Newtown Fall Recreation Baseball wrapped up a fun-filled season with playoffs and championships at Glander Baseball Complex in early to mid November. Champions were crowned in the 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12 divisions. The Red Sox defeated the Orioles for the 7-8 title, the Brewers beat the Mets for the 9-10 championship, and the Royals defeated the Red Sox in the 11-12 bracket.

Red Sox 16, Orioles 12: A fantastic 7-8 championship game opened with the Red Sox putting four runs up in the first inning, setting the tone for a wild offensive game by both teams. The Orioles rallied to get two runs in the bottom of the first, cutting the lead in half. The Red Sox continued to put pressure on the Orioles, scoring two more in the second inning, three in the third, and another in the fourth.

The Orioles kept the game close, also scoring in each of those innings, but still trailed 10-8 going to the fifth. In the top of the fifth inning Jackson Faiella came in to pitch for the Orioles, relieved by Beaden Rio, and they held the Red Sox scoreless. Johnny Williams returned the favor in the bottom of the fifth, also blanking the Orioles. This set the stage for a wild finish. Mike Dineen came into to pitch for the Orioles and once again held the Red Sox offense scoreless. The Orioles, down to their last three outs, rallied and scored two runs, tying the game, and brought the potential winning run to second base when Mike Dineen hit a hard ground ball to second base. A spectacular play made by Axel Pulver saved the winning run from scoring, sending the game to extra innings.

In the top of the seventh the Red Sox continued their hot hitting, capped off with a Grand Slam by Jameson Boles to take the lead, and ultimately had a 16-10 run lead going into the bottom of the inning. The Orioles did not go down quietly, loading the bases and scoring two runs, and did bring the potential tying run to the plate but the Red Sox defense held strong.

Brewers 7, Mets 6: The Brewers built a six-run lead in the fourth inning and then held off the Mets’ charge for the 9-10 title. The Brewers got on the board in the top of the third inning. PJ Tisi walked and then stole second and third before scoring on a passed ball. The Brewers’ offense scored five runs on four hits in the top of the fourth inning. Vincent Lapriore started the inning with a walk. Jordan Murphy singled, scoring Vincent Lapriore, and also came around to score on a two-base error. Colin Smith and Zachary Beresford singled and Brighton Cobb walked. Jackson Lockwood drew a walk to force in a run and Andrew Rosten also drew a walk to push across a run. Tisi singled home the fifth run of the frame.

Andrew Insdorf started on the mound for Brewers. The right hander pitched two innings of hitless, scoreless ball, striking out six and walking one. Jordan Murphy threw two innings of scoreless, hitless relief, striking out five and not allowing a walk in the win. Colin Smith earned the save, striking out the final two batters to secure the championship. Jordan Murphy had a hit and two runs batted in, and Zachary Beresford went 2-for-3 for the Brewers, who collected seven walks, led by Jackson Lockwood and Vincent Lapriore with two each.

Royals 13, Red Sox 10: Jack Murphy was the starting pitcher for the Royals and tossed three innings. Henry Tomasiewicz pitched the final three innings, securing the win. Tomasiewicz went 3-for-4 with a triple, two doubles, and three runs batted in. Craig Tilden went 2-for-4 with a triple, double, and three RBI of his own. Thomas Scinto was 2-for-4 with a single, double, and RBI, and Murphy went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Aiden Iszczyszyn had a important catch in right field to end an inning and prevent a run from scoring. Matthew Wheeler ended the game with catch near first base in foul grounds. Henry Tomasiewicz had a few put outs in the infield, and was named the title game MVP as the Royals finished the season with a record of 11-0-1.

Playoff highlights from the 7-8 division

The Red Sox came into the playoffs as the No 5 seed and upset the A’s on strong infield defense from Grayson Glovaski, Jackson Martinez, and Kian Adler. The Red Sox broke the 3-3 tie in the top of the second inning with clutch hitting from Thomas Serafini and John Williams to set the table for clean-up hitter Jameson Boles, who delivered with a three-run home run to cap a five-run inning. The Red Sox never looked back, and won the quarterfinal game 15-5 with pitching from Thomas Serafini. The Athletics kept it close with contributions at the plate from Vincent Diiorio, Braden Trungadi and Mason Coogan.

The No 3 Dodgers rallied to defeat the No 4 Diamondbacks 13-12. The Diamondbacks started the game strong, taking a 5-0 in the first and extending the lead to 10-0 in the second inning before the Dodgers cut the lead in half through three innings of play. The Diamondbacks remained in control of the game, and had a 12-7 lead going into the bottom of the last inning. The Dodgers made an unlikely comeback and tied the game 12-12, sending it into extra innings by batting around the order. The Dodgers then held the Diamondbacks scoreless in the top of the seventh and scratched out a run in the bottom of the seventh for a walk-off victory. The Diamondbacks relied on great performances all around, including from Liam Troester, Rowan Berich, Benjamin Andersen, Joey Guagliano.

In the afternoon the Red Sox, fresh off their quarterfinal win, took on the No 2 Padres, who jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the third inning. The Red Sox chipped away with hits from Axel Pulver and Leo Guersoy and cut the deficit to 12-9 going into the final two innings. Jameson Boles pitched a clean fifth inning, highlighted by defensive plays by Harrison Lantowski and Jake Beasley, and with a rally in the bottom half of the inning the Red Sox took the lead and hung on 13-12. John Williams came in to seal the victory, facing four batters and registering three strikeouts to hold off the Padres in the top of the sixth inning. The Padres were anchored by stand out performances from Maverick Lombardo, Cole Lindstrom, Ben Pfalzgraf, and Grayson Hus all getting hits and multiple runs batted in.

The Dodgers, riding high after their walk-off victory, had to quickly pivot from celebration to focus as the top-seeded Orioles were their next opponent. The Orioles took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, with key hits from Cooper Manning, Aiden McGuigan, Jackson Faiella, and James Aurelia. The Orioles managed to keep the Dodgers off the board with fantastic infield work by Beauden Rio and Josie Benedetto. The game was tight the whole way and the Dodgers knotted the game two times: In the second inning with key hits from Benjamin Greene and Griffin Liddy making it 2-2, and then again in the fifth inning with hits from Luke Griffin and Greyson Lowerre making it 4-4. In the bottom of the fifth inning Jackson Faiella came up huge again with a go-ahead, double scoring Jackson Durkin to take the lead. The game came down to the top of the sixth, and Jackson Faeilla pitched a scoreless inning, helped by a fantastic play at first base by Aiden McGuigain as the Orioles held on 5-4.

Team rosters from the 7-8 division

Orioles: Head Coach Joseph Brown. Players: Matthew Brown, Jackson Faeilla, Jackson Durkin, James Anello, James Aurelia, Josie Bennedetto, Mike Dineen, Beauden Rio, Henry Gardner, Cooper Manning, and Aiden Mcguigan.

Dodgers: Head Coach Ryan Griffin. Players: Mike Diker, Benjamin Greene, Luke Griffin, Owen Horch, Dax Kaminsky, Greyson Lowerre, Griffin Lyddy, Lucas Michaels, Cooper Mihaly, and Chistian Popowski.

Padres: Head Coach Griffin Pfalzgraf. Players: Kaden Bakula, Ira Biekert, Cameron Bowden, Lucius Bydlak, Xander Duarte, Grayson Hus, Cole Lindstrom, Maverick Lombardo, Matthew Partcelli, and Benjamin Pfalzgraf.

Diamondbacks: Head Coach Mike Troester. Players: Benjamin Andersen, Rowan Berich, Chase Delisle, Daniel Fernandes, Giovanni Grates, Joey Guagliano, Grayson Picard, Eli Puchalski, Jacob Reef, William Shofield, and Liam Troester.

Red Sox: Head Coach John Williams. Players: Kian Adler, Grayson Arasin, Jake Beasley, Jameson Boles, Grayson Glovaski, Leo Guersoy, Harrison Lantowski, Jackson Martinez, Axel Pulver, Thomas Serafini, and John Williams Jr.

Athletics: Head Coach Claudio Diiorio. Players: Noah Bassett, Anthony Carbonella, Mason Coogan, Daniel Copp, Vincent Diiorio, Hudson Oliver, Franklin Rekos, Carter Shutzman, Carter Swanson, and Braden Trungadi.