SUTTON – Patrick Fitzgibbons hit the biggest home run of his life Tuesday.
He’s only 11, but a three-run shot to clinch a state championship certainly qualifies.
Fitzgibbons cleared the center-field fence in the sixth inning to put Hadley up for good, 15-10 over Hudson in the Cal Ripken 11-and-under state championship game.
“I just wanted to hit the ball hard,” he said.
Hadley advanced to the New England Regional Tournament in Hebron, Connecticut. It starts July 29.
Fitzgibbons’ home run, his second of the game, gave Hadley some sorely needed stability.
Hadley led 12-3 entering the bottom of the fifth inning when Hudson scored seven runs to pull within striking distance at 12-10.
Hudson’s first five batters reached base without a hit. Its only hit in the inning, a two-run double by John DiFonzo, made the score 12-9.
“We had a big lead going in, so we had a bit of a cushion,” Hadley coach Tom Beckwith said.
Hadley catcher Ryan Schneider came in to pitch after the first five batters reached.
“Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do,” Beckwith said. “He stepped up. He got the three outs we needed.”
Hadley built its cushion in the fourth and fifth innings.
It was a 2-2 game at the start of the fourth.
Cole Boisvert hit a one-out double then went to third on a throwing error.
Bo Elson drove him home to make it 3-2 then advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Matthew Hanscom made it 4-2 with a single.
That brought up Fitzgibbons (3 for 4, seven RBIs), who sailed a homer over the left field fence to make it 6-2.
Hudson cut it to 6-3 in the fourth before Hadley returned to the plate.
Schneider grounded out to start the inning, then James Aas walked and Boisvert took a pitch to his left shoulder to put runners on second and third.
Elson and Hanscom singled to bring in Aas and Boisvert, respectively, to make it 8-3.
Fitzgibbons stepped up to the plate and ripped a two-run double for a 10-3 edge.
“He had a great day of hitting today,” Beckwith said.
Two errors following the second out of the inning put Hadley up 12-3.
“They were really down. It’s the first time in this whole tournament season we’ve ever been down,” Hudson coach Dave Tinglof said. “That was a culture shock to them. I think it was something that mentally set them back.”
The seven-run fifth lifted Hudson’s spirits and its cheering section’s voices until Fitzgibbons took his last swing and flipped the balance to Hadley’s side again.
“He had a great opportunity to put it away, and he did with that home run, for sure,” Tinglof said.
Both teams advance to the New England Regionals since the top two teams in the state qualify.