BY KEN MORSE
CITIZEN’S NEWS
The Naugatuck 17U Legion team came into the season with a tall order as the defending state champions. With several players moving up to the senior team and 10 newcomers, it took coaches Ryan Whipple and Ken Stone a little time to bring this team together.
At season’s end Naugy was near the top of the pack in Zone 1, sporting a 19-5 mark and poised to make a run at another title. Post 17 emerged from the Pod C sectional bracket with a 2-1 record and moved on to the double elimination regional with a chance to play for another state championship.
In the opening game of the sectional tournament, Naugy took a 4-0 decision over Simsbury on July 22. Billy Morran went six innings and surrendered just four hits with five strikeouts.
Dylan Accetura completed the shutout with a perfect seventh inning.
Logan Stone got the party started, blasting a first inning triple and scored on a ground out off the bat of Brayden Whipple. Post 17 put the game away with a three-run fourth inning. Tyler Accetura and Whipple belted doubles for the key hits, and George Mudry went 2 for 3 at the plate.
The Naugy pitching couldn’t hold off Milford in a 4-2 loss July 24, allowing six walks. Post 17 had only two hits through six innings before staging a late rally that fell short. Connor Walker (2 for 3) and Whipple (1 for 3) both scored runs with Jeremiah Cruz adding an RBI single.
Naugy advanced to the regional tournament after knocking off Simsbury, 6-2, on July 26. Stone went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and four stolen bases to pace the offense. Anthony
Didato tossed a complete game four-hitter and struck out four.
“We were basically a very young team,” Whipple said. “We had a few 17 year-olds a lot of 16 and even a few 15 year-olds. We were the defending champions but we only had four from that team the rest moved up.”
In the regional opener on July 28, Morran and Jackson West combined on a six-hitter as Post 17 beat Trumbull by a 4-1 margin. Naugy plated four runs in the first inning with Stone starting it with a double. Walker followed with a single. Whipple and Jason Rumble had RBI hits and with two outs Ben Pugliese unloaded for a two-run single.
Post 17 stumbled in the next game on July 30, getting taken down by Farmington, 9-1. J.J. Cruz scored the only Naugy run in the fourth on a fielder’s choice. Naugy left eight runners on base and hit into three double plays.
The goal was still the same, to reach the championship game, but the going would be a little tougher as a 1-1 mark meant Post 17 would need to win out to get to championship Saturday at Palmer Field in Middletown. Three more wins were necessary to get there.
They didn’t get the chance as the season came to close on Aug. 1 after a tough 4-1 loss to West Hartford Blue. Corey Wilczak scored on a ball hit by Walker for the only Naugy run of the game. Morran went 3 2/3 on the hill with West finishing things up on the mound.
“We are going to have quite a few kids back so hopefully this is something we can build on,” said Ryan Whipple. “We played 30 games in six weeks and won 22 of them, so I’m proud of these kids and how far they came with that defending championship hanging on their backs all season.”
