All-Star 12s Pull Off Victory in Cal Ripkin Championship, Secure Spot in States

As it has for the past two years, the winner of the Cal Ripken District 1 championship would be decided in the final inning of the final game. And for the third time in as many years, New Canaan's All-Star 12s snatched the crown in dramatic fashion, defeating West Norwalk 12-11 in a thrilling game at Saxe Middle School field.

After their 8-3 fall to West Norwalk on Saturday, New Canaan bounced back, working its way out of the loser's bracket, defeating Greenwich 14-3 on Sunday, then Stratford 11-8 Monday, before meeting West Norwalk again last night. New Canaan would have to defeat West Norwalk twice in order to win the championship. 

In their prior meeting, New Canaan managed only 3 hits and 3 runs in six innings of play. But last night the bats came alive and New Canaan put West Norwalk away with a 6-3 win, setting up tonight's winner-takes-all finale. Starting for New Canaan, David Giusti was strong on the mound, fanning two and getting a groundout in the first inning. 

West Norwalk's Matt Parlanti responded by retiring New Canaan's first three batters with two fly outs and a strikeout. In the second, Norwalk threatened with a double and base hit, but New Canaan's defense shut the door with fly outs to second-baseman Kyle Levasseur and right fielder Zack Smith; and a liner to shortstop Jimmy Fahey to retire the side. 

New Canaan came alive in the bottom of the second. Alex LaPolice led off with a solo home run off Parlanti's first pitch. Zack Smith followed with a base hit and a steal; Justin Clark nailed a line drive up the middle for a base hit. After Smith got caught in a rundown attempting to take third, Mike Collins hit a base hit up the middle, followed by Fahey, who worked a walk and loaded the bases with one out.

David Giusti followed with an RBI single, followed by Colin Tiller with another, and Kyle Levasseur with another (with Tiller thrown out at second), setting the stage for number-three hitter Zachary Allen. With the score at 4-0 New Canaan and two runners on base with two outs, Allen cranked a missile over the centerfield fence for a three-run homer, bringing the score to 7-0 and prompting a pitching change for Norwalk. Jeremy Linton took the mound and worked out of the inning.

Norwalk fought back in the third, with a double by Marco Latella, followed by a two-run homer by Zack Azadian to put the score at 7-2. 

New Canaan's defense swung into action, with a fly out to first baseman Alex LaPolice and a diving catch at the fence of a David Balunek bomb by center fielder Colin Tiller for the second out. Topher Brown hit a base hit, then stole second, and Jeremy Linton followed with an RBI double, and then got picked off at second by an attentive Giusti for the final out and a score of 7-3 in favor of New Canaan.

New Canaan added one in the bottom of the third on a base hit by Mike Collins and an RBI single by Tiller, to end the inning at 8-3, New Canaan. Giusti was able to hold Norwalk off in the fourth, with two strikeouts and a pop-fly to LaPolice, before New Canaan added three more in the bottom of the inning. Norwalk's Linton loaded the bases and then allowed a run on a walk to Fahey, prompting his exit from

the mound. Topher Brown took over and served up an RBI single to Giusti which scored two and ended the fourth with New Canaan up 11-3.  However, followers of this rivalry knew that an eight-run lead was not enough to provide comfort to New Canaan, nor panic for Norwalk. 

Leading off in the fifth, Norwalk's number-three hitter Matt Parlanti launched a solo shot over the center field fence, and was followed by Balunek with another, prompting a pitching change. In for New Canaan was Zack Smith, who struck out Brown, served up a fly out to Linton on a running grab by Levasseur; and allowed a base hit to Noah Yokoi. David Ibarrando then hit a two-run shot over the center field fence to close the gap to 11-7 before Lucas Schwartz was retired on pop-fly that was caught by catcher Justin Clark behind home plate. Brown kept New Canaan off the boards at the bottom of the fifth and set up the drama that would ensue in the final inning.

Marco Latella reached first on an error and then Zack Azadian hit his second two-run blast of the game, putting the score at 11-9, and prompting a pitching change for New Canaan. Smith surrendered the mound to Zachary Allen, who had shut Norwalk down the prior evening. Allen was greeted with a solo shot by Parlanti – his second of the game. After striking out slugger Balunek, Allen served up a fastball to Topher Brown, who connected and sent a blast over the fence to score Norwalk's fourth run of the inning and tie the score at 11 apiece, before Allen retired the side with two strikeouts.

New Canaan was back at the plate in the bottom of the sixth. With the momentum on Norwalk's side it appeared the game was headed into extra innings. But Kane Curtin, who had made a spectacular diving catch in left field the night before to prevent Norwalk from scoring, had other plans. Curtin was one of the heroes of last season's District Championship final, launching a game-tying home run in the sixth inning against Norwalk and setting up the win. 

So here he was again, at the plate in the final inning against the same team with the same stakes on the line. Curtin swung and missed at a low pitch for strike one. With

the fans on both sides of the field on their feet and cheering their teams, Curtin sent the next pitch over the center field fence for a walk-off home run, cementing New Canaan's victory with a dramatic 12-11 win, and securing the team's third consecutive District 1 crown and a berth in the State Championships, which begin on Saturday in Southbury, CT. 

West Norwalk was given an at-large bid into the state tournament, so it is likely that the teams will meet again, possibly as early as Sunday.