Community Corner
State Baseball Tournament Dedicated To Middletown Pitcher, Catcher
Each year tournament officials dedicate the baseball tournament to an individual closely connected to high school baseball.
MIDDLETOWN, CT – Each year, the Connecticut Interscholastic Conference Baseball State Tournament dedicates its baseball state tournament to honor an individual connected closely to high school baseball in the state.
The 2023 CIAC Baseball State Tournament officials decided to dedicate the tournament in memory of Middletown’s Dustin DeMonte.
DeMonte was a 2005 Middletown High School graduate, a character and a pitcher for the Middletown High School baseball team.
Find out what's happening in Middletownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In 2022, Bristol Police Lieutenant DeMonte was killed in a shootout on Redstone Hill Road in Bristol along with Officer Alex Hamzy. They were reportedly responded to a domestic disturbance call, but state police said that may have been a deliberate setup to ambush the officers, who were immediately greeted with gunfire when they arrived at 10:29 p.m.
Coaches and friends recall DeMonte as a quiet leader who led by example.
Find out what's happening in Middletownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Middletown High School baseball team has honored DeMonte by wearing No. 51 patches on their jersey sleeves. No. 51 was DeMonte’s uniform number in high school.
The CIAC baseball state finals will be held at Middletown’s Palmer Field on Friday, June 9 and Saturday, June 10.
A brief pregame ceremony on Saturday (details TBA) will be held to honor DeMonte and his family formally.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
