OGRCC is Proud to have Three Teams Represented in the Cal Ripken New England Regional Tournament
Greenwich, CT – In a repeat of 2019, the OGRCC and Greenwich is proud to have three age groups represented in the Cal Ripken New England Regional Tournament. This year, the 9U, 11U and 12U teams are all facing teams from across New England as they compete this week for a chance to earn a bid into the Cal Ripken World Series.
“We have an amazing set of players this year on all of the All-Star teams representing Greenwich,” said Tom Casazzone, the Executive Director of the OGRCC, and Head Coach of the 9U team. “They’ve all put a tremendous amount of effort on and off the field to prepare for this moment.”
The 9s March On.
In the 9U District Tournament held in Milford, CT, Greenwich rolled to three easy victories en route to the District One Championship. They beat Norwalk 11-1 in round one and followed that up with a 10-4 victory over Stamford. In a rematch of the opening round, Norwalk was no match for Greenwich as the team rolled to another 11-1 victory to claim the title. During the District Tournament, the team was anchored offensively by Samuel Jamieson, Liam Kirsch, and Shane Dowling, who amassed 17 of the team’s 34 total hits in its three games. Overall, the team batted .493 throughout the tournament. The ace on the hill was Jamieson, who logged 9 innings pitched, amassing 14 strikeouts. Kirsch, Dowling, and Leo Binick also shut down opponents from the mound with strong relief appearances.
In the 9U State Tournament held in Danbury, CT, Greenwich played two tight defensive battles in its first two games and defeated New Milford 3-2 and Bethel 2-0. Despite not winning the state championship, its strong play still qualified the team for a bid into the New England Regionals.
The team’s defense has been lights out with plays being made in the outfield by Trevor Goodwin, Luke Daniel, Joseph Marchetti, and Mikey Hartofilis as well as quick glovework from Michael Casazzone at 3B and Cooper Kistelman and Alex Morin at 1B. Jackson Waters has logged the most innings behind the plate, catching the team’s aces from the hill and providing a steady glove.
The 9U New England Regional Tournament is being held in New Canaan, CT. Greenwich advanced out of the initial pool play as the #3 seed in the American League and solidified decisive wins against the Western Mass champions Marlboro 8-1 and Wolcott, CT 5-4 to advance to the New England Regional Championship game. The tournament wraps up on Thursday where Greenwich faces off against New Canaan for the title.
The roster includes Leo Binick, Michael Casazzone, Luke Daniel, Shane Dowling, Trevor Goodwin, Mikey Hartofilis, Samuel Jamieson, Liam Kirsch, Cooper Kitselman, Joseph Marchetti, Alex Morin, and Jackson Waters. The team is coached by Tom Casazzone, Ken Binick, Dave Dolwing, Dave Jamieson & Mark Bisanzo.
The 11s Keep Rolling.
Greenwich hosted the 11U District Tournament where once again, the All-Stars from Greenwich came out victorious. It started with an opening-round victory against New Canaan where Greenwich came out on top 5-1 behind stellar pitching performances from Jake Natale and Alex Becker. In the second round, Greenwich toppled Norwalk 13-2 behind an astounding 5 successful bunts. In the championship game, it was a rematch against New Canaan where Greenwich was again victorious, winning 12-3. The team was backed by a strong offensive performance by Philip Tarantino, whose 4 RBIs backed the team. Greenwich racked up 27 hits in the tournament and only let in 6 runs on their way to the championship.
In the 11U State Tournament also held in Danbury, CT, Greenwich faced New Canaan again in the opening round, but this time, they fell 6-2 and had to face an uphill battle out of the loser’s bracket in order to contend for the title. And what a battle it was! They marched onwards behind strong pitching and hitting from Liam Zeller and Luke Wells and defeated West Hartford 10-4, New Milford 7-4 and New Canaan 9-0 to earn a spot back into the finals where they faced Danbury. While they bested Danbury 4-1 in Game 1 of the championship, they fell in Game 2 14-2 and finished as the Runner-Up. Despite the loss, their stellar play earned a spot in the New England Regional Tournament being held in Dover, NH.
While facing tough competition from across the New England Region, the Greenwich team came out of pool play 3-0 this weekend, earning the #1 seed in the American League. After their first-round bye, they faced Manchester and locked up the win, 8-1, advancing to the title game where they will face the champions from Eastern Massachusets in the New England Regional championship game, with hopes of punching their own ticket to the World Series.
The roster includes Alex Becker, Will Conte, Julian Dyson, Gavin Kirsch, Maddox Monterisi, Jake Natale, Jaxson Perez, Philip Tarantino, Cal Tompkins, Luke Wells, and Liam Zeller. The team is coached by Jeff Mini, Steve Vlahovich, Dave Tompkins and Brian Natale.
The 12s Have One Goal in Mind.
The Greenwich 12U team entered this season with one target – the Cal Ripken World Series. After coming within outs of clinching a berth two years ago, this team has been eagerly awaiting their opportunity to pounce and earn their ticket.
With a berth and bye straight into the New England Regional Tournament this year due to their back-to-back CT State championships, this team has been riding high in various tournaments throughout the summer season to prepare for this moment.
They faced competition in a tournament in Montana, Aberdeen, MD, Delaware and most recently, in Cooperstown, NY where they competed in Cooperstown All Star Village in a 61 team tournament. While posting a 5-1 record in pool play, they were one of the strongest teams in the tournament.
Backed by a deep pitching rotation that includes Reid Glanville, Kouki Tochimoto, Luke Langhorne, Jack Bylow and Jayden Montanez the team has marched through the opening pool play in the New England Regional Tournament being held in Raynham, MA to earn the #1 seed. Owen Bartoszek provides the spark for this team as its leadoff hitter and catcher, while strong defense from David Gittes at 3B and Mickey Petrone at 1B shore up the corners. The offensive bats are hot behind Ryan Johnson and Justin Ferry with contributions from Chris Holdefeher and Landon O’Hara. Their semifinal matchup against Raynham, MA is scheduled for Thursday, July 22nd.
The roster includes Owen Bartoszek, Jack Bylow, Justin Ferry, David Gittes, Reid Glanville, Chris Holdefeher, Ryan Johnson, Luke Langhorne, Jayden Montanez, Landon O’Hara, Mickey Petrone, and Kouki Tochimoto. The team is coached by Ryan Bartoszek, Johnny Montanez and Todd Johnson.
Don’t Sleep on the 10s
Greenwich has another strong team that faced extremely tough competition in its District Tournament – its 10U All-Stars. With an opening round win against Stratford 6-5, the team was flying high behind the strong pitching of Jackson Prouty, Austin Ho, and Dylan Murray. The bats didn’t let up against Stratford with extra base hits from Murray, Trent Goodwin, Mason Stoleru and Charlie Heffer. The team then collided with a strong Norwalk team in round two where they fell 14-6, despite speedster Jacob Downs swiping 5 bases. In a rematch of round one, they faced a determined Stratford team who knocked Greenwich out of the tournament with a 9-4 blow in a rematch. We have a feeling this age group will be back with a vengeance in 2022 determined as ever to make some noise.
The roster includes Nate Braddock, Harry Collier, Preston Culver, Nicholas DeLuca, Jacob Downs, Trent Goodwin, Charlie Heffer, Austin Ho, Dylan Murray, Jackson Prouty, Campbell Sippel, and Mason Stoleru. The team is coached by Frank DeLuca, Dave Collier, Doug Heffer, and Marc Culver.