Burlington 11U Ripken Baseball Advances to Regional Semifinals

After winning the state championship, the Burlington Ripken 11U team has begun play in the regional tournament, which is being.  The first round consists of pool play in which each team will play three games.

Burlington squared off against Skowhegan, ME on Saturday. Matthew Ulmschneider and Cameron Londino drew back to back walks to start the game. After advancing on a passed ball, Charlie Skelly singled up the middle to give Burlington the early 2-0 lead.  They would add to their lead in the 3rd inning when Luke Quimby singled to right to drive in Skelly and Mason King.

Skowhegan would get on the board with two runs in the 4th inning to cut the lead to 4-2. But King would be too much for the Skowhegan bats to handle as he went on to pitch the complete game, striking out 14 batters along the way and earning Player of the Game.  Londino, Branin Weymouth and Rhys Crowley each had RBI hits to contribute to the 7-2 Burlington victory.

On Sunday Burlington was back at it against a familiar foe from states, Milton. It was a similar feel to the last matchup in which Burlington won 7-6 in extra innings.  Burlington jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st after Londino and Skelly singled to get things started. Londino would score on a passed ball and Skelly would score on a Quimby RBI single to right. Burlington would add two more runs after Crowley singled and Nick Small doubled, and both players would score to make it 4-0.

Milton would not go quietly as their offense came alive in the 3rd inning with a two-run home run to cut the lead to 4-2. Burlington would add a run in the top of the 4th, but Milton quickly answered with three of their own to tie the game 5-5.

Ulmschneider did a great job on the mound, keeping his team in the game before turning over the pitching duties to Weymouth. He kept the Milton bats at bay and the Burlington offense went back to work in the top of the 6th. Crowley would single and score to give Burlington a short 6-5 lead, as Milton got the run back in the bottom half of the 6th to tie the game 6-6. Just like with their last matchup, Burlington and Milton were headed to extra innings.

In the top of the 7th with a 3-2 count, Londino would set the stage for Burlington to win the battle with a ball in play to 2nd, forcing an errant throw, and advancing to second. He would steal 3rd and score on a passed ball to give Burlington the 7-6 lead.

Milton would threaten one final time in the bottom of the 7th, loading the bases, before Skelly came in for the save, striking out two, including the final out of the game.

Londino would earn Player of the Game for his offensive spark and stellar defense at shortstop where he had six put-outs.

The two wins secured Burlington a bid in the next round. Their next matchup against Andy Valley, ME, who were also 2-0, would determine if they advanced directly to the semi-finals. While short on details, I can report that Burlington lost to Andy Valley 7-1 to finish pool play with a record of 2-1. Their quarterfinal game was played yesterday against Concord, NH, where Burlington won 5-4 with a walk off hit. That win puts Burlington in the semifinals today (7/20) at 5pm.

Best of luck to all our players as they continue on with their season!