Lightning Baseball Highlights

The Newtown Lightning U16-19 baseball team’s spring season got underway this past weekend. Game results are as follows:

Newtown Lightning 17, Pomperaug 7: Ben Stoller belted a two-run home run, and Eric Sutton knocked in three runs to pace Newtown’s torrid offensive attack Sunday at Fairfield Hills Field. The Lightning, sponsored by VFW Post 308, pounded out 13 hits before the game was stopped because of the ten-run mercy rule in the fifth inning. Stoller’s blast to right center scooted to the fence, and he circled the bases, sidestepping the catcher, who was blocking home plate, to just beat the relay throw. Stoller finished the afternoon with two hits, three runs scored and three stolen bases. Sutton slapped a two-run single in the second inning and an RBI single in the fourth. Wyatt Depuy and John Lebinski each rapped two singles, and Nicky Sajovic drove in two runs with a walk and a single. Alex Saviano was the winning pitcher, hurling a complete game. He yielded seven hits, walked only one and struck out six.

Newtown Lightning 17, Shelton 7: Eric Sutton crushed a two-run home run four batters after Brandon Cooper broke open a tight game with a bases-loaded triple during a seven-run, fourth-inning outburst at Fairfield Hills Field. The game was tied 5-5 before the Lightning struck with the big inning in the local club’s opening game of the Connecticut Senior Baseball League season. Austin Ekstrom walked, Nicky Sajovic dropped a perfect bunt single, and Nick Heron beat out an infield hit to load the bases and start the seven-run rally. David Vallerie hit a clutch RBI single to center, and Cooper followed with a long triple over the right fielder’s head. Connor Taylor reached on a two-base error, scoring Cooper. Sutton then cracked a long drive that rolled to the fence, and he rounded the bases with an inside-the-park homer. The Lightning scored five more runs in the fifth inning, invoking the ten-run mercy rule. Ben Stoller and Wyatt Depuy knocked in runs during the inning. Cooper finished the game with three runs scored; Sutton had three RBIs; Depuy stroked two hits and knocked in two runs, and John Lebinski slammed a towering double to center. Sutton picked up the win, relieving Ekstrom in the fourth inning. It was Ekstrom’s first regular-season mound appearance in two years. He yielded two first-inning runs but then struck out the side. He struggled with his control but fought through it, striking out five batters in three innings.

Newtown visits Ridgefield on Saturday, April 21, and returns home to Fairfield Hills to play Amity on Sunday. Both games are at noon.