A memorable month for Beacon Falls little leaguers

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BEACON FALLS — The Beacon Falls 9-and 10-year-old Little League baseball all-star team had a pretty good month.

First, Beacon Falls won all four of its games in the District 3 tournament to capture the championship, advanced to the state sectionals and played elite competition. Not a bad July.

“We knew we would have a shot,” Beacon Falls manager Adam Laput. “Our pitchers came through, and we made very few errors.”

In the double-elimination district tournament, Beacon Falls opened with a 13-1 win over Ansonia, then followed up with wins over Prospect (7-1) and Shelton-American (3-2).

In the title game, Beacon Falls raced out to a 7-0 lead in the third and Zach Bedryczuk pitched a gem en route to a 7-3 championship win over Ansonia.

Justin Butterworth added a two-run-scoring hit during the second, and Zach Laput’s triple led to a run-scoring hit from Kyle Macek in the title game. Butterworth closed out the game on the mound.

During the district run, Beacon Falls used a complete team effort. Justin Marks and Albert Pangrac provided solid pitching, and the entire lineup seemed to hit.

Adam Laput applauded the lower third of the batting order, and their subs, for coming through in the clutch.

Specifically, he noted the hitting of Zach Bennard, Jackson Henry, David Kiernan, Ryan Rovasio, Ryan Swanson, and Tyler Tomasella.

“Thanks to their efforts, there were no easy outs and it put pressure on the defense to make plays,” Adam Laput said.

In the sectionals, Beacon Falls opened with a memorable 14-7 win over North Stamford at Peter J. Foley Little League in Naugatuck. The game was scheduled to be the second half of a double-header with a 6 p.m. start time.

After a one-hour rain delay to game one, the Beacon Falls-North Stamford game didn’t start until 9:30 p.m. The game ended shortly after midnight.

Beacon Falls lost the next three games of the sectionals and were eliminated. However, they didn’t lose the experience.

“The kids gave 110 percent,” Laput said. “It was a great experience for the kids, but they won a district title that they can take with them the rest of their lives.”

Adam Laput, and his fellow coaches—Corey Tomasella and Bob Bennard—wanted to thank the supporters—parents, other family and friends.

“The support we had during our run was amazing,” he said.