Berlin 11s Will Have To Fight Out Of Loser's Bracket

The Berlin Little League 11-Year-Old All Stars (11s) advanced to the District 5 cross-overs by winning their pool with a 5–0 record. 

Once there, however, Berlin got beat 13-3 by Southington North before the 11s beat Southington South on Wednesday night, 18-6. Berlin will now have to beat the same Southington North team that just beat them in a re-match on Friday. They would then have to beat Farmington twice to capture the District 5 title. 

"For some reason we just didn't show up to play in that loss to Southington North," Berlin coach Lenny Tubbs said. "Their pitcher threw strikes but it wasn't anything we shouldn't have been able to hit. I think we were just kind of overwhelmed with the whole scenario."

Tubbs remained very confident despite the fact his team was one loss away from elimination.

"This is the best team I've ever coached," Tubbs said. "If we come to play we can beat anyone. This team crushes the ball and we got back to that tonight with 18 runs. We scored 16 in the first two innings.

"We are all set for pitching for the game Friday night and this weekend if we get there. I think we'll be in the championship and then who knows. I like our chances." 

The 11s beat Southington South 6-2, lit up Yalesville 17-0 on the 4th of July, and topped Plainville 14-4 on Saturday.

The 11s defeated Plainville using solid pitching and productive hitting to round out pool play. Tommy Hyjek and Kevin Dunn combined to hold Plainville to six hits and four runs over five innings from the hill. Dunn contributed offensively as well with three hits, including his second home run of District play. Zach Murray, Tyler Lappe, Daniel Veleas, and Hyjek also had multiple hits. Timothy Heinke, Jeff Kuzoian, and Adam Bilinsky also drove in runs for the All Stars.

On a hot 4th of July, the Berlin 11s took on Yalesville and brought the fireworks, going the minimum four innings in the victory. Berlin started the scoring early putting up four runs in the first. The highlight of the inning was a three-run home run from Kevin Dunn. Berlin would add two in the second and two in the third. 

The 11s put up nine runs in the fourth, including another three-run home run, this time by Alex Halkias. Halkias and Tommy Hyjek each had three hits apiece and drove in multiple runs. Tyler Lappe, Jeff Kuzoian, Tyler Tralli, and Dunn all had multiple RBIs as well. Lappe pitched a great game for Berlin holding Yalesville to three hits and no runs over 3 and 2/3 innings. Lappe had very good control using only 35 pitches and combined with Hyjek for the shutout.

Alex Halkias guided the 11s with a terrific pitching outing against Southington South, going 4 and 2/3 innings and giving up 1 earned run for the win. Jeff Kuzoian came in to pitch the final 1 and 1/3 innings to close down the opponents. Daniel Veleas and Halkias led the All Stars at the plate driving in two runs apiece.

The Berlin Little League 11-Year-Old All Stars had a strong start to District play Saturday with a 13–9 win against Edgewood. In a rematch of the District 5 championship game from 2012, Berlin prevailed thanks to timely hitting during the first two innings that saw Berlin take an 11-7 lead. The 11-year-olds were led by a gutsy pitching performance from Tyler Lappe who pitched the complete game and made several nice defensive plays from the mound. The 11s tallied 12 hits, including three from Tommy Hyjek and two apiece from Kevin Dunn, Timothy Heinke, and Jeff Kuzoian.

On Sunday, Berlin broke open the game against Wallingford in the fifth inning to take a 13-2 victory. After jumping out front 2-1 in the first, Zach Murray cracked a solo home run to start the third taking the score to 3-1. Wallingford would pull to within one prior to the start of the fifth. With the bases loaded to start the fifth, Heinke belted a grand slam taking a 7-2 lead. The hits continued with Berlin adding four more runs in the stanza. Kevin Dunn pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up only five hits and exhibiting solid control on his way to the win. Tommy Hyjek contributed four hits while Heinke (5), Lappe (4), and Murray (3) drove in 12 of the 13 runs.

Strong defensive play from Daniel Veleas at third and solid effort from Giancarlo Tufano and Vince Dastoli at first base throughout the weekend helped lead Berlin in the field.