The 11U Newtown Wildcats finished second in the Cal Ripken Connecticut State tournament last week (July 19-25) to earn a berth at the New England Regional for the 50-70 field, to be held in Dover, New Hampshire starting August 1.

The regional clinching game was a thrilling win over Stratford on July 24 in the losers’ bracket final by a score of 12-10.  Newtown slugged 16 hits in an offensive onslaught.

Andon Bambino and Karl Miller each had three hits and Jack Petersen, Steven Cotton, and Zack Majeski each had two hits, and Ryan Heran hit a two-run home run for Newtown.

Starting pitcher David Braun notched three solid innings for the win.  Newtown jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the 2nd, and led 11-4 entering the bottom of the 5th before a combination of Stratford hits and Newtown errors made the score 11-10.

In the top of the 6th, Andon Bambino drove in Hayden Miller in the top of the 6th with a single to make the score 12-10. In the bottom of the 6th, with runners at 2nd and 3rd and no outs, Zander Kasbarian came in relief.  He got the Stratford cleanup hitter to ground to 1st baseman Matt Pietrorazio who stepped on the base and threw home to catcher Jack Petersen who made the tag for the double play. A pop out to centerfield by the next batter clinched the game and a trip to the Regionals for Newtown.

Earlier Rounds

The Wildcats opened the tournament with a 10-2 defeat of West Hartford behind Kasbarian’s 5 innings on the mound, and a triple play turned by 2nd baseman Hayden Miller who dove and caught a line drive, stepped on second and threw to first baseman Steven Cotton to catch the two runners off base.

  They got thumped by hard-hitting Stratford 14-4 in the second round, sending them to the losers’ bracket.   A win over Hebron 12-2 that was highlighted by Trevor Jacozzi’s hit and two runs scored and Andrew McMahon’s successful squeeze bunt, and three double plays by the defense.

Another win over West Hartford by a 16-5 score in which Matt Pietrorazio pitched three innings for the win and also had two hits, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored set up the rematch with Stratford that sent the Cats to the Regionals. 

A Championship Loss

On Saturday, July 25, Newtown played Norwalk for the state championship.  Norwalk dominated the game from the start, eventually winning 10-2, but Newtown was its own worst enemy, allowing seven unearned runs, and only mustering three hits.

State champion Norwalk joins Newtown in the Regionals, along with three teams from Massachusetts, defending champion Cranston, RI, New Hampshire state champ, Swanzey, and the host team, Dover, NH.

Newtown opens with Hudson, Mass at 3 pm on Saturday August 1 in the eight-team double-elimination bracket.

Leading hitters in the state tournament for the Wildcats were Hayden Miller who hit .500 with 4 doubles and 7 RBI, Karl Miller who hit .467 with one home run and 6 RBI, Jack Petersen who hit .412 and lead the team with 9 RBI, and Zack Majeski who also hit .412 and had four stolen bases.  Star pitchers were Zander Kasbarian who was 2-0 with one save and a 2.73 ERA in 11 innings, and David Braun who was 1-1 in two starts with a 3.00 ERA against hard-hitting Stratford and Norwalk.

Team members are: Andon Bambino, David Braun, Steven Cotton, Ryan Heran, Trevor Jacozzi, Zander Kasbarian, Zack Majeski, Andrew McMahon, Hayden Miller, Karl Miller, Jack Petersen, and Matt Pietrorazio.