CLCF won the 12-U Cal Ripken state title on Saturday when it beat Apponaug 4-2 in Game 2 on Saturday night at Kenney Field.

In Game 2, CLCF’s David DeMartin pitched a complete-game and struck out six while also adding two RBI at the plate.

Also, contributing on offense was Dylan Bowry and Cole Hambly, who had two hits each with Bowry also added an RBI.

CLCF came back to win the title after it was drubbed 10-0 in four innings during Game 1 the previous night by Apponaug in the double-elimination tournament.

Apponaug starting pitcher Dylan Perreault pitched a complete-game shutout in that contest and struck out three.

Apponaug took a 1-0 edge during the top of the first, when Brent Karpowich belted an RBI single and scored Matt Wellington from second.

Next, Drew Agostinelli socked an RBI single to right and brought home Karpowich, which made it 2-0.

Then, Jacob Rodriguez ripped a shot through the legs of the second baseman, which went for an error, and allowed Agostinelli, who leaped over an attempted tag from the catcher at the plate, to score, and that put Apponaug on top 3-0.

In the third, Apponaug added to its advantage.

First, Karpowich, who led off with a walk and stole second, scored from third during a passed ball and put Apponaug on top 4-0.

Next, Perreault helped his own cause when he torched an RBI double to right and extended the Apponaug buffer to 5-0.

After that, Perreault stole third before scoring during a passed ball and extended the Apponaug advantage to 6-0.

Then, Connor Salzillo hit an RBI single to left and scored Geoffrey Laliberte from second, which made it 7-0.

Next, Diego Tejada crushed an RBI double to deep center and drove in Austin Wheeler while upping the Apponaug cushion to 8-0.

In the fourth, Rodriguez belted an RBI single to left and scored Karpowich, which increased the Apponaug lead to 9-0.

Lastly, with runners at first and second, Perreault blasted a fly to deep left, which fell out of the reach of the center fielder and scored Rodriguez while ballooning the Apponaug margin to 10-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, CLCF threatened to extend the game when Zach Petrella launched a two-out double to deep left-center and put runners at second and third.

“Zach had a great at bat,” Sampson said. “Zach plays at this field a lot and he knows a lot of the kids on the other team and he had a great at bat and he hit a big double for us.”

But Perreault would induce a ground ball out from DeMartin for the final out of the game.

CLCF manager Bill Sampson was upset with his team’s defense after the Game 1 loss.

“We’ve got to regroup tomorrow,” Sampson said. “Our first game in this tournament, we were fantastic defensively. And pitching today, the defense let us down. And if you can’t play defense, you’re giving up too many runs and you’re not going to win the ball game.”

Nonetheless, the manager was confident his boys would take care of business in Game 2, and he was correct.

 “I already forgot about this game and we’re going to be ready to play tomorrow night,” Sampson said. “And we will represent the state in the regionals.”

CLCF did indeed get revenge when it beat Apponaug 4-2 in Game 2 on Saturday night and won the Cal Ripken state title.