Fairfield American Rolls To District Two Title

A gritty Westport American ballclub hung around for a few innings, but before long, the freight train known as the Fairfield American All-Stars rolled to a convincing 10-0 victory Saturday in the District Two Little League championship game.

The win at Bridgeport's Blackham School propels Fairfield American (8-0) into the state sectionals, which begin next week in Shelton.

Nick Nardone fanned 11 and tossed a three-hitter for Fairfield American, which also got big offensive performances from Jack Quinn and Liam Worzel, who homered, along with Billy McGrath and Connor Daley.

“Westport played us tough, and they have a really good team,” said Nardone, who was awarded the league MVP trophy shortly after clinching the crown. “We definitely won this with a team effort. All of my teammates played good defense, we had a lot of big at bats and we had good pitching all summer long.”

Westport kept the game close for awhile, only trailing 3-0 through four innings, but Fairfield American's bats erupted for seven runs in the fifth.

Quinn started the uprising with a solo homer, and Daley followed by crushing a line drive double into the gap.  With two men on and one out, McGrath pushed the lead to 6-0, courtesy of his scorching two-run double.

Liam Worzel then rocked a two-run shot to deep center to make it an 8-0 contest,  and Chris Howell capped the scoring with a drive to center that plated a pair of hustling Fairfield American runners.

For Fairfield American's 12-year-olds, the thrill of a championship rings a familiar bell from just a summer ago.

“This is the first time any Fairfield team has gone back-to-back in winning the 11 year-old league and now this league,” Fairfield American coach Chris Daley said.

“It all comes down to how much effort our guys put in. Since mid-June, they have been working toward this goal. They worked hard, and it paid off today.”

Of course, Fairfield American hopes there are more wins to follow.