Other teams down 3-0 in a championship game while losing their starting pitcher to injury might panic. The Stamford 15u Babe Ruth team didn't even blink. Stamford stormed back against Ridgefield, capitalizing on sloppy fielding to win the Connecticut state title, 8-5.
"You get a little down on yourself, but these kids have been fighting all summer," Stamford head coach John Calo said. "But we just kept preaching, 'one inning at a time.' These guys just played their hearts out."
Down 3-0, Luis Lopez answered the call in relief of the injured Danny O'Leary and shut down the Ridgefield bats, despite not having pitched in over a week. Ridgefield made solid contact off of Lopez in his 4 2/3 innings, but the Stamford defense came up huge making one highlight reel catch after another. Greg Delmazio made a tumbling grab in left to save a run and second baseman Steve Denalfo went completely airborne to his left to snag the final out of the game.
"This whole tournament people have been coming up big defensively and offensively," said first baseman Jeff Cortez , who also made a diving grab to save a double play. "Everyone was just playing their best out there. Everyone knew what was on the line."
Ridgefield gave Stamford plenty of opportunities to climb back in the game, and it gladly took them. Cortez tied the game at three on a fielder's choice. Soon after, the wheels came off for Ridgefield. Three throwing errors by the Ridgefield catcher and two wild pitches led to five gift runs in the third inning. Cortez blew the game open with an RBI double in the fifth.
"I couldn't be more proud of these kids," Coach Calo said. "This was 15 kids coming together as one. They stayed calm and they got the job done."
Stamford advances to the 15u New England regional tournament in Quincy, Mass. starting July 31.
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