West Hartford Youth Baseball League Web Site: Travel Teams News

West Hartford 8  Union City  3 

Trailing 2-1 after 3 innings of play, West Hartford scored 4 runs in the 4^th and 3 more in the 5^th to pull away from a strong Union City team.  The 4^th inning started on back to back singles by Nick LeConche (2 for 3) and Mike Verrengia (2 for 3, 2 runs scored).  With 2 outs, Sam Newton walked to load the bases.  Michael Mathews then delivered a bases clearing double to score all three runners, with Newton sliding in just under the tag at home to give West Hartford a lead it would not relinquish.  In the 5^th, Verrengia and Newton again reached base on singles, and with 2 outs, Drew Hungerford delivered a single to left to plate both runners.  Torrie Green and Michael Mathews shared the pitching duties, with Mathews getting the win in relief, going 4 strong innings while allowing only 1 run on 3 hits.  

West Hartford  6  Trumbull American  5 

Trailing 5-0 after 4 innings of play, things looked bleak for West Hartford in their 2^nd round game in Naugatuck.  But, much like this entire summer, these cardiac kids from West Hartford refused to give in.  The come from behind victory gave West Hartford a 2-0 record in round robin play.  In the top of 5^th, West Hartford scored 5 times to knot the score.  Paul Wilson (2 for 3, 2 runs scored) led off the inning with a single.  Rich Hansen then drew a walk.  Then on a 0-2 pitch, leadoff batter Caleb Ritter (2 for 3) scorched a double to right center to score Wilson with the 1^st run.  Nick LeConche then followed with a sharp single to score Hansen.  After Sam Newton walked, Torrie Green delivered a single to bring the score to 5-3.  Then with 2 outs and bases loaded, Declan Flaherty drilled a double to right field to score 2 runs and even the score.

 In the top half of the 6^th, Caleb Ritter relieved Nick LeConche on the mound.  LeConche had held Trumbull in check with 3 scoreless innings of relief.  Ritter recorded 2 strikeouts in the inning and with runners on 1^st and 2^nd, Ritter got a defensive gem from Kenny Andrews at shortstop to help keep Trumbull off the board.  Andrews snared a one hop shot and then threw a seed to Hungerford covering 2^nd for the force.  

That set up the dramatic win the last of the 6^th.  Chase Jeter led off with a bunt single.  Paul Wilson then also dropped a bunt and beat the throw to reach base.  After a walk to Rich Hansen to load the bases, Jeter scored 2 pitches later on a wild pitch to give West Hartford the victory.

 West Hartford  12  PJ Foley Little League  7 

West Hartford faced host and tournament favorite PJ Foley in round 3.  Torrie Green took the hill and pitched masterfully, going 4 innings while allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits.  With the scored tied 4-4 after 4 innings, the mighty all stars scored 8 times in the 5^th inning to quite the large home crowd and pull away.  Kenny Andrews (3 for 3, run scored) started things with a single.  The next batter Flaherty was hit by a pitch.  Drew Hungerford then single to center, scoring Andrews.  Chase Jeter followed suit, singling to center to load the bases.  A walk to Wilson forced in a run, and then Rich Hansen hit a booming double to left field to score all three runners, with Wilson racing around third to score just under the tag.  LeConche then drove home Hansen, stole second, and then scored on a hard line drive single by Verrengia to close out the scoring.  PJ Foley rallied for 3 runs in the 6^th before Sam Newton retired to last batter by strikeout to end the game.

 West Hartford  9   Trumbull American   0 

In the semi final match up of the Tom Dora tournament, West Hartford faced off again against a strong Trumbull team.  The score was deadlocked 0-0 after 3 innings, and West Hartford was facing a Trumbull pitcher who featured a good fastball and curveball, evidenced by his recording 6 strikeouts in the first 3 innings.   The game was then suspended by lightning to the next night.  And boy, what a difference a day makes.  Chase Jeter came on to pitch the top of the 4^th and retired Trumbull in order.  Then, West Hartford’s bats came alive.  7 runs were recorded before Trumbull recorded an out.  Mike Verrengia scorched a double to left center to start things and got the boys believing they could hit Trumbull’s ace.  Kenny Andrews (2 for 2), Torrie Green, Declan Flaherty, Drew Hungerford, Paul Wilson and Chase Jeter all had consecutive hits to lift West Hartford into the Championship game of the tournament.

 West Hartford 6  Union City  3 

West Hartford was crowned Champions in the 10^th annual Tom Doran Tournament, as Torrie Green pitched a gem to lead West Hartford.  Green went 5 innings of shut out ball, only to be removed by the tournament’s 75 pitch count limit.  Green was masterful, striking out 6 while also recording 5 assists on his own by fielding balls hit back to him.  West Hartford scored all its runs in the bottom of the 1^st and then held on.  Caleb Ritter, West Hartford’s dynamic leadoff hitter, boomed a triple over the left fielders head on the first pitch he saw, and then scored on an overthrow to set the tone for the inning.  LeConche, Newton, Verrengia, Andrews, Green, Flaherty and Hungerford all had hits in the inning as West Hartford batted around in the inning. 

Union City’s Angel Rivera then settled in and silenced the West Hartford bats the rest of the way, striking out 6 over the next 5 innings.  He was outdone by Green however, as only 4 batters reached base in his 5 innings of work. 

The team is also competing in the Farmington Tournament finals this week against Barkhamsted.  Barkhamsted defeated West Hartford 3-0 earlier in the tournament.

The Travel A team got off to a good start over the 4th of July weekend playing in the War at the Shore Tournament in East Lyme.  The tournament featured teams from across Connecticut as well as New York and Massachusetts and was played on fields with 50 foot pitching mounds, 70 foot bases, and 300 foot fences.  West Hartford players got to lead and pitch from the stretch for the first time and had a lot of fun.  Here are the game highlights:

Travel A  7,  CT Bombers Blue 2

Travel A began its season with a solid 7-2 win over the CT Bombers Blue thanks to the strong pitching of Matt Luther (1-0, 3 IP, 1 ER, 5 K's) and Jake George (Save, 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 K's).  The offense was powered by Jon Greenfield with 3 hits, 2 runs scored and 1 RBI and Brendan Dakin with 2 hits and 2 RBI's.  P. J. Melly and Brian O'Shea had strong defensive games.

CT Bombers Grey 5,  Travel A  4

Game two for Travel A was a heart breaker. They came from behind to take a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom half of the 6th inning. Jon Greenfield came on in relief of Dylan Robinson in the 5th and retired the side in order.  However, in the 6th the first 3 batters for the Bombers walked and Jake George (0-1, 1 ER) was brought in to finish the inning.  The Bombers got two timely hits to bring in the 4 runs they needed to win.  The A Team was led offensively by Jon Zelinger who had 2 hits and a run scored, Brendan Dakin with a hit and 2 runs scored and James Levere who had a hit and 2 RBI's.  There were some great defensive playes by Josh Singer at 2nd base and Matt Luther in left field.

Travel A 9, Twin Town 9

In a rare finish, a 9-9 tie was declared after 7 innings. The A Team was happy to get the tie since they were behind 8-4 after 3 innings. Jon Greenfield entered the game in the 3rd inning and held Twin Town to 1 earned run over the next 4 2/3 innings. The A Team's offense was powered by Dylan Robinson with 2 hits, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI's. Matt Luther also scored 2 runs and had an RBI. Sam Turner and Julian Waddell each led off an inning with clutch hits and scored key runs to keep West Hartford close. Brendan Dakin in left field and P.J. Melly at 2nd base made outstanding plays on defense.  The tie enable the the A team to qualify for the champioship round as the 4th seed.

Brooklyn Bonnies 8, Travel A 2

Travel A ran into a strong NY team that was undefeated at 3-0 and mercy ruled all three of their opponents.  Travel A hung tough with Dylan Robinson holding the Bonnies to 1 hit through 3 innings as the teams were locked in a 2-2 tie.  The Bonnies broke it open in the 4th with 3 runs and held the Travel A bats in check. The Travel A offense was led by Jake George with 3 hits, 1 run scored and 1 RBI and Matt Luther who had 1 hit and a run scored. The defense was led by P.J. Melly at 2nd and Brian O'Shea in right field.

Canaan 9  Travel B 8

Travel B took a heartbreaking loss to Canaan 9-8 as a late rally was cut short in the last inning and the WH team was left thinking “what could have been”.  Travel B took command through the first four innings on stellar pitching performances by Henry Fracasso and Nathanial Chin.  In the third inning, Fracasso also smashed a three run “bomb” over the “Green Monster” as WH took an early 4-1 lead.  In the fourth inning, WH broke the game open, 7-1 with three more runs as Fracasso smashed his second home run, a two-run bullet over the right center field wall and Alex Jensen “AJ” added another run.  In the bottom of the fifth inning, Canaan struck back and took the lead 9-7 with eight runs in a tough inning for the B team.  In their last at bat, Travel B showed tenacity and grit.  A lead-off walk and then Ian Henderson worked a tough two-strike double to bring the game to within one run.  The next batter, Fracasso brought visions of a third home run, but he was intentionally walked.  Caanan also walked the next batter to load the bases, but the game ended as the next batter made the last out.  Despite a tough loss, credit goes to the B team for clawing back and not surrendering after a tough inning.

New Hartford 10  Travel B 8

The NH team jumped out to an early five run lead as a strong NH pitching performance kept the WH bats quiet in the first three innings.  The WH team was very patient at the plate working the pitch count and in the fourth inning that patience paid off as they scored four runs on hits by Ian Henderson and Nathanial Chin and key walks by Alex “AJ” Jensen and Sam Dobbins all scoring in the inning on a single by Aaron Renker (2 RBI) and a double by Mark Ehnot (2 RBI’s).  In the fifth inning WH took the lead 6-5 as Ian Henderson went “yard” with a two-run homer also scoring Henry Fracasso who had led-off with a single.  WH then added two more in the inning as hits by Chin and Parker Murray and a little help by NH and a fielder’s choice RBI by Renker brought the score to 8-5.  Unfortunately, two hits and three untimely walks in the bottom of the fifth inning led to five more NH runs as they took and kept the lead 10-8.

Barkhamsted 4  Travel B 0

Nathanial Chin pitched a gem but the Travel B team batters could not overcome the pitching performance of the home town team.  Chin pitched 5 ½ solid innings with eight strike-outs holding Barkhamsted to just two runs.  Barkhamsted also added two runs in the sixth.   

Travel B 4  Canton 3

A strong pitching performance was turned in by Travel B’s Ian Henderson, striking out 6 batters over four innings pitched and giving up only one run.  The offense was led by Sam Dobbins, Matt Covello and Henderson as every run was crucial.  In the first inning, WH got out to a 1-0 lead when Dobbins had a solid drive up the middle scoring Matt Covello who had previously doubled.  In the fourth inning, Henderson cleared the bases with a triple after a fielder’s choice and two singles by Paul Cashman, Parker Murray and Covello, respectively, had loaded the bases.  Canton added one in the fourth and then gave a serious threat in the bottom of the sixth scoring two runs to notch the score at 4-3, but Covello was able to close the deal and strike out the last two batters, stranding the tying run at first base.

Congratulations to the following players and coaches selected for the Travel A team.  The Travel A team will play in several tournaments around the state beginning in July and will finish its season at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, New York.

Check back frequently for scores and highlights during the Summer.

Players

Brendan Dakin
Jake George
Jonathan Greenfield
James Levere
Matt Luther
Patrick Melly
Brian O'Shea
Dylan Robinson
Joshua Singer
Sam Turner
Julian Waddell
Jonathan Zelinger

Coaching Staff

Jim Dyber - Manager
Chuck Gagne - Coach
Jim Dakin - Coach
Larry Levere - Coach

Congratulations to the following players selected to the Travel B team.  The Travel B team will play tournaments throughout Connecticut this summer, including tournaments in Farmington, Barkhamsted and West Hartford.

Players

Paul Cashman
Nathaniel Chin
Matt Covello
Sam Dobbins
Mark Ehnot
P.J. Elsner
Henry Fracasso
Ian Henderson
Alex Jensen
Parker Murray
Aaron Renker
Matt Skwiot

Manager - Monte Henderson

The following is a list of the players and coaching staff for the Travel 11 team:

Players

Ryan Bell
Patrick Corcoran
Michael Errico
Kyle Jeter
Andrew Lemkuil
Austin Lemkuil
Tommy Link
Omar Montalvo
RJ Place
Carson Reale
Brian Santoro
Matthew Wilcox
Alexander White

Coaches

Brian White - Manager
Mike Bell - Coach
Dave Lemkuil - Coach

The following is a list of players and coaches for the Travel C team (9 and 10 year olds):

Players

Kenny Andrews
Declan Flaherty
Torrie Green
Richard Hansen
Drew Hungerford
Chase Jeter
Nick LeConche
Michael Mathews
Sam Newton
Caleb Ritter
Mike Verrengia
Paul Wilson

Coaches

Jim Hungerford - Manager
Bill Wilson - Coach