Newtown’s Connecticut Clippers Make Big Impact In Wood Bat Tournament

The Newtown-based Connecticut Clippers, a 15U independent baseball club, were finalists in the Hudson Valley Elite Wood Bat Baseball Tournament in the final weekend of June.

In their inaugural season’s second tournament appearance, the Clippers swept through their first four games and found themselves in the championship game against the very accomplished Connecticut Dawgs. The Hudson Valley Wood Bat tournament drew participants from New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

In their opening game on Saturday, the Clippers beat the East Park Pirates (Hyde Park, N.Y.) 9-6. The team was led by offensive performances from Mike LoBosco, Dean Demers, and Mike Koch, with two hits apiece. Mike Koch got the win going four innings and giving up just one run.

In the second game of the tournament the Clippers defeated the Massachusetts-based Verdero Vipers 5-4. LoBosco and Stef Hennessey both had two hits, while Demers picked up the win going 42/3 innings in relief.

Moving to the single elimination championship round on a hot and steamy Sunday, the Clippers again faced the East Park Pirates and pulled off a 5-3 victory. Nick Barreto and Demers led the Clippers offense with twp hits each, while Koch pitched another four solid innings picking up his second win of the tournament. Greg Hennessey, the youngest player on the team (incoming NHS freshmen), pitched two innings in relief and held the Pirates at bay as they mounted a comeback with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Hennessey picked up the save.

The Clippers moved on to the semifinal round against the Monroe (N.Y.) Mustangs. There was much talk about the Mustangs’ excellent play throughout the tournament, but they were not match for the Clippers. Stephen Conway pitched a five-inning complete game shutout as the Clippers mercy-ruled the Mustangs 8-0. Conway also had three hits and Joe Davis and Stef Hennessey each contributed two hits.

The Clippers braced themselves and rehydrated for their third game of Sunday’s scorching marathon against even a hotter club — the Connecticut Dawgs. As the top-seeded team, the Dawgs drew a bye and only had to play one previous game that sweltering Sunday. Limited by the number of innings already pitched, the Clippers dug deep for arms, but could not hold off the Dawgs as they lost 10-2, settling for the runner-up spot. JP Blanco doubled in the fifth inning, hitting safely in all five games while extending his hitting streak to eight tournament baseball games. Demers again delivered two hits and had six hits in the tournament.

More About The Clippers

The Clippers consist of some of western Connecticut’s top young high school prospects looking to extend their high school baseball experience. Current representation consists of 2010 Newtown High School freshmen baseball players (who where 13-1 in their 2010 season), as well as select players from freshmen and junior varsity squads from Newtown, Bethel, and Brookfield High Schools.

The Clippers’ head coach is Chuck Magoulas. The assistant coaches are Alex and Nick Magoulas. The Magoulas family lives in Newtown and both Alex and Nick played baseball for Newtown High School. The Clippers’ general manager is Bob Hennessey, also from Newtown.

For more information on the Clippers, go to www.connecticutclippers.com.