PJF falls in championship game

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SHELTON—The Peter J. Foley Little League all-stars came up short against Shelton-American in the District Three Major Baseball Championship game by a score of 8-2 Sunday at Shelton Nike Site Recreation Center.

This is the third time in as many years the Peter J. Foley squad (3-2 in the 2010 district tournament) has come up short in the District Three final, each time against Shelton American (5-1).

Coach Ron Plasky was disappointed his team could not overcome its rivals yet again.

“[Shelton-American] is more confident than us and more talented than us,” Plasky said after Sunday’s loss.

Peter J. Foley was left wondering what could have been after losing in the championship game

Jordan Urbani earned the win for Shelton-American, while E.J. Gunnison took the loss for Peter J. Foley. Gunnison also hit a double and scored a run.

“We beat [Shelton-American] in the double-elimination part of the tournament,” Plasky said. The Peter J. Foley squad had two chances to beat them again.

“Going into today, we were 3-5 against them,” Plasky added. “Odds are we are going to take the win from them. This year we didn’t have it in us.”

The game was close until the final inning. With the score 4-1, Shelton American poured on the runs, scoring off of a two-run triple, a passed ball, and an RBI double.

Kyle Pyshna went 2-for-3 in a losing effort. Aaron Yourison scored the other run for Peter J. Foley; the managed only one run in each of the last two innings.

Despite being dissatisfied with the result, Plasky stayed positive by chalking it up as a learning experience for all involved.

“As 12-year-old baseball players, they can take something out of this,” he said. “They will have a lot more of these opportunities.”

Peter J. Foley handed Shelton-American its only loss in the tournament last Wednesday by a score of 4-3, initially sending the current champions to the losers’ bracket. When Shelton-American emerged unscathed after squeezing by Shelton-National, 6-5, they went on to hand Peter J. Foley its first loss Saturday by a tally of 12-3 to set up Sunday’s final, winner-take-all matchup.

The Peter J. Foley all-star team started the district tournament by overcoming Seymour, 14-0, then defeated Union City, 5-3, before meeting with Shelton-American in the semi-finals and again in the finals.

The Shelton-American all-star team will now enter the sectional final tournament.