
Simsbury catcher Mason Dolch had a key double and was part of a key play at the plate in the third inning to help lift Simsbury past Wilton in Wednesday night’s state tournament game in Stamford.
Pitcher John Mascaro allowed just four hits while his Simsbury Little League baseball teammates rapped out 10 hits to lead Simsbury to a 6-1 win over Wilton in the first game of the Major Division (ages 11-12) championship series tournament at Stamford Springdale field Wednesday evening in Stamford.
Simsbury (10-3) advances to face Manchester on Thursday in the four-team, double-elimination tournament that will determine a state champion and send a team to the Little League baseball Eastern Regional championships in Bristol in August.
Mascaro, now 6-0 this summer with Simsbury, wasn’t overpowering on this evening with one strikeout but he was in control with just one walk. Reliever Hayden Davis gave up just one hit in 2.2 innings of relief work for his fourth saves of the summer.
District 1 champion Wilton (9-3) took a 1-0 lead on Casey Meyer’s RBI single in the first inning.
Wilton threatened to add more in the third inning but Simsbury played solid defense.
With one out, Wilton loaded the bases and Peter Braird hit the ball to Simsbury third baseman Cameron DeVita, who threw home to catcher Mason Dolch to cut down the run at the plate. Mascaro got out of the jam by getting the next hitter to fly out to left field.
Simsbury got on the scoreboard for the first time when Connor Budzik’s hit a solo home run – his fifth home run of the summer.
Jackson Davis and Matthew Watson each followed with singles. Each moved up one base thanks to a passed ball. With two outs, both scored on an error to give Simsbury a 3-1 lead. A RBI single from Liam Kletter gave Simsbury a 4-1 advantage.
In the fifth inning, James Szajna led off the inning with a double and scored on Dolch’s RBI double for a 5-1 lead. A sixth run scored on Harrison Mulready’s RBI single.
Jackson Davis was 2-for-3 to lead District 6 champion Simsbury while Budzik was 2-for-2.
Wilton starting pitcher Colton Smith lasted 3.1 innings and gave up four hits while striking out eight.
Simsbury faces Manchester on Thursday night beginning at 7:30 p.m. with the winning team advancing to Saturday night’s championship game. The losing team will fall into the consolation bracket on Friday against the winner of Thursday’s game between Wilton and Waterford.
The game will be broadcast live on District 1’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ctd1ll/?ref=page_internal or you can listen to the live play by play at https://mixlr.com/connecticut-little-league
Simsbury 6, Wilton 1
At Stamford
Wilton (9-3) 100 000 — 1-5-1
Simsbury (10-3) 000 42x – 6-10-1
Colton Smith, Charlie Cretella (4), Jeff Fox (4), Casey Meyer (5) and Ethan Driscoll; John Mascaro, Hayden Davis (4) and Mason Dolch; WP: Mascaro (6-0), LP: Smith; Save: Davis (4); 2B: James Szajna (S), Mason Dolch (S); HR: Connor Budzik (S)
Little League baseball
Major Division (ages 11-12) Final Four
At Stamford Springdale field
Wednesday’s results
Simsbury 6, Wilton 1
Manchester 4, Waterford 2
Thursday’s results
Game 3: Simsbury vs. Manchester, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: Wilton vs. Waterford, 5:30 p.m., loser eliminated
Friday’s game
Game 5: Winner game 4 vs. loser game 3, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s game
Game 6: Final – Winner game 3 vs. winner game 5, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s game
Game 7: Final – Winner game 3 vs. winner game 5, 5 p.m., if necessary
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.


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