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Sports

Whiz Kids: Southbury Cal Ripken 9A

Young group of ball players shine in state tournament.

They may only be nine, but these young boys of summer have already knocked it out of the ball park.

After a somewhat rocky beginning, the boys of the Southbury Cal Ripken 9 A team came from behind to clinch the title in the summer Route 84 baseball tournament championship game on July 28.  Edging out New Canaan and Fairfield in the beginning of the four game tournament, the 9A team took over and trounced Brookfield by a score of 30-14 in Brookfield for the title on a hot July afternoon.

"All the kids came a long way since the beginning of the season and improved a great deal as ball players,” said assistant coach Rich Galiette, whose son Trevor alternated between shortstop and second base. “Toward the end of the season they began to gel more as a group and believe in their abilities which translated to more wins on the field.  I'm very proud of how far they all came."

The league was made up of teams from Southbury along with Bethel, New Milford, Danbury, Brookfield, Fairfield, New Canaan, Newtown and Shepaug.

The Southbury 9A consisted of 12 players that alternated two positions throughout the year.

According to head coach Tom Mooney, whose son Thomas is also on the team, although the season ended with the title, the team suffered some tough losses in the beginning of the season.

“The confidence level of the boys was not very high and with every loss it seemed to get worse,” Mooney said. But after a little rest before the tournament, the young players came back strong.

“After we lost to Newtown in the districts we decided to give the boys some time off before the Route 84 started,” Mooney said.

After the time off and being able to relax, Mooney said the boys came back with new confidence. That showed in a win at the start of the tournament against Brookfield 12-3 where every boy on the team got a hit. “They were excited as were the coaches and parents. It was like a new season.”

“We (the coaches) saw how the boys improved over the year and to see the confidence was great. The team really came together,” Mooney added. “We will continue to work over the fall and winter to come back in the spring and do well.”

Team members include: Jeffery Eisenbach, Ryan Fleming, Trevor Galiette, Hayden Godfrey, Tyler Goodson, Justin Landgrebe, Thomas Mooney, Kenny Prebeck, Justin Ordway, Ryan O Keeffe, Dylan Rivers and Jack Shay.

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