For the first time in 19 years, a team from Connecticut is heading to the Little League World Series.

Shelton National came from behind today and defeated Manchester North, the New Hampshire representative, 2-1 to capture the New England Championship, and an automatic berth in Williamsport.

Trailing 1-0 with one out in the top of the sixth inning, Shelton National’s Tyler Tice clubbed a home run over the center field fence to tie the game. Following a Robert Moretti ground out, Marcelo Ursini lined a laser over the left field fence that proved to be the game-winner.

Moretti struck out 10 New Hampshire batters in five and a third innings work. Eddie Kochiss came on with one out in the sixth to pick up the save.

Whether it was with Manchester North runners on first and third with two out in the bottom of the sixth, or Shelton National trailing 1-0 with the game on the line, Shelton National manager Ed Szymansky said he and his team had faith.

“We always have the feeling inside that as long as there’s time left, we have a chance to win the game,” Szymansky said.

Manchester North took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when catcher Nick Markis roped a home run over the left field fence.

Shelton almost broke through in the fourth inning. With none out and Tice on second and Moretti on first, Manchester North pitcher Carmen Giampetruzzi fanned Ursini and Kochiss, and got pinch hitter Hunter Boles to ground out to second.

When asked during the post game press conference what he expected when his team headed back to Shelton tonight, Szymansky said he wasn’t sure. Then he had a surprise for his team, which had assembled behind him.

“We’re going right to Williamsport,” Szymansky announced.

The game was played in front of an announced crowd of 7,982, which filled the bleachers and surrounded Breen Field at the A. Bartlett Giametti complex in Bristol.

Shelton National went 6-0 in the tournament. For box scores and more, click here.

Marcello Ursini went two for two, including a two-run homer, to pace the Shelton National bats. Matt Batten added a solo shot for Shelton National.

Shelton National got a five-inning, one-hit performance on the mound from Robert Moretti, who struck out eight batters and walked one. Tyler Tice threw a scoreless sixth to earn the save.

That’s because Shelton keeps evoking the mercy rule. The latest one came tonight, with a 10-0 win over Williston, VT, at A. Bartlett Giametti complex in Bristol.

Eddie Kochiss pitched a one-hitter, walked two, and struck out 10 in four innings of work. Kockiss, Robert Moretti, and Tyler Tice each hit homers for Shelton National.

Shelton National plays Rhode Island at 8 p.m. Monday, then, in a game that will be televised on MSG, plays Massachusetts at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

How long has it been since a Connecticut team reached the Little League World Series? It was 1989, and the star of that Trumbull team, Chris Drury, is now a grizzled veteran in the National Hockey League.

But if the Shelton National Little League 12-year-olds keep playing the way they are, there’s a good chance that 19-year streak will be snapped.

In its opening game Friday in the Eastern Regionals, Shelton National defeated Maine state champion Camden Rockport 12-1 in a mercy-rule game that ended in the bottom of the fourth inning.

It’s the seventh time in 13 tournament games that Shelton National has topped the 10-run mark.

But if Shelton National is going to keep on trucking through the tournament and get a chance to play August 9 for a shot at a trip to Williamsport, it’s going to have to keep playing as a team.

“The top picks up the bottom, the bottom picks up the top. One for all and all for one, one through 12 [players on the roster],” Shelton National manager Ed Szymansky said. “We won’t pick any one kid out. Today it was [Jake Szymansky’s] day in the sun, now it’s back to work.”

But keep in mind these 12-year-old kids are only human. They did struggle coming out of the gate against the Maine batters, though it was ever so slightly. Maine loaded the bases in the top of the first before Shelton National pitcher Rob Moretti got a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.

“I told the kids they were going to be a little nervous at first. Once they’d get the mistakes out of the way, we’d come back and play Shelton baseball.”

Moretti (eight strikeouts in three innings) and Eddie Kochiss (three strikeouts in one inning) dominated on the mound for Shelton National, and the team’s bats were just as impressive. Jake Szymansky and Kochiss both homered, and Szymansky, Tyler Tyce, and Chris Berritto each drove in two runs.

Moretti, Kochiss, Szymansky, and Matt Batten had two hits each to lead the Shelton National attack.

So after the kids take Saturday off and go to Lake Compounce, how does Shelton National prepare for its game Sunday against Williston, Vermont?

They’ll just stick to the basics.

“All they have to do is play fundamental baseball, that’s what wins baseball games,” Ed Szymansky said. “Catch, throw, and hit, everything comes after that. It’s so repetitious it’s like a second nature to these kids.”

The decision continues the Sacred Heart mission to make the University a comfortable and affordable place for families to go. Earlier this year, Sacred Heart University announced a decision to offer free tuition to full-time undergraduate students from Fairfield County high schools.

“We want area parents and family care providers to know that Sacred Heart athletic contests are affordable, safe and enjoyable places for families to gather and enjoy quality time with each other,” said SHU Associate Director for External Relations, Mark Adzigian. “In the past, we have hosted many youth groups, birthday parties and sponsored Take a Kid to the Game promotions. Now there’s no reason why every SHU game can’t be just like that.”

The football season opens at home on August 30 and a family of five can attend the game on Campus Field for as little as $16 – the price of two adult tickets. The Pioneers have six home games during the 2008 season.

A similar policy will hold for all basketball and hockey games during the 2008-09 season, as well as men’s lacrosse games in the spring of 2009. All general admission adult tickets for those sports will also be $8, with the exception of $10 for men’s basketball.

“The University is a very proud member of both the local and regional communities. By offering these programs, focusing positively on both academics and athletics, we are able to be an inclusive and contributing neighbor in our surrounding communities and show how important it is to enjoy family time together, especially during challenging economic times,” Adzigian concluded.

To check the home schedules for each team and order tickets online visit SacredHeartPioneers.com.

Forever Young, which has agreed to a multi-year commitment, is donating $10,000 this year to the Commission to support its fundraising efforts in promoting fitness and an active, healthy lifestyle and personal development through sports in the county.

Mike Myers-Keitt, a Fairfield Prep graduate and basketball standout who is set to attend Monmouth University, is this year’s award recipient.

Myers-Keitt, a Norwalk native now living in Waterbury, suffered traumatic injuries in a fall on the court in 2006. A cracked right side of his skull, broken bones in his inner ear and considerable nerve damage to the right side of his face left him unresponsive and doctors not sure if he would walk again. The 6-foot-7 Myers-Keitt recovered over a two-year period and has earned a scholarship to Division I Monmouth.

The Commission created the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award in 2006, named after the late Chelsea Cohen, a former Norwalk High soccer star who was the Commission’s first Courage Award recipient. She passed away in 2006 after a courageous bout with a rare form of cancer of the nervous system. The award recognizes the person in the sports community who has shown inspirational strength in battling life-altering obstacles.

As part of the sponsorship, Forever Young and the FCSC will make a donation of $2,000 to the Chelsea Cohen Memorial Foundation, which was started by Cohen’s parents Barbara Rittner and Larry Cohen. The Cohen Foundation’s goal is to fund HOPE (Helping Open Possibilities for Excellence), which will support young athletes who need financial assistance to reach their athletic goals. The fund also is raising money for research to help find a cure for CNS Sarcoma, the rare cancer that took Chelsea’s life.