Norwalk Cal Ripken Teams Begin New England Tournaments Saturday

NORWALK, Conn. -- Two Cal Ripken baseball teams from Norwalk start play Saturday in the New England Regional.

Norwalk Cal Ripken 11-year-old All-Stars Jayden Gonzalez and Jake Palmer man the table outside Sports Authority.
Photo Credit: *Contributed by Brooke Sessions*

Players Michael Berkowitz and Kyle Root work at a table at Lowe's along with store manager Angelo Resso and assistant store manager Dan Nieves.
Photo Credit: *Contributed by Brooke Sessions*

Jayden Gonzalez and Jake Palmer man the table outside Sports Authority along with co-manager Barry Jones.
Photo Credit: *Contributed by Brooke Sessions*

07/30/2015 5:00 a.m.

The Norwalk 11-year-old All-Stars will play in Dover, N.H. The 9-year-old All-Stars play in Hebron. Both teams won state titles, a first in the history of the youth baseball program.

The 11-year-old All-Stars, 22-2 on the season, play Raynham, the champion from Eastern Massachusetts in their first game in New Hampshire. The eight-team tournament continues into next week, with the championship round scheduled for Thursday. Norwalk plays at 12:30 on Saturday, and will advance to a 3 p.m. game on Sunday with a victory. A loss would drop Norwalk into the losers’ bracket for a Sunday game at 12:30.

The Norwalk 11s are coached by Mark Boccanfuso, who is assisted by Mike Palmer, Dave Ely and Hank Berkowitz.

Norwalk defeated Newtown, 10-2, to win the state title last Saturday. Newtown will be among the eight teams in the New England Tournament. Cranston, R.I., is the defending champion. Click here for the tournament bracket.

The 9-year-old All-Stars play the Western Massachusetts champion on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Players for both teams have been hosting donation booths around town to support the teams. Readers can also donate online through the Norwalk Cal Ripken website or by sending an email to league president Sean Ryan at Sean.Ryan@aenetworks.com.

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