Close – too close.

With the score knotted at 3-3 in the top of the fourth in the championship game of the Babe Ruth Baseball Prep 13 Division, The Newtown Bee must have decided that Jurman Metrics was a little too close for comfort.

And it exploded.

Four runs in the fourth inning (keyed by back-to-back doubles by Joe Bowen and Colin O’Connor), one more in the fifth, and three more in the sixth (two of those coming in one wild pitches) helped lead the Bee to a convincing 11-4 win over Jurman Metrics on Friday night at Walnut Tree Field.

The Bee – which lost just once during the regular season – cruised through the double-elimination tournament and reached the finals with a 16-6 win over The Drug Center and a 9-1 win over Mitchell Architects.

And so when the championship game became too close, it was too much for The Bee.

Bowen (1-for-3) led off the crucial fourth inning with a double. O’Connor (1-for-2, 2 runs scored) sent him home with a double of his own and then scored on a single by Brian Pennarola (2-for-3, 3 runs scored). After he was pushed to second when Mike Murphy (0-for-1, 3 runs scored) was hit by a pitch, Pennarola stole third and rushed home on a wild pitch to give The Bee a 6-3 lead.

Murphy stole second and third and was pushed home after walks to Scudder Baggett, Scott Nichols and John O’Brien.

O’Brien was credited with the RBI.

The Bee added a run in the fifth when Joey Devellis (1-for-2, 1 run scored) – who was walked – stole second and scored on a single by Tucker Kass (1-for-2, 1 RBI). In the sixth, O’Connor, Pennarola and Murphy all scored with the combination of one hit, two walks, three stolen bases and two wild pitches.

Jurman Metrics added its final run in the bottom of the seventh.

On the mound, Bowen, who had been touched up for four hits and three runs in the first three innings, settled down in the fourth and stopped Jurman Metrics without incident (recording one strikeout in the process). Joey Devellis relieved and allowed just one hit and one run the rest of the way to earn the save.

The Bee had taken a 3-0 lead in the second inning (on the strength of just one hit, a single by Robert DeFilippe), but Jurman Metrics battled back. A two-out single by Croy Carlin and a single by Jasper Ress helped trim The Bee lead by one. And in the bottom of the third inning, Brian Shimko and Brian Conroy both reached on two-out errors (Shimko scored on the second error). Cory Fletcher followed with a double that scored Conroy and tied the score at 3-3.

But that’s when The Bee took charge.

Shimko, Fletcher (double), Carlin, Ress and Basch-Gould all had hits to spark the Jurman Metrics offense.

Jurman Metrics had reached the championship game with a seventh-inning rally and dramatic, 15-14, win over Mitchell Architects in the division semi-finals. And a 10-7 win over Berliner Insurance a couple days before placed Jurman in the semi-finals.

Members of the Babe Ruth Prep 13 champion Newtown Bee include Joe Devellis, Tucker Kass, Joe Bowen, Colin O’Connor, Brian Pennarola, Mike Murphy, Scudder Baggett, Robert DeFilippe, Scott Nichols, John O’Brien, Rob Harmonay, George Martens, Dan Bunger and Mike Shannon. The team was coached by Tom Bowen, Joe Devellis, and Sherri Baggett.

 

Districts

Danny Murdoch, Brian Shimko and Bill Spencer combined on a three-hitter as Newtown shut down New Fairfield, 8-1, in the first round of the District Tournament.

Sean Ryan, Colin O’Connor, Shimko and Joe Collins all had RBI_hits while Brian_Pennarola and Tom_Selleck also contributed hits.

Robert DeFilippe (2B), Mike Chapin_(3B), and Shimko (SS) all make key defensive stops.