The New Canaan Pride travel baseball program is in full swing, with teams competing in regional action across seven different age groups ranging from 8u to 15u. Although the program is only in its second year it has already seen its fair share of success, having won Cal Ripken district titles in both the 10u and 12u divisions this past summer. And if early spring action is an indicator of future results, the 2014 clubs are primed to make an impact this year as well.
10u
New Canaan Pride – 11; Yorktown – 1
New Canaan Pride – 15; Yorktown – 0
New Canaan Pride 10u had their best outing of the season dominating a doubleheader against Yorktown by a combined 26-1 score at Mellick Field last Sunday.
The Pride jumped on top 2-0 as Ryan Werneburg stroked a double to center, plating Carson Perlman. Cos DeFelice started thing off in the 2nd, ripping a single to left. Base knocks by Charlie Mehos and Chris Luchette would load the bases before run-scoring doubles by Matt Balkun and Colin Cleary, and a line-drive single from Perlman made the score 8-0.
Yorktown would cut the lead to 8-1 when DeFelice took out his whacking stick and drove a 1-1 pitch over the center field fence to make it 9-1. Later, a triple from Perlman, double by Werneburg, and an RBI single by Matt Boland would end the mercy-rule win for the Pride.
Tristan Pearl and Cleary were dominant on the mound for the Pride. The pair teamed-up for a 1-hitter, striking out 11 batters over 5 innings.
New Canaan Pride 10u pitcher Brian Balkun gets ready to fire it in.
With the daunting task of following the dominant pitching performance in Game 1, Balkun was up to the challenge. Matt Benevento called an amazing game behind the plate, while the Pride hurlers blew away Yorktown with 8 strike-outs and were just 2 walks away from a perfect game.
Pride bats remained hot, scorching Yorktown for 15 runs over the first three innings. Balkun’s 4-hit day was bested only by DeFelice’s 5-for-5.
New Canaan’s flawless defense gobbled-up even sure hits. In the 4th, Brendan Tiscornia’s sliding catch in left field robbed Yorktown of a single and preserved the no-hitter for Balkun.
9u
New Canaan Pride – 15; Greenwich – 2
New Canaan -14; Greenwich – 4
The 9u Pride team also swept a double header last Sunday, defeating the Greenwich Thunder 15-2 and 14-4 at Mead Park.
The first game was highlighted by solid pitching by Ian Wearing and Nick Burns, who allowed only 7 hits and 2 runs over 6 innings. The offense was hot and started with a based loaded double to the gap in right center by Holden Busby in first inning, and the big hits continued from there. Eoin Mueller went 2 for 2 including a bomb triple to the fence in left. Luke Hickey and Nick Burns also had 2 hits apiece.
9u Pride pitcher Danny Rogers hurls a strike.
The bats stayed hot in the second game as well, as the Pride smashed out 17 hits. The offense was led by Dan Rogers, Giovanni Cascione and Trey Hartnett who had 3 hits each and a combined 6 RBI. Cooper Dinan, Luke Hickey and Nick Burns chipped in with 2 hits each. The defense was also solid, with Jack Marshall making a nice running catch in right field to help hold the Thunder at bay. Pitching was led by Cascione, Hickey and Rogers who allowed only 5 hits and 4 runs over 6 innings.