Marshwood 8s win Cal Ripken state title; will play for New England championship

For the first time in program history, the Marshwood Cal Ripken 8-year-old all-star team won a state championship - and now the team is off to see what it can do in the New England tournament.

Marshwood defeated Andy Valley, 11-1 on Monday at Butters Field in Norway, Maine. Marshwood coach Tom Testa knew from the first day of practice it could win the state championship.

"You never say 'hey, these kids are going to be state champs,' but we definitely knew we would be very competitive," Testa said. "They're just a really talented and really dedicated group of kids. The talent is definitely there and it's always been there. We definitely had a good feeling just on the makeup of the team. They love playing together, and this is a really good close-knit team."

Who's on the team?

Marshwood's roster includes August Kryder, Bryce Carlin, Brady Smith, Archer Catanese, Ronan Gilpatrick, Sterling Berg, Porter Vets, Tommy Testa, Ryder Ward, Emmett Eilders, Austin Clithero, George Merz and Nolan Perrotta.

Adam Catanese, Jeff Gilpatrick, Dakota Smith, Matt Ward and Tim Carlin join Testa on the coaching staff.

What's next?

Marshwood will head to the eight-team New England Regionals, which begins next Friday with Opening Ceremonies in Milford, Connecticut.

Pool-play games begin on Saturday, July 20, while single-elimination bracket plays begins July 23 with the championship game scheduled for Wednesday, July 24.

"This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime potential things," Testa said. "It's really just for them to continue to experience playing some amazing baseball at different venues, and just continuing to grow to love the game. This is something I hope they continue to do."

How did Marshwood win the state tourney?

Marshwood beat Lewiston on Friday, 9-7 after trailing 6-0. Then, Marshwood beat Auburn on Saturday, 15-0, and then beat Andy Valley, 11-0 in the winner's bracket final on Sunday. Andy Valley won its next game, advancing to the championship. Andy Valley would have needed to beat Marshwood twice to win the championship.

Testa praised the team's defense and the pitching of Gilpatrick, Smith and Catanese.

"We've got some really, really good pitchers, and our pitching absolutely stood out," Testa said. "Three, four, five kids throw and they all just were successful. The pitching was really, really good. Pounding the strike zone, not walking batters; tough stuff at 7 and 8 (years old)."

Paired with stellar defense and great overall pitching, Marshwood's hitting wasn't far behind in terms of production. As Tresta said, you've still got to score runs.

"And the hitters did that, too," he said. "It was just a total team effort across the board."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Marshwood 8s win Cal Ripken state title; will play for New England championship