The Newtown Wildcats won the Cal Ripken 12-year-old 50/70 Connecticut state tournament with a 5-2 victory over the New Milford Pride at Garrick Farms Field in New Milford, on July 11

Jack Petersen pitched a complete game three-hitter and hit a home run and right field, and Andrew McMahon made two diving catches to lead the team to victory in the final game.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Zander Kasbarian led off the game with a double, Karl Miller singled and stole second, and Petersen drove both home with a sharply-hit ball that the New Milford third baseman could not handle. Newtown added two runs in the fourth when Hayden Miller greeted New Milford ace reliever Nick Tomasello with a no-doubt home run, and Petersen followed up in back-to-back style with no outs.

New Milford got to Petersen and notched two runs in the bottom of the fourth, but when Michael Muller singled with men on second and third with two outs, left-fielder David Braun threw out Braydon Stellato trying to score from second to end the inning.

Newtown's Steven Cotton led off the fifth with a sharp single, stole second, and scored on Hayden Miller's single to make the score 5-2. From there, Petersen allowed just one base runner in each of the last two innings and struck out the last batter to give Newtown the title.

Matt Pietrorazio went 2-for-3, and Zack Majeski, Andon Bambino, and Trevor Jacozzi also singled for the Cats who totaled 11 hits.

The victory was Newtown's first over New Milford in three tries on the season. The previous day, New Milford defeated Newtown in the first round of the championship to force the decisive game. New Milford knocked out Newtown starter Matt Pietrorazio in the second inning with a barrage of singles. Zack Majeski relieved but by the time the inning was over, New Milford was up 9-0. Majeski and Steven Cotton pitched effectively for the rest of the game and David Braun had two hits, but New Milford cruised 12-4. Earlier, New Milford fought off elimination, winning the loser's bracket by erasing a 6-3 deficit entering the sixth inning to defeat Salem/Bozrah.

Newtown started the tournament with another revenge victory, beating Danbury for the first time this season (after two previous defeats). Matt Pietrorazio pitched three solid innings, Hayden Miller followed with two, and Zander Kasbarian closed the combined two-hitter for the Wildcats. Kasbarian led off the game, fouling off five pitches in an epic at bat and hit Danbury ace Chris Suter's tenth pitch over the wall for a home run. Newtown did not get another hit until the fourth when, after two Danbury errors, Zack Majeski singled home Karl Miller to give Newtown a 2-1 lead. Ryan Heran followed with a two-run single to increase the lead to 4-1. Newtown did not score in the fifth, but when Suter came out, the flood gates opened and Newtown scored 11 runs in the top of the sixth. Big blows were Ryan Heran's second two-RBI single, Steven Cotton's two-RBI double, Zander Kasbarian's two-RBI single, and Hayden Miller's two-run home run. The final score was 15-1.

Newtown defeated West Hartford (who earlier upset New Milford) 10-5 behind a six-run second inning. In the big inning, Jack Petersen doubled, Zack Majeski drove him in with a single, and Andrew McMahon hit a two-run single, and Kasbarian also had an RBI single. Hayden Miller started on the mound and threw two innings, but was knocked out of the game by his own player when in the bottom of the second. Matt Pietrorazio hit a searing line drive that hit Miller on the leg while running between second and third. Zack Majeski pitched three effective innings of relief to help Newtown advance.

In the winner's bracket final, Newtown defeated Salem/Bozrah 10-0. Jack Petersen pitched four innings of one-hit ball and struck out nine. Matt Pietrorazio hit a two-run homer, and Ryan Heran and Zander Kasbarian were each 2-for-3 with a double to lead the Cats.

Newtown and New Milford advance to the New England Regional tournament to be held starting July 16 in Dover, NH.