Pittsfield Defeats North Adams for Western Mass Babe Ruth Title
 Pittsfield captured the 15-year-old Babe Ruth Western Massachusetts title against North Adams on Wednesday night. |
"It really was a crazy game out there. We started off with that big 5-1 cushion and all the momentum was our way," said Pittsfield head coach Jim Conant. "Then we had a key error and they put together some hits. Then boy, all the momentum went their way."
Pittsfield did most of their damage to build a 5-1 lead in the top of the second inning when they scored four runs on five hits. With two outs, right fielder Chris Tracy took the first pitch he saw and blasted it deep to right field for a triple, driving in Nate Stump and Andrew Beaudoin. Pitcher Alex Weber then roped a double to the gap in left center field to score Tracy. After advancing to third base on a base hit by Corey Blanchette, Weber came in for the fourth run of the inning on a infield single by third baseman Kevin Squires.
After tacking on another run in the top of the fourth, Pittsfield was feeling comfortable with a 5-1 lead going in to the bottom of the inning. That's when the momentum shifted to North Adams' side.
Kareen Beckett and Kody Crosier led off the inning with back-to-back walks. After, Squires relieved Weber on the mound, but the pressure continued.
Shane Garvey came up and grounded to shortstop Nick Rufo who fired the ball to Blanchette at third base for the force, but Blanchette dropped the ball to load the bases for North Adams. With that error, the momentum flew over to North Adams as on the next play, a routine grounder to Blanchette at third ended up plating two runs when Blanchette rifled the ball over catcher Austin Houghtailing's head. With men on second and third, Mike Strizzi smacked a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Garvey and cutting Pittsfield's lead down to just one run.
The momentum had switched and North Adams starting pitcher Schuyler Robinson was feeding off of it. He retired the three batters he faced in the top of the fifth on just six pitches and then used the bat to get his team going as he advanced to second by hitting a hard infield single to the shortstop who made a late and high throw to first base. Beckett then singled to short right and stole second base.
Garvey then, on an 0-2 count, ripped a double to center for two RBI to put North Adams ahead 6-5.
"We were down. We were definitely down," Conant said. "And you got to keep reminding kids that baseball is a long game. You know you try to manage the adrenaline flow because you know as a coach there is plenty of time with still three innings to play."
Plenty of time to play in the game also meant that there was plenty of time for momentum to change again. Pittsfield came out and erupted, scoring five runs on five hits and two errors to open up a 10-6 lead that they would not relinquish, thanks to a strong performance by Squires in the final two innings.
"We stayed up. This has happened before," Squires said. "We are a team that never gets too down. We never let ourselves think we're out of it."
Pittsfield will now advance to the New England 15-year-old Tournament with their victory over North Adams. They will face Maine on Saturday, Aug. 3, at noon at Fairfield Hills in Newtown, Conn.
Though they ended on the losing side, North Adams ended with the same overall record as Pittsfield at 3-1. Beckett was superb at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two singles, a double and three runs scored. Garvey went 2-for-3 with a double, a single, three RBI and one run scored.
Tags: Babe Ruth, championship,
