Date: Thu 13-Jul-1995

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Full Text:

Babe Ruth 14/15 All Stars Win Title

BETHEL - " It was a beautiful thing, " said coach Bob Place, after his Babe

Ruth 14/15-year-old all-star team defeated Danbury, 7-4, to capture the

District 4 Championship.

It was the first Babe Ruth district championship ever won by Newtown in that

age divisionsince it stepped out from underneath the Little League umbrella in

1990, and the first district championship won by a 14/15-year-old team since

1985. Newtown had to beat Danbury twice in three days the earn the title. The

first time, on Monday, the All Stars had to come back from a 4-0, first-inning

deficit on a hard, dusty Walnut Tree field to win, 9-5, but the second time,

on Wednesday, the All Stars jumped out to a 2-0,

first-inning lead and had to hang on -with Danbury loading the bases in the

bottom of the seventh - for the 7-4 win.

" We have a tough team, " said coach Place. " We're used to coming from

behind. When we got ahead (Wednesday), the kids didn't know what to do. We

kind of flattened out a bit. "

The victory puts the All Stars into the state tournament for the first time,

but after seeing them cruise through the district with four straight wins,

coach Place has some high hopes.

" This team has been together since tee-ball, " he said. " They have played

together for years and I think there's a lot of chances for them to be

successful. We don't really know what to expect, since a Newtown team hasn't

gotten to that level yet, but we have a good team and we'll give anybody their

money's worth. "

The Championship

After the first inning the all-stars endured two days previous against Danbury

- bad hops, bad throws, and bad fielding - it seemed as if someone was giving

Newtown a break in the first inning Wednesday.

Pete Dutchick, Justin Bandura, and Pete Ivey singled back-to-back-to-back to

lead off the game, but neither Dutchick nor Ivey had to get the ball past the

infield grass to reach first base. Then came a groundout by Mike Kascak and an

error on a Joe Wasko bouncer and Newtown had two somewhat unconventional runs

on the board.

Kascak came out sharp in the bottom of the inning, inducing the first two

hitters to ground out, but he walked the next two batters before escaping the

jam with a flyout to rightfield.

The battle was on.

Newtown added another run in the top of the second when Danbury's left-fielder

played a routine, one-out Dutchick flyball into a triple. The hit scored Nick

Seferi, who led off the frame with a solid single.

Danbury, though, got right back into the fray with two runs in the bottom of

the inning. A one-out error started it all and a two-out triple ended it,

trimming Newtown's lead to 3-2.

Neither team scratched another run into the book in the third inning, but

Newtown added a pair in the fourth on four singles from Seferi, Dutchick,

Bandura and Ivey.

Newtown held on to that 5-2 lead before increasing it even further in the

sixth, plating two more runs with a two-out rally. Ivey started it with a

single, stealing second and scoring on a Kascak single. Wasko followed with a

run-scoring double, putting the All-Stars ahead 7-2.

Danbury, meanwhile, was only able to add one run in the bottom of the sixth

and one more in the bottom of the seventh - despite loading the bases in that

last frame - before Newtown nailed down the win.

" Everybody on this team became an integral factor at some point (in the

tournament), " said coach Place. " Not one kid didn't do something important

that helped us along the way. "

Winner's Bracket

Newtown advanced to the district championship by beating Danbury, 9-5, in the

winner's bracket final at Walnut Tree field on Monday night.

But it wasn't easy. A concrete-hard, and dust bowl-dry field flummoxed the

Newtowners in the first inning, as they committed three errors and allowed

Danbury to put four runs on the board in a hurry.

But it wasn't enough to stop the All Stars from coming back.

Newtown scored once in the bottom of the second and three more times in the

bottom of the third to quickly tie the score. The big hit was a double by

Wasko that reached the high grass in the outfield.

Danbury took a brief lead in the top of the fifth on a run-scoring single, but

Newtown took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame.

Ivey led off the fifth with a single, advancing to third on a Kascak single.

Kascak stole second and Ivey scored on a Wasko sacrifice fly. Kascak then

scored when Tim Place doubled and later scored on a fielder's choice.

Singles by Dutchick and Ivey brought in two more insurance runs in the bottom

of the sixth, enough cushion for Wasko, pitching in relief, to shut down

Danbury in the top of the seventh.