RAB wins Branford Little League championship

Branford Little League crowned its majors division champion when RAB Associates swept Anderson Krause in the best of three championship series, winning the final game 9-3.

RAB was led in the final game on Thursday by Zach Withington, who knocked in five runs, including a three-run homerun in the third inning which put RAb ahead for good. Greg Caturano pitched a complete game, scattering four hits and three runs over six innings. J.D. Shaw hit a homerun for Anderson Krause.

T.J. Beaudin, Greg Lucente and Isaac Cogguillo each had two hits in the final game for RAB. RAB finished the season 18-5 in the majors division, which consists of 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old players.

In game one of the championship series on Tuesday, RAB defeated Anderson Krause 1-0 in game one on the strength of a complete game shutout by Beaudin, who struck out 10 batters. In that game, RAB scored the winning run in the top of the sixth inning after a lead off double by Lucente.

RAB finished the regular season in second place in the American League behind Anderson Krause. They were led throughout the year by team MVP Withington, who clubbed 17 homers, knocked in 49 runs and batted .655. In addition, first baseman Mitchell Delfini batted .515 with 4 homeruns and 25 RBI's.Beaudin anchored the pitching staff by going 5-1 with 88 strikeouts in 40.2 innings, with a 0.44 ERA.

The 12-year-old players on the team included Withington, Caturano, Delfini, Beaudin, Sam Greenval, C.J. Miller, and Marisa Minore. Other players on the team were Matt Daley and Jacob Brecciaroli. RAB was coached by Ron Delfini and assisted by Tom Beaudin and Bing Miller.

For more information, check the Branford Little League website.