Norwalk Claims First State Baseball Championship

MIDDLETOWN, CT — The third time was the charm for the Norwalk High School baseball team, which captured its first Class LL championship in school history with a 1-0 nailbiter over Westhill Saturday at Palmer Field.

The Bears had reached the finals in 1993 and 1995 , but came up short both times. This time, they were not to be denied.

The game was scoreless through six innings, then Noah Maldonado stole second and scored what proved to be the game's only run on a pinch-hit single by Konsty Kodonas. It was the second straight game Kodonas had a game-winning hit, duplicating his feat from the semifinal matchup with Greenwich.

Pitchers Kyle Kipp and Javier Gonzalez combined for the win. Kipp threw 101 pitches before Gonzalez finished in the seventh.

"We weathered the storm all season long, came back from losing four out of five games the last week of the regular season," Norwalk coach Ryan Mitchell said. "This is just a gritty bunch of kids who weren't about to quit."

Westhill, which had previously won state titles in 1980 and 2008, finished 15-9.

Written by Peter Vander Veer