By Steve Bigham
By Steve Bigham
Four Newtown 13-year-olds are winding down a busy summer as members of the AAU Connecticut Wolfpack baseball team.
Earlier this month, Matt Myslewski, Ben Bagaglio, Joe Defeo and Ron Shimko returned from Fort Myers, Florida where they finished second in the national AAU Tournament. Myslewski, a pitcher, and Shimko, a shortstop, were all-tournament team selections. All four players swung hot bats throughout the season.
Bagaglio was a leftfielder/second baseman, while Defeo manned the bag at third during the tournament, which was played during extremely hot and sticky weather.
The Wolfpack is based at The Cage in the Black Rock section of Fairfield.
The four players, who made up a quarter of the entire team, were selected back in January from a field of 40-50 players. The Wolfpack played several tournaments throughout the spring and summer. The âPack qualified for the national tournament after finishing third at the AAU state tournament in New Haven.
The four athletes also fared well at the Beast of the East National Tournament in West Virginia in July, finishing fourth. In the seven-game tournament, Shimko stroked seven hits, Myslewski had six hits, Defeo ripped five hits and Bagaglio had a pair of doubles.
During the trip to Florida, the four boys also enjoyed going to the beach, fishing and movies.