Starting pitcher Dylan Perreault pitched a complete-game shutout and struck out three as he led Apponaug baseball to a 10-0 mercy-rule victory over CLCF on Friday night while forcing a decisive Game 2 of the 12u Cal Ripken State Tournament Championship at Kenney Field. 

“Phenomenal,” Apponaug manager Mike Karpowich said on Perreault. “He came out there and shut ‘em down and every pitch was his. And he controlled it from the first pitch to the last pitch. So, nothing but good things to say about the kid. He played his heart out and it showed. And he led the team to it.”

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.

“That set the pace,” Karpowich said. “That’s why I love being the away team because you set the tone early and that’s what we did. Three runs in the first inning and they never recovered from that. So, I love doing that. Set the tone early and cruise to the rest.”

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.

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

Nonetheless, Apponaug would fall to CLCF in Game 2 on Saturday night by a final score of 4-2 and finished as the Cal Ripken state runner-up.