The Simsbury U11 Little League baseball team scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning on a throwing error to beat Shelton, 4-3 Saturday afternoon at Southington West to win the Section II championship and advance to the final four of the state tournament.
Simsbury (9-1) will face either Stamford National or Fairfield American in the four-team, double-elimination tournament beginning Friday in Stamford.
Simsbury took a 2-0 lead in the first inning only to see Shelton score three unanswered runs to take a one-run lead after four innings.
In the fifth inning, Quinn Leonard led off the inning with a single to center field and moved to second base on Luke Hansen’s single to left field. Aaron Espinoza laid down a sharp bunt that was thrown wildly, allowing two runs to score and Simsbury to take a 4-3 lead.
But Simsbury pitcher Luke Lefebvre put down the Shelton hitters in order in the fifth and sixth innings to secure the win. Lefebvre struck out three in the final two innings. He had eight strikeouts and gave up five hits in a complete game performance.
Leonard had two hits for Simsbury while Hansen, Espinoza, Neil Sullivan and Tyler Weaver also had hits in the game. Sullivan had a double in the first inning.
This is the second time that a Simsbury team has made the final four of the U11 state tournament. Simsbury won the Section II title in 2019 and advanced to the U11 state title game before dropping a 4-1 decision to Fairfield Nationals.
Simsbury 4, Shelton 3
At Southington
Simsbury (9-1) 200 020 — 4-6-1
Shelton 001 200 — 3-5-3
Luke Lefebvre and Mason Dalene; Mason F. and unknown; WP: Lefebvre; LP: Mason F; 2B: Neil Sullivan (S)
Section II Minor Division tournament (ages 10-11)
At Southington West
Wednesday, July 12
Shelton (D3) 12, Bristol (D5) 0
Thursday, July 13
Shelton 5, Simsbury (D6) 4
Friday, July 14
Simsbury 11, Bristol 8 (7)
Saturday, July 15
Final: Simsbury 4, Shelton 3
Final Four
At Stamford (Scalzi Park)
Friday, July 21
Game 1: Section 1 champion vs. Simsbury, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2: Section 3 champion vs. South Windsor, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 22
Game 3: Loser game 1 vs. loser game 2, 5 p.m.
Game 4: Winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 23
Game 5: Winner game 3 vs. loser game 4, 7 p.m.
Monday, July 24
Game 6: Final – Winner game 4 vs. winner game 5, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 25
Game 7: Final – Winner game 4 vs. winner game 5, 7 p.m., if necessary
