Blackhawk Baseball Team Third In Cal Ripken State Tournament

The Newtown Blackhawks went 3-2 and finished third among eight teams in the 12-year-old Cal Ripken Baseball State Tournament in Southbury in mid July. Game results are as follows:

Newtown 14, Shoreline 1 (4 innings): Newtown put the game out of reach by sending 16 batters to the plate and scoring 11 runs in the second inning of this run-rule victory. Michael Parker hit a two-run homer to right, Matt Maturo had an RBI double to right, and RBI singles were added by Stephen Brittin, Jack Procaccini, and Michael Doyle. Connor Miller also had a single. Parker (2 innings), Tim Krapf (struck out the side), and Brittin combined on a one-hitter. Parker had two hits and three RBI. David Matthews and Parker each scored three runs.

New Milford 6, Newtown 4: In a heart-breaking loss, Newtown took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning, only to see a determined New Milford squad come back with six runs for the victory. Matthews was stellar on the mound, pitching four scoreless/hitless innings. He was helped out in the first inning by great back-to-back catches in the outfield by Griffin Davis and Jaret DeVellis. Brittin hit a two-run homer to left center in the fourth, and Maturo connected for a solo homer to right in the fifth. Erik Street worked out a walk in the fifth as Newtown put two on, but the team could not capitalize.  Maturo added a long sacrifice fly in the sixth to close out the Blackhawk scoring.

Newtown 5, Coventry 3: Facing elimination, Newtown responded with a hard-fought victory. Parker when the distance, scattering five hits and giving up an earned run in six gritty innings. Davis drove in Krapf with the first run in the second, and Proccaccini followed with a two-run homer to center. In the third inning, Matthews connected on a two-run homer to left center. Parker had two hits in the game.

Newtown 14, New Canaan 4 (4 innings): In its biggest win of the season, Newtown soundly defeated (and eliminated) the two-time defending state champions. The Blackhawks again had a big second inning, scoring nine times. Matthews had an RBI single, Krapf a two-run homer to center, Maturo an RBI double, DeVellis an RBI single, and finally Davis a gargantuan two-run homer to deep left center. Maturo closed out the scoring with a two-run homer to center in the fourth.

Centerfielder DeVellis was outstanding as he threw out a runner at second in the first inning, made a leaping catch in the second, and made a diving catch in the third. On the mound, Matthews went the distance, limiting one of the best hitting teams in the state to only one extra base hit. Maturo had three RBI, and Krapf, Brittin, Davis, and Doyle had two apiece, and Brittin scored three runs.

New Milford 12, Newtown 4: Newtown built a 3-0 lead, and trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the fifth. The New Milford bats got hot as the team scored seven to put the game out of reach. Parker scored the first run in the first inning, as he singled, moved to third on a Matthews single, and scored on a grounder by Krapf. In the second, Davis hit a rocket to the fence in left for a long single. Maturo then went deep to right for a two-run homer. Procaccini added a long sacrifice fly to center in the fourth. Ethan Carpenter led off the sixth with a line drive high off the fence in left field, but Newtown could not capitalize. Carpenter also made a nice leaping grab at second base on a line drive in the fourth and turned it into a double play.

For the tournament, Maturo batted .500 and had a slugging percentage of 1.417 (two doubles and three homers). Brittin batted .400, and Parker, Procaccini, and Matthews .333. Matthews and Parker each scored six runs, and Davis, Brittin, and Maturo scored five apiece. Maturo had eight RBI, Matthews five, and Procaccini four.

On the mound, Parker was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Matthews pitched well in three games (ten innings). Krapf did not give up a hit to the eight batters he faced. The team is coached by Mike Maturo, Tim Doyle, and Jim Parker.