In the books . . .

Regular Little League season closes with naming of All-Star teams

Andrew D. Brosig
Posted 7/4/18

The Little Kids of Summer have closed out their regular season for another year.

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In the books . . .

Regular Little League season closes with naming of All-Star teams

Posted

TORRINGTON – The Little Kids of Summer have closed out their regular season for another year.

The regular Torrington Little League Baseball season official ended Thursday when the Cardinals staged a 13-12, come-from-behind win over the Mets in the City Tournament at the Torrington Sports Complex. Now the next chapter in the 2018 season begins.

Throughout the season and all through Tournament Week, coaches have been watching individual players, working on what Little League President Abe Correa characterized as one of the most difficult decisions that has to be made – the naming of the Torrington All-Star Team.

“It’s not an easy decision,” Correa said. “It’s even tougher this year with bringing in two extra teams.

“We basically had 66 kids in the senior division,” he said. “Of that, we can only bring 26 kids. It’s a real tough decision. We definitely had some broken hearts.

This year’s Torrington All-Stars are, in the 9-10-year-old division, Ty Albaugh, Cubs; Spencer Booth, Giants; Mateo Correa, Yanks; Colby Sandusky, Braves; Matthew Cook, Cards; Cabb Kelly, Yanks; Xavier Sanchez, Yanks; Brayden Mohr, Braves; Braeden Reid, Yanks; Colter McFarlin, Cards; Parker Ochsner, Cards; Connor Correll, Cubs, and; Zach Zigweid, Mets. 

The 11-12-year-old All-Star team is, Matthew Hellus, Giants; Brady Cook, Cards; Grady Shields, Giants; Nolan Long, Cards; Bryce Hager, Braves; Ayden Desmond, Mets; Alyssa Albaugh, Cubs; Justin Clayton, Cards; Ryan Moorehouse, Cubs; Mac Hibben, Cubs; Bodie Moffat, Mets; Barrett Eichenberger, Mets, and’ Logan Sandusky, Braves.

Practice for the All-Stars opened Friday, Correa said. From there, they had their first chance to play together against other teams in a round-robin scrimmage on Saturday in Wheatland on Saturday and Sunday.

Their next stop will be Gillette on July 16, for the Wyoming District II tournament. Correa wasn’t sure how many teams would be in the tournament, due to changes, with some teams dropping out of district play. The brackets have changed multiple times. A similar tournament situation will take place in District I, on the western half of the state, he said.

“Then, the top two teams from each division in each age group will advance to the State Tournament,” Correa said.

The tournament this year is scheduled for July 25-28 in Powell.

“We’re the small guy in this tournament,” Correa said. “We had 230 kids in all the divisions this year. I talked to Gillette, for example. They have 842 kids. They have a huge pool of kids to pull from (for their All-Star teams).

“We struggle some,” he said. “I can’t remember the last time Torrington advanced a team to the state tournament.”

To qualify for one of the All-Star teams, players have to show character, commitment and coachability, Correa said. They also have to be a team player and, of course, demonstrated baseball ability.

“Obviously, we’re going to try to form teams that represent Torrington the best,” he said.

After the state tournament, the next level is the Western Little League Baseball Regional tournament, Aug. 5-11, in San Bernardino, Calif. From there, it’s the Big Show, the Little League World Series, Aug. 16-26, in Williamsport, Penn.

Torrington Little League was chartered in 1966 with four teams. At its height, the league fielded nine teams in the Majors division, Correa said. This year, Torrington Little League fielded six Majors teams, plus minors and tee-ball.

“When I was growing up, it’s what you did,” he said. “It’s how you spent part of your summer.

“It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster,” Correa said. “There’ve been ups and downs throughout the years. We’re hoping to bring it back and keep it back.”