Fairfield American (Connecticut) 1, Cumberland National (Rhode Island) 0 (TITLE)
Summary:
The contrast couldn't be more glaring.
In two games against standout Rhode Island pitcher Tyler Calabro, Connecticut's Fairfield American Little League managed just seven base hits in 44 at-bats, resulting in a meager .159 team batting average. In four games against other competition, Fairfield American hit a healthy .333. When facing other pitchers, Fairfield struck out 26 times and drew 20 walks in 23 innings; against Calabro, they registered 19 strikeouts in just twelve innings -- and drew zero walks. Against the rest of the field, Fairfield clubbed seven home runs.
Against Calabro and his Cumberland National Little League all-star team, Fairfield managed just one home run -- a very big, tournament-deciding home run.
Connecticut leadoff hitter Tommy Ryan slapped a solo home run with two outs in the third inning, and pitcher Nick Nardone made the game's only run hold up as Fairfield American edged Cumberland National, 1-0, in the championship game of the New England Region tournament at Leon J. Breen Field in Bristol, Connecticut.
The win was Fairfield's fifth in a row after dropping a 2-0 decision to Calabro and Cumberland National on the tournament's opening day, and lifted the Connecticut champions into the Little League World Series.
"The game certainly lived up to its hype," said Cumberland manager John Brodeur. "Both pitchers were outstanding."
"I'm extremely proud," said Fairfield manager Chris Daley. "We beat an extremely good Rhode Island team."
Fairfield survived in part because Rhode Island had as much difficulty with Nardone as their offense did with Calabro. Nardone was the losing pitcher in the teams' pool play matchup, but even then he surrendered just three hits. In the title game, Cumberland National managed only a leadoff single in the first inning by John Brodeur in 5-2/3 innings, and at one point, Nardone retired twelve consecutive batters. Cumberland hit a robust .367 against other teams in Bristol, but just .105 against the Fairfield right-hander.
"They got the one big hit," said Cumberland coach Rocky Baldelli. "And that was all they needed. Our hat's off to them. They played a great game and beat us, just like we played a great game the first time and beat them."
Fairfield clinched the victory only after fending off a bases-loaded threat in the bottom of a drama-filled sixth inning. Reliever Eddie Magi entered when Nardone reached his pitch count limit, and recorded the final out when catcher Connor Daley held onto a foul tip on a full count pitch.
Nardone had cruised through five innings, facing only two batters over the minimum, and then induced a ground out for the first out in the sixth. But John Brodeur was hit by a pitch -- the plate umpire initially called the pitch a ball but officials unusually leveraged instant replay to overturn the call -- and Dante Baldelli drew a walk. After a fielder's choice pushed Connecticut within one out of victory, Jax Domonte drew a walk that pushed Nardone over his pitch count limit and loaded the bases. Magi moved from first base to the mound, and fell behind in the count 2-0 before ending the game four pitches later.
"I was a little bit anxious," said Chris Daley of the game's final batters. "That was a tough spot, but I was confident that he was going to get the job done."
The razor-thin margin of victory was standard operating procedure for Fairfield American at the region tournament. After sweeping to the Connecticut title with a pair of mercy rule-shortened victories, Fairfield dropped its opener in Bristol, edged Shelburne (Vermont) by a 7-4 margin in a game that was tied through five innings, then closed pool competition with a pair of one-run victories. Only in their semifinal round win, a 10-8 decision over Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Little League in which Fairfield led by six runs entering the final inning, did the Nutmeg State representative control a game from start to finish.
Fairfield American scored in each of the first five innings of the semifinal round win, and broke the game open with a four-run rally in the third that stretched a 3-2 lead into a 7-2 advantage. Chris Howell capped the eight-batter rally with a two-run double that complemented his two-run homer in the second inning.
"We're hitting the ball as well as we have in this entire tournament, without a doubt," said Chris Daley after his team pounded out twelve hits. "It was very encouraging."
Howell had three hits in the win, while Connor Daley was 2-for-2 and pitcher Jack Quinn delivered a pair of hits and an RBI.
"We've had multiple contributors, which is very encouraging to see," said Chris Daley.
Fairfield's advance to the semifinal round was slowed by their opening game loss to Cumberland National, but the Connecticut champions bounced back the next day and rallied past Shelburne, 7-4.
A trio of solo home runs -- two by pitcher Rayne Supple and one from Andrew Pitcher -- helped the Vermont champions to build a 3-0 lead in the third inning. But Fairfield batted around in the bottom of the inning, managing only an infield single but capitalizing on four walks and an error to score four times. Shelburne tied the game in the fifth, but ninth-place Fairfield hitter Patrick O'Leary provided the deciding runs with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning. Ryan followed with a solo shot, and O'Leary closed out the game in the sixth to earn the save.
"It's a big win," said Chris Daley, whose team rose to third place in the standings after evening their record at 1-1. A loss would have dropped the Connecticut champions to the foot of the table midway through pool competition.
After an off-day, Fairfield rallied past Portsmouth, 3-2, and clinched a semifinal round berth. Magi threw a 79-pitch complete game, and held Portsmouth in check after allowing two runs in the third. Nardone settled matters with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the fifth that plated Ryan.
While Fairfield was navigating choppy waters during pool competition, Cumberland National flexed its muscles with four consecutive victories. The Rhode Islanders sleepwalked at times in their second pool game -- an early morning victory over Portsmouth that came on the heels of their late-game win over Fairfield American the night before -- then overpowered Bangor East (Maine) and Southborough (Massachusetts) in a pair of four inning contests. Cumberland scored nine times in the third inning against Bangor East to break open a scoreless game, then rapped out 14 hits and scored in every inning of a 15-5 victory over Southborough. Domonte led the attack against Massachusetts with four hits and five runs batted in, while Nate Paine was 3-for-3 and Calabro added a pair of hits.
"We take pride in our hitting, up and down the lineup," said manager John Brodeur, whose team also walked seven times and capitalized on a pair of errors in the inning. "They're comfortable at the plate. Even when they're falling behind (in the count), they're still comfortable up there."
But Cumberland's comfort was fleeting when they faced Nardone, just as Fairfield's disappeared against Calabro in a title game worthy of its capacity on-site crowd and national television audience.
"It was one of those games that neither team should have lost, because both played excellent and made some outstanding plays," said John Brodeur.
Though they were evenly matched, it was Fairfield American that got to extend its summer. The Connecticut champions moved on to South Williamsport for the Little League World Series, where they won their opening round game over Auburn (Washington) Little League. The New England champions then dropped their next two contests and finished third in their pool.
Linescores:
| Pool Play Game 1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
|
R |
H |
E |
| Bangor East (Maine) |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
6 |
8 |
1 |
| Southborough Youth Baseball (Massachusetts) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
1 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 2 |
| Fairfield American (Connecticut) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
0 |
3 |
1 |
| Cumberland National (Rhode Island) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
x |
|
|
2 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 3 |
| Cumberland National (Rhode Island) |
0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
8 |
7 |
2 |
| Portsmouth (New Hampshire) |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
6 |
8 |
5 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 4 |
| Shelburne (Vermont) |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
2 |
| Fairfield American (Connecticut) |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
x |
|
|
7 |
5 |
0 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 5 |
| Bangor East (Maine) |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
5 |
11 |
1 |
| Portsmouth (New Hampshire) |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
x |
|
|
10 |
10 |
1 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 6 |
| Shelburne (Vermont) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
3 |
7 |
0 |
| Southborough Youth Baseball (Massachusetts) |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
x |
|
|
6 |
8 |
0 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 7 |
| Bangor East (Maine) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
0 |
2 |
3 |
| Cumberland National (Rhode Island) |
0 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
10 |
0 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 8 |
| Portsmouth (New Hampshire) |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
2 |
4 |
3 |
| Fairfield American (Connecticut) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
x |
|
|
3 |
7 |
2 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 9 |
| Shelburne (Vermont) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
8 |
12 |
3 |
| Bangor East (Maine) |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 10 |
| Southborough Youth Baseball (Massachusetts) |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
5 |
5 |
2 |
| Cumberland National (Rhode Island) |
2 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
15 |
14 |
3 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 11 |
| Shelburne (Vermont) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
3 |
4 |
2 |
| Portsmouth (New Hampshire) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
x |
|
|
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 12 |
| Fairfield American (Connecticut) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
9 |
13 |
0 |
| Southborough Youth Baseball (Massachusetts) |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
8 |
13 |
1 |
|
|
| Semifinal Round |
| Fairfield American (Connecticut) |
1 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
10 |
12 |
2 |
| Portsmouth (New Hampshire) |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
8 |
10 |
3 |
|
|
| Semifinal Round |
| Shelburne (Vermont) |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
1 |
| Cumberland National (Rhode Island) |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
2 |
|
|
| Championship Game |
| Fairfield American (Connecticut) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
1 |
4 |
1 |
| Cumberland National (Rhode Island) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
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Last revision: 06/12/2011
