Major Division team wins first District 6 title since 1999
Canton’s Major Division (ages 11-12) softball team held on to beat Granby, 11-10 and win its first District 6 Little League title in 10 years.
SIMSBURY, July 13, 2012 – Nail-biting finishes in the District 6 tournament are nothing new for the Canton Major Division softball team (ages 11-12). Canton outlasted Burlington, 4-3 and rallied from a four-run deficit to score five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Simsbury and earn a spot in the District 6 title game.
Twice, Canton had seven-run leads in Monday night’s championship game with undefeated Granby. But Granby refused to fold. Granby scored six times in the fifth inning to pull within one run and had runners on first and third base in the bottom of the sixth with no outs.
But Canton received a huge double play from second baseman Alex Martin to help Canton outlast Granby, 11-10 and win its first District 6 championship since 1999. The win places Canton into the state tournament for just the third time in the last 20 years. Canton begins play in the Section II tournament at Cheney Tech in Manchester on Thursday, July 16.
Alex Powell was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI for Canton while Kylie Delos had two hits and one RBI. Erin Detorie had a double and one RBI.
Trailing by one run, Granby’s Samantha Gilbert led off the inning with a triple to left field. Jaimee Kidd followed with a single. Granby’s Taylor Purves popped up to Martin and when Kidd wandered too far off first base, Martin chased her down and tagged her out for a double play. Canton hurler Morgan Scafuri got Jen Szilagi to pop up to her to end the contest.
“They were able to bear down when they needed to,” Canton coach Tom Scafuri said. “We showed a lot of character.”
P Morgan Scafuri pitched every inning of the District 6 tournament for Canton.
Canton took a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a pair of singles from pitcher Morgan Scafuri and shortstop Kylie Delos. Both scored on an error. Canton extended the lead to 7-0 in the second inning. Detorie had an RBI double while Delos had an RBI single. Powell had a two-RBI double.
A two-RBI single from Gilbert cut the lead to 7-3 in the third but Canton again extended its lead to eight after scoring another three runs in the fourth. Powell had an RBI single in the fourth and Detorie scored on an error in the fifth for an 11-4 lead. Granby committed five errors, allowing seven unearned runs.
But Granby wouldn’t go away. They scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the lead to one run. Two errors and a hit batter loaded the bases for Granby. Sarah Boardman followed with a two-RBI single, Paige Holden had an sacrifice fly and Groskritz had an RBI single. The inning ended when a runner tried to steal third base and was thrown out by Canton catcher Gabby Rose.
It was Canton’s first title since 1999. They had lost in the D6 finals in 2002, 2006 and 2007. Canton will play in the Section II tournament beginning Thursday in Rocky Hill and East Hartford.
4 2 2 1 3 1 0 1Canton vs. Waterford South
1993: Canton
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