NAUGATUCK, July 19, 2023 – Finian Sullivan’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth helped the Simsbury Little League U10 baseball team beat Southington, 7-6 in Wednesday night’s Section II state tournament game at Peter Foley Field.
The victory puts Simsbury (9-0) in the Section II final against Seymour on Thursday night with the winner advancing to the final four of the state tournament.
With one out and runners on first and second base, Simsbury’s Colin Venhorst singled to right field that scored both runs and tied the game at 6-6. Venhorst went to second base on the throw home. Venhorst scored on Sullivan’s single to win the game for Simsbury.
Aiden Girard was 2-for-3 for Simsbury while teammate Charles Weinbach was 2-for-2. William Haberman had a single and one RBI while Jacob Charpinsky had a double and two RBI. Pitcher Brendan Hodgson earned the win by pitching 5.2 innings, scattering nine hits and striking out five.
On Tuesday night, Simsbury had 17 hits in a dominating 12-5 win over Seymour. Haberman, Hodgson and Sullivan were each 3-for-3 in the victory with Haberman driving in three runs and Sullivan picking up two RBI. Charpinsky had another double.
Sullivan pitched four solid innings of relief to pick up the win.
Simsbury 7, Southington 6
At Naugatuck
Southington 001 104 — 6-11-0
Simsbury (9-0) 400 003 — 7-10-2
Simsbury 12, Seymour 5
At Naugatuck
Seymour 202 001 — 5-11-0
Simsbury (8-0) 333 21x – 12-17-0
Section II
At Naugatuck
Monday, July 17
Seymour (D3) 12, Southington (D5) 2
Tuesday, July 18
Simsbury (D6) 12, Seymour 5
Wednesday, July 19
Simsbury 7, Southington 6
Thursday, July 20
Simsbury vs. Seymour, 6:30 p.m.
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.
