Adams Aces Take Lead in BABL Final
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Pete Greenbush went 3-for-3 with a double and drove in the final run of the game as the Adams Aces topped the Bandits, 13-3, in the first round of their Berkshire Adult Baseball League 35-year-old Division playoff series on Saturday.
The Aces need to win once on Sunday at Lenox’s War Memorial Field to win the league title. The Bandits will look to stay alive in a 10 a.m. meeting; if they survive, they’ll force a 1 p.m. winner-take-all final.
Greenbush hit a leadoff single to start a pivotal bottom of the second for Adams, which erased a 1-0 deficit and grabbed a 6-1 lead at MCLA’s Zavattaro Athletic Complex.
Dave Clark had a sacrifice bunt, and Corey Swistak delivered a two-out, three-run double in the rally.
In the top of the third, the Bandits threatened to get back into it when Tom Bishop reached on an error and stole second.
But Adams starter Trevor Swistak got a fly ball to right for the second out, and Dave Vidal ended the inning by chasing down and making a diving catch on a ball in left field.
After Adams went quietly in the bottom of the third, fielding miscues cost the Bandits in the fourth.
Six errors and three Adams hits produced six more runs to make it a 12-1 game. Vidal and Bill Bird singled, and Greenbush doubled to help give the Aces a double-digit lead.
In the top of the fifth, the Bandits needed to score two runs to keep the game going, and they did just that.
Mike Rooney reached on an error with one out and stole second, and Stefan Townsend followed with a single and moved up on an error that allowed Rooney to score. Bishop’s RBI groundout brought home Townsend to get the deficit down to nine, 12-3.
But Adams’ Corey Swistak led off the bottom of the fifth by being hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position when Matt Larabee drew a walk. A wild pitch put two men in scoring position before Greenbush’s single to center field plated Swistak and ended the game.
Trevor Swistak went the distance on the mound for Adams, allowing four hits and one earned run.
