Sports
West Hartford 11U Bandits Capture Cal Ripken New England Regional Title
Team wins West Hartford's first-ever regional championship.
Call them the comeback kids.
With its back against the wall, the West Hartford 11U Bandits baseball team won five consecutive games, including two against hometown West Warwick (RI) on Thursday, to capture the Cal Ripken New England Regional.
“This is a big deal for the West Hartford Youth Baseball League, because they haven’t had a team win a state championship,” said Bandits head coach John Cotter. “The boys had a great time they played really well. They played seven games in six days and they came through in the end.”
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Indeed, the Bandits, who lost to West Warwick in the second game of the double-elimination tournament, defeated West Warwick 3-2 and 10-0 on Aug. 8.
In the first game, the Bandits came back from a 2-1 first-inning deficit with runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
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Tim Cotter got the Bandits on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the first, scoring Gabe Salomons. But West Warwick took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame.
But the Bandits leveled in the top of the fourth inning when Will Layden scored on Ryan Farley’s fielder’s choice.
The Bandits took the lead in the top of the fifth on a Layden single.
Salomons preserved the lead in the bottom of the fifth with an outstanding catch in center field
Pitcher Jack Livingstone was outstanding, overcoming a shaky first inning to go the distance while allowing just three hits to earn the victory.
In the second game of the doubleheader, pitching ace Griffin Van Rye shut down West Warwick, allowing just two hits over four innings while striking out six.
Tim Cotter hit two home runs, Matt Lazor added another and Jay Falvey hit a 3-run double to provide the bulk of the offense for the Bandits.
Tim Cotter’s second home run to lead off the fourth inning ended the tournament, as it gave the Bandits a 10-run lead, which invoked the “mercy” rule.
Eight teams - three from Massachusetts, two from Rhode Island, one each from New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut - took part in the tournament.
John Cotter credited the kids for playing a great tournament while also having fun.
“They were focused and ready to play; they enjoyed themselves,” John Cotter said. “They had a really good time.”Note: The descriptions of the games were derived from summaries provided by the West Hartford Youth Baseball League.
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