A late comeback effort did not quite close the gap for the Aspetuck (Redding/Easton) 14- and 15-year-old All-Star baseball team when it visited Newtown last week.

Down by five runs going into its last at bat, Aspetuck began to rally. Newtown, however, got out of the jam as the visitors came up short in a 9-7 loss on Thursday, June 25.

Aspetuck did have the lead a couple of times, including in the first inning when Shane Dempsey led off with a single, stole second, and scored on a hit by Mike Loder. Newtown got the run back in its first turn, only to have Aspetuck get back in front in the next frame when mark DelVecchio singled and stole second before coming in on D.J. Sheehan’s RBI double.

Following a rough winter sports season in which only one team finished with a winning record, the Joel Barlow High sports program regained the bounce in its step this spring.

Eight out of 10 varsity teams were .500 or better, and nine of them qualified for the post-season.

A busy week produced mixed results for the Admirals American Legion Post 100-202 under-17 baseball team. Comprised of players from Redding, Bethel and Newtown, the team won two of its five most recent games.

The Admirals had their best outing when they visited Danbury last Tuesday, June 23. Zack Taylor pitched a complete game shutout, scattering six hits and striking out 11, as the Admirals took advantage of six walks and four hit batters to go with a 14-hit attack for a 15-0 win.

A big first inning set the tone for the Redding 14-and-under All-Star softball team when it visited Ridgefield last week.

Between a number of hits by the visitors, plus a few walks and errors issued by Ridgefield, Redding was in good shape early. It helped its cause in the later frames as well before winning 17-6 on Tuesday, June 23.

Redding, which also has a number of players from Easton in its lineup, came out swinging with six hits in the first inning. The result was a seven-run frame.

While it is still early in the season the Aspetuck (Redding-Easton) 13-year-old Babe Ruth All-Star baseball team is already looking like a good combination for the I-84 Summer Baseball League.

Despite having a smaller geographical area from which to draw players than other teams, Aspetuck has not let this get in its way of being competitive. In its first four games the team posted two one-sided wins and two close losses.

“It’s a very solid ball club,” said head coach Fred Klumpp. “We’re at the point where we’re now being looked at instead of overlooked.”

Opening the season on June 17, Aspetuck went to work early when it took on Newtown Silver. An offensive surge in the first inning set the tone in a 12-2 win.

What began as a break from one sport soon turned into a devotion to another for Phoebe Bakanas.

The 2006 Joel Barlow High graduate was a competitive swimmer when she decided to give water polo a try. Since then she has made quite a name for herself in the pool.

Now a student at Connecticut College in New London, she is a captain of the women’s water polo team. This past season she added to her list of achievements when she was named to the 2009 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 1 at-large third team in the college division. She was one of four student-athletes at her school to be named to the team this academic year.

Charlie Morton finds himself pitching for some familiar colors these days.

After getting selected in the 2002 Major League baseball draft, the former Joel Barlow High ace spent seven seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization, eventually moving up to the majors last year. But in a manner of speaking he is back in the “black and gold.”

The 25-year-old right-hander has started the next chapter of his major league career. Earlier this month he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Morton was part of a trade that also sent minor leaguers Gorkys Hernandez (outfielder) and Jeff Locke (left-handed pitcher) to Pittsburgh for outfielder Nate McLouth, who was the Pirates’ lone All-Star selection last year.

Boys lacrosse

All-State

• Drew Scharf
• Cody Hickok
• Ben Amy

The Easton Redding United under-11 Pride girls soccer team won the Connecticut Cup by defeating defending champion Farmington 4-1 on June 13, marking the first time an Easton or Redding girls team has ever won the tournament. The Pride played through four rounds, scoring a combined 14 goals while conceding only one.

When the Joel Barlow High boys lacrosse team controls possession opponents have a hard time stopping its offense.

The Falcons use this ability to their advantage, taking the time to select their shots before putting the ball in the net. But having the advantage in this respect was not quite enough in the state Division S semifinals last week.

Despite taking a number of shots the Falcons had trouble scoring at times against St. Joseph of Trumbull. While they did get on target later on they came up just short in an 11-10 loss on Thursday, June 11, at Danbury High to end the season.