Sports

Coginchaug All-Stars Begin Quest for First Ever State Championship Today

First pitch vs. Westport is at 3 p.m. at Recreation Park in Plantsville.

When Coginchaug takes the field today against Westport it will mark the first time that a 12-year-old All-Star baseball team with players from Durham and Middlefield will play for a state championship.

The team made history this week by defeating South Windsor in back-to-back games to win the Section 2 title, earning a spot in the best-of-three championship series against the Section 1 winner at Recreation Park in Plantsville.

Game 1 will be played today at 3 p.m.

10 of the team's 13 players were members of last year's memorable 11-year-old All-Star team which won the District 9 and Section 2 titles before losing to Fairfield National in the state championship.

Meet the Coginchaug Little League All-Stars

This year's 12-year-old All-Star team outscored opponents 83-10 en route to the District 9 title, including two decisive victories over Haddam in a best-of-three championship series.

Coginchaug won a thriller against an always competitive Waterford team in the opening game of the Section 2 tournament, winning 11-9 after trailing 9-5 in the sixth inning.

The team then lost to South Windsor 1-0 but came back to beat Waterford again and South Windsor twice in dominant fashion to win the Section 2 title.

Coginchaug's balance on offense, stellar defense and timely pitching has lead the team to within just a few wins of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

First baseman Griffin Saks leads the team in batting with a .588 average. He also leads the team with 20 hits, 17 RBIs and 7 doubles.

Coginchaug's power at the plate has come off the bat of Cole Niedmann (6 HR, 18 RBIs) and T.J. Vallone (5 HR, 18 RBIs). A.J. Kleczkowski, Ryan Genest and James Salemme have also hit multiple home runs for Coginchaug.

Check out Patch's sports section for more coverage of the Coginchaug All-Star team

John John Jose has been the team's ace, with a 5-0 record and 49 strikeouts. Opponents have hit just .184 off Jose. He's given up 9 runs in 28 innings.

Salemme, Genest and Connor Rulnick have also pitched well for Coginchaug.

Coginchaug has outscored opponents 59-5 in the first two innings. 

Stats and information provided by Scott Strang


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