Westport American Blanked In District II Final

Following a tremendous 11-9 triumph over Monroe on Friday, the Westport District II All-Stars took to the field for Saturday's championship game against juggernaut Fairfield American.

Although Westport American battled hard and only trailed by three runs through four innings, undefeated Fairfield American eventually exploded offensively for a 10-0 triumph at Bridgeport's Blackham School.

"Our guys went further than any Westport team had ever gone before, and they represented the town of Westport extremely well," said Westport coach Tom Whelan, who was honored with the Ron Artman coach's award following the championship game.

"It's been a great 32 days with this group, and I'm just proud of how they played so hard from start to finish."

For Westport (5-3), standout Ian Burns collected two hits in the defeat. Along with his teammates, Burns held his head high following the tough defeat to a Fairfield American (8-0) that rolled over everyone in the tournament.

"We have a great group of guys here, and worked extremely hard to make it to the championship game today," said Burns, whose pitching prowess and hitting display was instrumental in his team's quest to the title game.

"I still think it's great to make it this far and finish second to a really good Fairfield American team. We are proud of what we accomplished this summer."

Along with the big day provided by Burns, Westport's Connor Whalen also enjoyed a productive outing.

He went 2-for-3, but the outstanding pitching performance of Fairfield American ace Nick Nardone (11 strikeouts) proved too much to overcome.

Fairfield American moves on to the state sectionals, which begin next week in Shelton.