A dream summer continued for the Greenfield 8U All-Stars on Monday night.
The Ducks capped an impressive run at the Massachusetts Cal Ripken State Tournament in Hudson, taking down Sutton, 12-2, in the championship game to punch a ticket to Regionals.
Greenfield will compete in Regionals, with pool play beginning on Saturday in Milford, Conn.
Greenfield outscored its six opponents by a whopping total of 107-23, and the Ducks scored at least 12 or more runs in all six of its contests in Hudson.
Greenfield’s perfect 6-0 mark in the state tournament was capped with the title-game thumping of Sutton. In that 12-2 win, the Ducks ripped off 14 hits, keyed by a 3-for-3 outing from Colton Urkiel out of the leadoff spot. Kydanie Rivera smacked an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, part of a 2-for-2 day at the plate, while Cooper Deane, Blake White and Zach Bensen all had two hits in the victory. Mason Lovett doubled and drove in two runs for the Ducks and Jacolby Dyer also had a hit and a pair of RBIs.
While the offense was rolling, the Greenfield pitching staff was equally as dominant. White and Deane combined to toss all five innings of the run-ruled victory, limiting Sutton to just one hit. The pair combined to strike out seven while allowing just single runs in the second and third innings.
Greenfield’s path to the state final saw them get past host Hudson in the semifinal round on Monday, holding on for a 13-9 victory — the only game from the state tournament that the Ducks did not win via run-ruled fashion.
White, Lovett and Deane each collected two hits for Greenfield, which worked nine walks as a team and stole 13 bases to keep Hudson on its toes defensively. Urkiel and White each scored three runs while Dyer touched home twice.
Deane and Lovett each threw two innings on the mound, combining to strike out nine batters. Gioules, Rivera and Castine also recorded outs to help seal the deal — combining for four punchouts.
It’s the first 8U state title in Greenfield’s Cal Ripken history, which is made even more impressive by the fact that the majority of last year’s 8U team aged out prior to this summer’s run.
The full roster includes Urkiel, Deane, Lovett, White, Dyer, Cody Castine, Dimitri Gioules, Bensen, Cody Liimatainen, Marshall Royce, Rivera, and Asher Tripp. Corey Lovett is the head coach of the Ducks.