Inferno Captures Memorial Day Classic

The Newtown Inferno, the 12 year old 46/60 Cal Ripen baseball team won the second annual Newtown 12U Memorial Day Classic this past weekend. Ten teams played in the in the tournament: three from Newtown, in addition to squads from East Granby, Redding, Watertown, Easton, and Monroe, along with and Claremont and Nottingham, NH.

Big hits by Jacob Steinebrey, Eugene Citrano, Henry Primavera, Colby Olson, and Adam Beckett led Newtown to an opening-game 10-4 victory over Redding. Olson started and went two strong innings. Owen McInerney got the win after CJ Shambelan came on in relief in the fourth inning and struck out four of six batters. Ethan Aug made a great play at third base in the first inning on a slow roller down the line to nail the runner by a step at first base. Colby Olson also made a great play at third base, in the third inning, snaring a very high hop and firing to second for the force out.

In game two of the tournament, the Inferno beat Nottingham. Patrick Godino went 2-for-2 at the plate in support of Beckett who started the game, allowing only two hits in three innings. Godino also picked up the save with three strikeouts in two innings. Steinebrey made a fine running catch to his right in left field and had a big sacrifice hit early in the game.

Game three against East Granby was a classic. Evan Kohlsaat hit a walk-off home run to right field that bounced off the retaining wall at Liberty Field with two outs and a man on in that bottom of the seventh inning to win it for the Inferno, 6-5. With Newtown trailing by one in the extra frame, Shambelan hit a one out double to put the tying run in scoring position. One out later, Kohlsaat hit a towering fly that everyone knew was gone to win it.

East Granby had taken a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh with a lead-off bloop double to no-mans land in center field. Then with runners on second and third, Beckett snared a line drive back to the box and doubled off the runner at second to keep Newtown within a run. Newtown had tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when Steinebrey hit a one-out double to right and scored one out later on a hard hit line drive to second base by Eugene Citrano. Newtown hit five extra-base hits in the game, including two doubles by Owen McInerney.

Henry Primavera made an outstanding play at shortstop in the first inning. With two outs and a runner on third base he fielded a grounder in the hole at short and, knowing his only play was to home, threw to Peter Debona for the tag out. East Granby loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning but Harry Eppers fielded a tough grounder at second base to end the threat. Beckett got the win with four strong innings in relief of McInerney.

Playing East Granby again in the semifinals, at Gander field, the Inferno’s bats exploded for ten runs in support of great pitching by Colby Olson, McInerney, and Godino. Each pitcher threw two shutout innings against the hard-hitting team from upstate. Eppers had a bases-loaded single up the middle with one out in the second inning to make it 4-0. Four consecutive doubles by Shambelan, Primavera, Citrano, and Olson made it 8-0 after two innings. East Granby threatened in the top of the first but a double play grounder to shortstop to first base and over to third base (in which Ethan Aug fielded the one-hop throw in the dirt from Evan Kohlsaat) nailed the sliding runner to end the inning.

Citrano made a great throw from right center field in the third to nail the batter-runner at second trying to stretch a single into a double.

In the championship game, played at Liberty field, Primavera (who finished 6-for-13 in the tournament) and Citrano (8-for-12) had back-to-back singles in the first inning to lead Newtown to all the runs it needed en route to the 4-1 victory over Watertown.

In the top of the second, second baseman Eppers made a great grab to his right on a hard ground ball and threw to shortstop Godino, who then relayed a perfect throw to first baseman Kohlsaat to complete an inning ending 4-6-3 double play. In the third inning, Godino also made a great diving grab to his right on a ground ball to second base and threw to first from his knees to just get the sliding batter/runner at first base. McInerney got the win, striking out three batters in two innings. Godino got his second save of the tournament after striking out Watertown’s cleanup hitter with the tying run at the plate in the top of the sixth inning.

Robert Hutchins announced each of the nine games played at Liberty field.