BBA Edges Great Barrington Twice to Take BABL Series
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. -- BBA withstood a pair of seventh-inning rallies to earn two one-run victories and a 2-1 series victory in the Berkshire Adult Baseball League on Sunday afternoon at Bill Laston Memorial Park.
BBA came from behind in both its games to win 10-9 and 8-7 over the Great Barrington Millers and will meet Cornerstone next weekend for the championship of the league's 20-and-over division.
Cornerstone on Sunday defeated Housatonic, 5-0, to earn a two-game sweep in their best-of-three series.
At Adams' Renfrew Field, the host Aces trumped the Thunder to sweep their series and set up a date with the Bandits in the 35-and-over division final.
BBA, which lost 9-4 on Saturday, got strong pitching in the middle innings from Tom Bishop in Game 1 and Mike Massery in the nightcap. Nick Greenleaf and Matt Clark each finished a game to pick up a save for the home team.
In Game 1, Mitch Belanger and Tom Ingersoll each drove in a run for the Millers as they greeted Bishop with a three-run first-inning rally.
Great Barrington came back in the second by batting around to take an 8-3 lead.
Joe Bateman had the big blow, a two-run triple to left. Clark doubled in a run, and Andrew Senger drove in a pair in the inning.
Meanwhile, after his rough start, Bishop settled down and allowed just two runs over the next five innings.
And when Dave DiNicola and Carl Zurrin drove in a run apiece in the bottom of the sixth, BBA took a 10-5 lead into the final frame.
But Great Barrington got off the mat and got the go-ahead run into scoring position before bowing.
The big hit in the four-run rally was a two-run single to right by Ingersoll that allowed Cal Turner to go from first to third.
That ended the day for Bishop and brought Greenleaf to the hill. After Ingersoll stole second to put two men in scoring position, Greenleaf got the final out on a ground ball to second to set the stage for the winner-take-all Game 3.
Again, Great Barrington came out strong, scoring four in the top of the first thanks to RBIs from Turner and Ingersoll.
BBA got one back in the bottom of the first, but after the Millers re-established a four-run lead in the second, BBA lifted starter Greenleaf in favor of Massery.
He proceeded to give up two hits and one run over four innings while BBA exploded for six in the bottom of the fifth to take an 8-6 lead.
Clark started the seventh and gave up a single up the middle to Paul McBride.
Hunter Lucey reached on a fielder's choice and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Then, after a strikeout for the second out, Jason Gappa delivered an RBI single and moved up on an outfield error to make it a one-run game with a man on second.
Dustin Velacruz drew a walk, but Clark got the next man to swing at strike three to strand two men on base and send his team to the finals.
