West Hartford Travel A Hurricanes Win War at the Shore

Hurricanes Batter Shoreline, take 2012 War at the Shore Title

West Hartford Youth Baseball League’s Travel A Hurricanes were crowned champions of the War at the Shore tournament in East Lyme over the July 4^th weekend, winning the semi-final and championship game in dramatic fashion to capture the crown in their first foray into bigger diamond baseball, playing on a 50/70 diamond versus the traditional 46/60 little league diamond.

Semifinal:  West Hartford Hurricanes 7 - Connecticut Pirates AAU 5

Trailing 5-0 after 1 inning, the Canes kept their composure and battled back for 5 of their own runs in the 2^nd to knot the score. Drew Nemirow (1 for 4) started things in the inning with a single to center. Sean Langan (1 for 3) followed in a double to right center, and a walk to Will Jackson loaded the bases. Luke Fox (1 for 3) then singled to break the ice and get West Hartford on the scoreboard at 5-1. A single by Nick Gaglioti made it 5-2, and with 2 outs, clutch hits by Chase Jeter and Drew Hungerford, who each singled, knotted the score at 5.

From there, the pitchers took over the game. Nemirow was brilliant in relief for West Hartford, going 6 innings, yielding 4 hits while striking out 3. He was aided by some unbelievable defense from Paul Wilson, who recorded 6 assists from 3^rd base, and Drew Hungerford, who snare a hot shot down the line at first with runners on 1^st and 2^nd to keep the Pirates off the board. Will Jackson aided as well, making 2 catches in RF, and Charlie Murray made a big catch in LF with 2 Pirates runners on. Meanwhile, the Pirates’ Hayden Knutson was equally as tough, limiting the Canes to 2 hits over the next 4 innings to push the game into extras. In the 7^th, the Canes pushed 2 runs across. A single by Patrick Baron started things. Then with one out, Jeter (3 for 4, 3B, 2RBI) tripled to the right center gap for a 6-5 lead, and Hungerford (2 for 3, 2RBI) singled sharply to center to plate Jeter with an insurance run. In the last of the 7^th, Nemirow calmly retired the Pirates AAU team in the bottom of the 7^th on 3 groundouts to complete the amazing comeback and send West Hartford to the championship game.

Championship: West Hartford Hurricanes 6 - Newtown Baseball Club 1

The Canes took on tournament favorite and undefeated  Newtown in the final.  The game featured the teams’ respective aces, Luke O’Brien of Newtown and Chase Jeter of West Hartford. Neither disappointed. Scoreless after 2 innings, Newtown jumped ahead 1-0 in the 3^rd. Trey Lombardo reached on an error, stole second, and with 2 outs, was driven home on a single to center by Ryan Huegi. West Hartford finally broke through in the 5^th to tie the score. Nemirow (3 for 3) singled to left to start things, and Luke Fox (1 for 3) followed with a single to center. Patrick Baron then executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to push the runners to 2^nd and 3^rd. After a strikeout, Jeter helped his own cause, bouncing a single between 3^rd and short to plate Nemirow with the tying run.

With the momentum now with the West Hartford faithful, Jeter proceeded to strike out the side in the 5^th to give the bats one more opportunity. In the top half of the 6^th, Nick Becker (1 for 3) started things, smoking a single to left. Sean Langan followed with an infield single. West Hartford then executed to perfection a fake bunt/ double steal, with Becker swiping third to remove the force. One pitch later, Hungerford (1 for 3, 2RBI) rocketed a triple to deep to the fence in right center to score Becker and Langan and give the Canes the lead at 3-1. A walk to Gaglioti was followed by Nemirow’s third hit, a single to right to plate Hungerford. Baron then doubled to right to score the final runs of the inning. Jeter (6IP, 5H, 1R, 11K) worked around a lone single in the last half of the 6^th, striking out the last batter with a high heater to give West Hartford the title.