DARIEN, Conn. New Milford ended Dariens run in the 13-year-old Babe Ruth state baseball tournament with a 6-1 victory at Ridgefields Ciuccoli Field. The win sends New Milford to the New England Regional beginning next week in Norwalk.
Darien, which won its first District 1 championship in 42 years earlier this month, seemed poised to take the next step after beating New Milford, 4-3, in Tuesdays winners bracket final. In the final two games, however, Dariens lack of clutch hitting proved costly as New Milford won both games in the championship round. New Milford won 5-2 on Thursday, setting up Fridays winner-take-all game.
New Milford scored all of its runs in the second inning. Two base runners scored on wild pitches, another on a fielders choice and the final two on RBI singles. New Milford, an aggressive base-running team throughout the tournament, put pressure on the Darien defense all inning and capitalized on miscues to take control of the game. Jake Frasca, who won Tuesday's game, started for Darien and took the loss.
Jamie Schofields RBI double scored Andrew Enzor with the games first run for Darien in the first. The Darien bats went silent in the clutch afterwards, however, as they left multiple runners in scoring position for the second straight game.
The loss closes the books on a fabulous season for the team managed by Joe Marzano. Most of the boys have played together since they were 8 years old, and the losses to New Milford were their first in postseason competition.
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