knights.

All represented the American League, which dropped a 12-3 decision to the National League.

For the Lightning, Gustafson pitched a scoreless first inning, and singled and scored a run to give his team a 1-0 lead. Stoller smacked an RBI single off Southbury fireballer Brandon Frager to score Sajovic, stole home and robbed the National League of a hit with a backhand stab at second base.

Sajovic relieved in the sixth inning and struck out looking the league’s most powerful hitter, Max Araya of Redding.

In the seventh inning, Gibney singled off Araya while Thornberg drew a walk.

For the Knights, Samuelson rapped a single and Harmeling reached base twice on hit by pitches. O’Keefe and Aurelia drew walks.

In regular season action, the Lightning pinned an 11-1 loss on the Knights while pounding out 13 hits at Liberty Field in the final regular season game in the Connecticut Summer Baseball League.

The Lightning finished 9-5 overall and 7-5 in the league and will compete in the Seabreeze Tournament in West Haven before opening CSBL playoffs next Thursday.

For the Lightning, Sajovic retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced in three innings of work without yielding a walk or a wild pitch. Reliever Troy Larsen struck out all three batters he faced and Alex Roche picked up the save with a scoreless fifth inning.

Stoller smacked three hits and drove in three runs. Chris Devaney also rapped three hits and drove in two runs. Thornberg smashed two hits, including a double, and Gibney slapped two hits and scored twice. Sajovic had two hits and an RBI.

First baseman Wes Tardie fielded deftly, recording five putouts, and Sajovic (in centerfield) threw to Stoller to nail a runner at second base on a force play in the fifth inning.

In a 10-7 loss to Middlebury 12-year-olds, the Lightning fell into a 9-0 hole after two innings but staged a furious rally that just fell short.

Rowe, Stoller and Thornberg all doubled to pace the offense. In the field, Gustafson grabbed a line drive for an unassisted double play Larsen threw a shutout inning in relief. 

In an 11-7 win over the Knights, the Lightning jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings survived a rally from the Knights to hold on to the victory Saturday at Liberty Field..

The Lightning capitalized on seven walks and a hit batter to take a six-run lead. They also watched pitcher John Lebinski mow down the Knights with three shutout innings.

The Knights rallied when Aurelia hit a home run over the center field fence to close the gap to 6-5 after four innings. The Knights’ Sean Dardine drilled two hits.

But Lebinski iced the game with a bases-loaded, two-run double down the right field line in the fifth inning. Gustafson and Thornberg each had two hits.

In a 20-4 loss to Fairfield, Ryan Daignault and Roche banged out two hits apiece as Mike Scharfenberg drove in a run and play solid defense at third.

In a 13-6 win over Easton, the Lightning pounded out 11 hits as Gustafson went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and four RBI. He also snared two wicked line drives at third base to spark the defense

Stoller, Thornberg, Lebinski, Roche and Sajovic also drove in runs for the Lightning.

Rowe pitched three shutout innings to pick up the win in middle relief, striking out five batters and giving up only one hit.

Tardie made a brilliant catch at first base.