On of the biggest reasons M.O.T. is in Connecticut right now is because of its late-inning heroics.

For a while on Monday, the Delaware state champions looked they were ready to follow the same script.

But, this time, New York put a stop to M.O.T.’s comeback, handing it a 9-6 loss as the Major League baseball Mid-Atlantic Regional got underway in Bristol, Conn.

Now the Middletown-area all-stars will have to dig themselves out of a hole again as they drop into the losers’ bracket in the six-team, double-elimination bracket.

M.O.T., which came out of the losers’ bracket to take the District I title, won’t play again until Wednesday when it faces the loser of today’s Maryland-New Jersey contest.

On Monday, Middletown fell behind 7-0 after New York scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning. M.O.T., though, answered right back with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.

However, New York scored single runs in both the fifth and sixth while Middletown only came up with one more in the fifth to fall short.

Brody Sapp (3-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 run), Jake Saloney (1-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 run) and Daniel Keane (2-for-2, 1 run) led M.O.T. as both teams finished with 10 hits. Four Middletown pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts but also had five walks.

Maryland 10, Washington, D.C. 5: Maryland state champion Delmar rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to win their opener in the regional.

Ten of Delmar’s 16 players live in Delaware. The squad next plays New Jersey today at 1 p.m.

Delmar collected seven of its 13 hits in the fifth, including an RBI triple from Dylan Pasta (3-for-3). Khalik Beasley (2-for-2, 2 runs, 1 RBI) and Gabe Rincon (1-for-2, 2 runs, 2 RBI) also led Maryland.

Four players pitched for Delmar in the contest.

Local auto racing

Van Horn wins big in Delmar: In a crucial race in the South Region point standings, David Van Horn Jr. dominated the ‘Diamond State 50’ for a $5,000-plus payday at Delaware International Speedway on Wednesday night,

Harmony, N.J.’s Van Horn, after drawing the fourth-starting position, eventually took the lead on lap 29, and cruised to the victory for his first Short Track Super Series victory. The ‘Diamond State 50’ was the fourth of the five-race STSS South Region schedule.

“This is the biggest win of my career,” Van Horn said in Victory Lane as fireworks lit up the sky. “This is a great feeling.”

The win marked Van Horn’s third top-10 finish of the South Region, and his second finish inside the top-two. The victory adds Van Horn’s name to the BD Motorsports Media LLC all-time win list, and surges him into the South Region points lead with one race remaining Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway.

Van Horn pocketed $5,215 cash plus other incentives for his triumph.

Matt Jester, the Milford native, crossed the line in second on an up-and-down evening. In the first couple of laps, Jester was a hard charger, jumping into the top five after drawing ninth.

“I thought I was going to do something big after the beginning of the race,” said Jester. “But then the big-blocks with their big motors came through the field. We got better at the end as the track dried out and we could roll the top, but Van Horn really had us beat.”

Brad Trice accepted an offer from AC Delco driver Kenneth Peek to drive his 620 Sportsman in Wednesday night’s Diamond State 50 program. After finishing fifth in the Diamond State 50 and drawing the pole starting spot, Trice led wire to wire-in-the caution-free 25-lap main and earned $1,000.

Billy Cropper has been flawless this season in the Super Trucks. On Wednesday night, Cropper held off the challenges of one of his sponsors, Bobby Reed, to win his fourth straight Super Truck 12-lap main.

WNBA

Delle Donne honored again: Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky was named the WNBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

For the former Delaware star, the Player of the Week honor is her fourth of the season and the ninth of her career. The three-time All-Star and current WNBA scoring leader helped Chicago post a 2-1 record for the week by averaging an Eastern Conference-high 23.0 points per game, tying for fourth in the East in blocks (1.67 bpg), ranking sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.471, 8-of-17), and finishing tied for seventh in rebounding (6.7 rpg).

Delle Donne also made 21-of-22 free throws, raising her league-leading season percentage to .953.