They did it again. For the second year in a row, New Canaan’s All-Star 11s captured the Cal Ripken State Championship crown, beating Newtown in an exciting 6-4 finish Tuesday night at Veterans Memorial Park in Norwalk.
New Canaan’s loss to Newtown on Monday—its first in the state tournament—set up Tuesday's face-off in the winner-takes-all final and a trip to Oakland, Maine for the Regionals.
Rain delays over the weekend gave New Canaan a full six days without game play as they waited for the losers’ bracket competitions to determine who they would meet in the finals. And the days-off seemed at first to leave All-Star 11s unprepared as Newtown dominated at the start of the Monday contest—racking up eight runs in the first two innings. Despite a late-in-the game rally that scored five—including two home runs by Zachary Allen—New Canaan ran out of time and lost to Newtown 8-5.
The tables were turned Tuesday night as New Canaan launched out of the gate with aggressive hitting and stellar defensive play, led by pitcher Zachary Allen who was flawless on the mound.
New Canaan stepped to the plate first and, unlike so many previous games, did not wait to begin hitting. With two outs in the top of the first, Zack Smith hit a single. Alex LaPolice followed with a shot to the center fielder, who dropped the ball, allowing Smith to reach third. Next up was Allen, who ripped an RBI single to score Smith, putting New Canaan up 1-0 before Newtown pitcher David Matthews retired the side.
Allen retired Newtown’s first three batters in order on fly outs to Colin Tiller (left field), Zack Smith (center field), and an infield grab by second baseman Kyle Levasseur who beat the runner on a throw to Alex LaPolice at first base for the third out.
Back at bat in the top of the second, Tiller made it to second on a base hit and a steal. Fahey followed with a walk, and David Giusti ripped a single, forcing Fahey out at second, but advancing Tiller to third. Levasseur kept the hits coming, with an RBI single that scored Tiller and put Giusti on second. Smith banged his second RBI with a single that scored Giusti, putting New Canaan ahead 3-0 heading into the bottom of the second.
Once again, Allen retired Newtown in order on two strikeouts and great scoop-and-throw on an infield skimmer by shortstop Jimmy Fahey to LaPolice at first for the final out.
With the momentum clearly on their side, New Canaan stepped to the plate again and kept the bats alive. After Allen worked a walk, Mike Collins, Colin Tiller, Jimmy Fahey, and David Giusti (RBI) each nailed base hits, putting the score at 4-0.
Allen shut down the side on two strikeouts and a pop fly grab by Smith in center field to end the third.
Clearly frustrated by their inability to shut down New Canaan’s hitting machine, Newtown put Zack Aumueller on the mound. But New Canaan was just getting warmed up, and greeted the reliever with two more runs. Smith led off with another base hit and then reached second on a passed ball. Allen walked, putting runners on first and second. Mike Collins followed with a blistering RBI double that scored Smith and put Allen on third. Tiller followed with a sacrifice that scored Allen and put New Canaan ahead 6-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Back on the mound for New Canaan, Allen retired the side on a line-drive by Michael Parker to second baseman Levasseur who caught the rocket for the first out. Fahey and LaPolice followed with pop-fly catches to end the inning.
David Giusti led off the fifth for New Canaan with a first-pitch bunt that brought him to first. Levasseur followed with a walk. Justin Clark was next with a chop up the middle that was fielded by the pitcher who threw Giusti out at third. Smith was next, nailing his fourth base hit and forcing Clark out at second. That’s as far as New Canaan would get before Aumueller shut down the side.
As Newtown took over at the bottom of the fifth, they knew it was now or never to rally for a chance at a win. With Giusti on the mound for New Canaan, Newtown posted a pair of doubles by Matt Maturo and Zack Aumueller to score their first run. Jack Procaccini followed with a walk, and then Jaret Devellis hit an RBI single to put the score at 6-2 New Canaan with one out and runners on first and third. Coach Paul Giusti made the call to bring Allen back to the mound. On his first pitch, Michael Parker ripped a fly to deep center. Smith, on the run, snagged the ball for the out and made a bionic hurl to catcher Mike Collins who, like a cat on the hunt, was on the move up the third base line chasing the runner back to third, preventing the run. Allen struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Top of the sixth. New Canaan’s last at-bat. A few more runs on the board would provide a comfortable margin. And that’s how the inning looked like it would begin, with Mike Collins, Kane Curtin, and Jimmy Fahey nailing base hits. But that’s as far as they would get, as Aumueller left the runners stranded.
With the benches and fans on both sides on their feet, Newtown stepped to the plate for their final at-bat. If New Canaan could hold them off, they would be State Champions. If not, Newtown would wear the crown. And true to form, the final minutes of this amazing battle would be packed with drama.
Slugger Tim Krapf was up first, ripping one through the infield that was ably scooped up by Levasseur and fired to LaPolice for the first out. Griffin Davis and Michael Doyle followed with base hits, putting runners on first and second. Matt Maturo followed with an RBI single that put runners on first and third with one out and a score of 6-3 New Canaan. Aumueller was next, hitting a fly to short center. Sprinting in from the outfield, center fielder Zack Smith made a head-first Willie Mays-esque dive and was able to catch the ball just before it hit the ground, making the second out. Doyle was able to score from third on the sacrifice, adding one to Newtown’s score. But that’s as far as they would get, as Allen struck out the last batter to end the game.
Allen was stellar, striking out six and allowing only three hits during his five innings on the mound. On offense, he went three for four, with an RBI and one run scored.
Other offensive standouts included Smith (4 for 4, RBI, 2 runs scored); Levasseur (3 for 5, RBI); Collins (3 for 4, RBI); Tiller (2 for 3, RBI, 2 runs scored); Fahey (3 for 4); and Giusti (3 for 4, RBI, 1 run scored).
Now that they have secured the District 1 and State Championships, the All-Star 11s will head to Maine for the Regionals, facing Rhode Island in Game One this Saturday.
