The North Stamford Express baseball team went 4-2 on a recent trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., and finished among the top 20 teams in a field of 102. The team was comprised largely of players from the North Stamford Little League team that won the District 1 championship.
After rain postponed play on Sunday, the Express won its opening game, 5-0, over the Carolina Lightning. Kevin Stone pitched a no-hitter, Connor Matheny had two hits and James Gronberg socked a home run.
Due to the postponement, the ballplayers returned to start a game at 2:10 a.m. Tuesday morning. The Express blanked the Hudson Valley Heat, 3-0, behind the three-hit pitching of Peter Horn. "He's obviously a night owl,'' cracked his father and manager, Doug. He struck out 13 in five innings. Luke Dawson had two hits and Peter Horn helped his own cause with a suicide squeeze to deliver a run in the first inning. The game finished at 4 a.m.
The boys returned for an 11 a.m. game and suffered their first loss, 12-4, to the Eastern Massachusetts All-Stars. Gronberg started and relieved Luke Dawson and Tyrell St. John.
The Express finished pool play with a 12-0 win over the Brampton Royals. Dawson and Gronberg combined on the shutout. Grant Stone collected three hits, and Gronberg and Kevin Stone socked home runs. Eddie Meizels, Jeff Kurzman and Johnny Spoto had two hits apiece.
Stamford earned the No. 19 seed out of 102 teams for the elimination round and surrendered 12 runs in four games. The Express opened the single-elimination with a 8-6 win over Hanover Sports of Virginia. Luke Dawson went 5? innnings and Kevin Stone came in to get the final out.
Dawson and Gronberg hit home runs, and Stamford rallied from a 6-4 deficit with four runs in the fourth inning. Key hits by James Gronberg, Jeremy Benjamin, Tyrell St. John and Kevin Piotrzkowski helped spark the comeback.
The Express were eliminated 1-0 by the Frozen Ropes Spartans of Chicago. Kevin Stone gave up one hit and one walk, striking out 13 batters. The Spartans scored their only run on a steal of home. St. John singled for Stamford's only hit in the fifth and stole second and third, but was stranded there.
Players included Kevin Stone, Grant stone, Peter Horn, Connor Matheny, Luke Dawson, Johnny Spoto, Jeremy Benjamin, Jeff Kurzman, Eddie Meizels, Kevin Piotrzowski, Tyrell St. John and James Gronberg. Coaches include Doug Horn, Frank Spoto, Jim Matheny and Steve Dawson.
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