Suffield, Ellington reach U11 baseball District 8 final
Jul. 1—It was a do-or-die situation for the Suffield U-11 Little League All-Stars.
With a berth in the District 8 tournament championship game on the line Thursday, Suffield entered the top of the sixth inning trailing South Windsor by three runs.
What did Suffield do? It got the job done. Landon Altieri's RBI single capped a four-run rally and Suffield held on to defeat South Windsor 4-3 in the final round of pool play at Ayers Road Field.
Suffield (2-1) will host Ellington for the District 8 title on Tuesday. Ellington (2-1) edged Manchester 12-11 to advance.
Suffield defeated Ellington 8-6 in pool play on Sunday.
Led by pitcher Brayden Kearney, South Windsor took a 3-0 lead to the sixth but then Suffield's bats came alive.
Singles by Conor Joly, Wesley Fleury, and Chase Lingenfelter loaded the bases with no outs. Parker Mandirola plated Joly with a sacrifice fly and Jimmy Drzyzga's single brought home pinch-runner Jackson Walters to make it 3-2. Hayden Nolan's sacrifice fly scored Lingenfelter with the tying run and Altieri delivered his clutch single to score Drzyzga with the lead run.
Joly then got the final three outs to punch Suffield's ticket to the final and end the postseason for South Windsor (1-2).
Kearney pitched a complete game and scored two of South Windsor's three runs.
ELLINGTON 12, MANCHESTER 11. After struggling through the sixth inning, pitcher Bryce Albert struck out the last hitter with the tying run at third base as Ellington held on to defeat reigning District 8 champion Manchester and earn a berth in the final.
Ellington (2-1) will play at Suffield Tuesday for the district crown and a spot in the Section 4 tournament. Suffield (2-1) defeated Ellington 8-6 in pool play Sunday to earn the right to host the championship game.
Ellington broke Thursday's last tie with a five-run fourth inning and added a single run in the fifth to make it 12-6. Manchester (1-2) bounced back with a run in the bottom of the fifth and four in the sixth but fell one run short.
Liam Cain and Jude Burnham had two hits each for Ellington. Parker Herman and Kishon Lewis had three hits apiece for Manchester.
U-10 baseball
WINDSOR LOCKS 14, MANCHESTER 4. Windsor Locks clinched a berth in the semifinals with a Pool A win.
Deven Buckle and Chase Binette combined to pitch Windsor Locks (3-0) to the victory and they were aided by the defensive play of catcher Hunter Levesque. Josh Oney, Avery Senofonte, and Ivan Senofonte paced the offensive attack.
Ta'Kev Thomas doubled for Manchester (1-2) and made an outstanding diving catch in center field.
Both teams complete Pool A play on Saturday. Windsor Locks hosts Somers while Manchester visits Tolland.
VERNON/ROCKVILLE 11, ELLINGTON 8. Vernon/Rockville survived a late rally by Ellington to complete Pool B play with a victory.
Winning Pitcher Blake Stremel drove in two runs and scored one for Vernon/Rockville (2-1). Grayson Freeman added two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Shawn Parrott chipped in two hits with two runs scored while Landon Whitaker had two hits and two RBIs.
Anthony Parlante had three hits for Ellington (0-3), which saw its postseason hopes end. Paxton Becker and Trent Moser contributed two hits apiece.
U-10 softball
SOUTH WINDSOR 13, VERNON 0. South Windsor scored all its runs in the second inning. The offense was led by Harper Kelly (threee RBI) and Claire Kaminski (two hits, three RBI), along with Josie Tomkunas and Katelyn Bousquet, who each added two hits and scored twice.
Tomkunas pitched her second no-hitter of the tournament, striking out nine in four innings in a game ended by the mercy rule.
Catcher Riley Quigley caught two of three runners trying to steal.
Vernon (1-2 in pool play) next faces Windsor July 5. South Windsor (2-1 in pool play) takes on undefeated Enfield the same day.
