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Sports

All-Star 11s Continue their Run at Regionals

New Canaan's team beats Fairfield, ME in a Game Two battle.

The final score only hints at the battle that raged for three hours Sunday between All-Star 11s of New Canaan and Fairfield, ME, at the Cal Ripken Northeast Regional championships in Oakland, ME. But at the end of seven innings and a back and forth tug-of-war, New Canaan was left standing with the 17-12 win.

Playing again at Harold Alfond Fenway Park, a two-thirds replica of the real Fenway Park, New Canaan took the field for game two in the winners’ bracket, and showed the Mainers they were ready. Justin Clark and Zack Smith both hit singles and Alex LaPolice blasted a two-run homer before turning the bats over to Fairfield.

Starting for New Canaan was Zack Smith, who retired the side in order on six pitches to end the first inning with a score of 2-0 New Canaan.

Fairfield starter J.T. Nutting kept New Canaan from scoring in the top of the second on two strikeouts and a fly out. Then in the bottom of the second, the Mainers pulled ahead with four unearned runs to end the inning up 4-2 over New Canaan.

New Canaan responded in the third. Smith walked, LaPolice ripped a single to the left field wall to put runners at first and second. Zachary Allen nailed an RBI single that scored Smith and put LaPolice at third. Mike Collins reached second on an overthrow to first; and Colin Tiller blasted an RBI single to center-right that scored Collins from second, putting New Canaan even at 4-4.

In the fifth, with Nutting back on the mound for Fairfield, New Canaan pulled ahead on a double by LaPolice and a two-run blast by Allen to put the score at 6-4 New Canaan. Allen took the hill for New Canaan at the bottom of the fifth and kept Fairfield off the boards, striking out three.

Heading into the top of the sixth up by two, New Canaan wanted to put a few insurance runs on the boards before turning the bats over to Fairfield for last-ups. Kyle Levasseur reached first on a walk and then Justin Clark hit a bomb to deep center that allowed Levasseur to score from first on a head-first dive at the plate to beat the throw. Smith nailed a base hit to put runners at first and third with one out. As LaPolice stepped to the plate, a clearly frustrated Nutting was signaled from the bench to pitch him out, sending LaPolice to first and loading the bases. Allen was next, and promptly ripped a rocket off the little Green Monster’s 218-ft mark, scoring Clark and Smith. Allen held up at first, with LaPolice at third, as Collins stepped up and hit a single to load the bases again. Next up was Kane Curtin, who ripped an RBI double that scored LaPolice and Allen and put New Canaan up 11-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

All New Canaan had to do was keep Fairfield from scoring seven runs and they’d have their second win in the tournament. But Fairfield wasn’t going to go down without a fight. In a virtual replay of New Canaan’s top-of-the sixth hitting demonstration, Fairfield quickly loaded the bases and then began advancing runners home on base hits. With the score tied at 11-11 with two outs and bases loaded, David Giusti, playing third base, saved the game for New Canaan when he made an amazing dive to catch a blistering line drive by J.T. Nutting down the third base line. Had he not caught that ball, Fairfield would have scored and won the game.

Coming up on three hours of play, and with the stands packed with parents and fans, and the field lined with the players and parents of the next game’s competitors, the stage was set for a dramatic climax.

Taking the mound for Fairfield, Brandon Hallee dispatched New Canaan’s first batter on a fly out. Justin Clark stepped up and ripped a double to deep center. Zack Smith was next and greeted a knuckle-ball pitch by Hallee with a bomb to deep right field for an inside-the-park home run that scored two. LaPolice followed with a triple that completed the cycle for him. Allen was next with a 230-foot blast that earned him a triple and scored LaPolice. Curtin hit another double to score Allen; Jimmy Fahey followed with an RBI double that scored Curtin; Giusti walked; and Levasseur closed out the inning with an RBI base hit that scored Fahey, putting New Canaan ahead 17-11 going into the bottom of the seventh.

Ben Frazee led off for Fairfield in the bottom of the seventh with a triple to deep center field. Derek Bowen was up next and launched a rocket down the third base line into deep left field where Kane Curtin, on a sprint, made a lunging grab for the first out. Frazee was able to tag up and score from third, putting Fairfield up one. Zachary Allen closed out the side on two strikeouts to end the game with a score of 17-12 New Canaan.

“That was the wildest game we’ve ever participated in,” New Canaan coach Paul Giusti said. “We’ve been pretty good about holding leads. It was crazy. It was like a football game.”

“It was like a heavyweight fight,” said assistant coach LaPolice. “It reminded me of the Ali-Frazier bout.”

Both teams showed a lot of heart and never gave up. Battling for over three hours in the hot sun, it was clear the players were exhausted. At one point in the seventh, Fairfield’s J.T. Nutting, who had traded pitching duties for the catcher’s spot, took a foul tip to the groin off Justin Clark’s bat. As he went down, New Canaan’s assistant coach Denis LaPolice and Fairfield’s head coach ran to his side. Nutting was down for nearly ten minutes and refused to be taken out of the game. Clearly in pain, he finished out the inning behind the plate.

Alex LaPolice was named MVP of the game for completing the cycle—a single, a double, a triple, and a home run.

New Canaan will face Norton, MA, in the winners’ bracket on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Kerry Smith writes play-by-plays for New Canaan Baseball and Softball.

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