Little League teams hope to advance in Connecticut District tournaments: How it stands now
The run to Williamsport, or at least to the next tournament level after local District play, beckons for a number of area Little League All-Star baseball and softball teams.
When we last checked in on local all-star squads, Jewett City suffered a heartbreaking loss in the 2022 State Sectional final. After going 2-0 in pool play, Jewett City faced once-beaten Manchester and lost a tight game called due to darkness in the sixth inning with JC up at bat. A lengthy delay to get a protest decision from a disputed ruling took 30 minutes of daylight at a field that had no lights.
Different players and different district tournament set-ups are in play this year. Norwich/Preston downed Jewett City, 9-1, to rise to 2-0 in pool play, which has been reduced from four to two games. The Norwich co-op landed a spot in next week's semifinals, while Jewett City will need two wins to get there.
Winning pitcher Brady Hewitt struck out 14 in 4 2/3 innings and reliever Gavin Churchill fanned three in 1 2/3 innings for Norwich/Preston.
"They accounted for 17 of the 18 outs," Jewett City manager Ryan Birmingham said. "Pool play is important because you have to play more games and use more pitching if you have a low seed like we have now at 0-2. But we're excited to represent our town.”
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Multi-town teams create power for the all-star teams
Jewett City is one of the few smaller towns with its own all-star teams. Multi-town leagues dot the District 11 (Norwich and Willimantic area) and District 12 (Northeastern Connecticut) tournaments. In District 11, Norwich/Preston, Willimantic/Sprague/Franklin/Canterbury, Columbia/Lebanon, and Hebron/Andover/Marlborough entered all-star teams.
"The multi-town teams are a necessity now," Norwich Little League President Darek Pietruczuk said. "We had a 14 percent increase in overall player sign-ups, but we still have just three Major Little League teams. We placed seven on the all-star team and Preston put five on. We wouldn't be able to field separate teams."
Norwich/Preston won the District 11 championship in 2021 for 9- to 10-year-olds. Coach Andy Hatch led that squad and returned many of the same players.
"We're shooting for the District title again and are off to a good start," Hatch said. "We'll have a week off to rest our pitching before the semis, needing two wins to advance. The relationship between Norwich and Preston kids is good. We're one team once the tournament starts."
Cam Hatch, Aiden Ventura and Nick Rourke collected two hits each for Norwich/Preston during their win over Jewett City.
When and where are the upcoming tournament games
The District semifinals are set for July 9 and the finals are July 11. Jewett City begins its long trek back on July 5 in the 6th-versus-7th seed game.
The District 11 winner joins the District 12 and District 8 champs in the State Sectional 4 tournament in Putnam on July 17-20. The State Final Four will be held in Trumbull on July 26-30.
The State Softball Final Four for 11- and 12-year-olds will be held in Mansfield July 12-18. Preston/Jewett City, which reached the state finals a year ago, is one of the five entries in District 11.
The Little League baseball 9- and 10-year-olds District 11 features the most teams (eight). Jewett City and Norwich/Preston are involved in pool play now with the final to commence on July 11.
“Everyone gets excited this time of year and wants to see their kids do well in the Little League All-Star Tournament," Birmingham said.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: All-Star Little League teams in Norwich and Jewett City in districts
