Pittsfield 14s Rally Past N.H. Champs at Babe Ruth Regional Tourney
ROCHESTER, N.H. -- Will Kinne scored on a two-out error in the bottom of the sixth to break a 6-6 tie and send the Pittsfield Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars on to a 7-6 win over Nashua, N.H., on Saturday at the New England Regional Championships.
The winning rally started when Jake Hall drew a leadoff walk. He was eventually erased trying to score from third on a ground ball, but Kinne already had reached on the second Nashua error of the inning.
Kinne went to third on Nick Guachione's two-out single and scored when Collin Merwin reached on an error.
Tyler Gaudette retired the side in the order in the top of the seventh to earn the win after going to the hill in the sixth in relief of Merwin.
Merwin was tagged with four earned runs in 5-2/3 innings of work on the mound.
Guachione went 3-for-4 at the plate and doubled twice.
Chase Racine drove in a pair of runs, and Matt Lee went 2-for-4 and scored twice.
Pittsfield (2-0) finsihes pool play on Sunday at noon against Barre, Vt. Barre is 1-1 in the four-team "B" pool at the eight-team regional.
A win, and Pittsfield gets a bye through the first round of the six-team bracket play phase of the regional, which gets under way on Monday.
15-year-old Tournament
WESTFIELD, Mass. — The Rhode Island state champions scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to erase a one-run Pittsfield lead and earn an 8-7 win in the 14-year-old Babe Ruth New England Regional at Bullens Field.
Pittsfield had leads in the seventh and eighth innings before Rhode Island's rallies.
In the eighth, Owen Gutzmer had a sacrifice fly, and Mike Britten had an RBI single in a two-run single to give Pittsfield a 7-5 lead.
Sam Sherman and Stevie Zuccalo each had a pair of hits, and Britten drove in a pair of runs. Mike Zwinglestein and Kaden Codey each had an RBI for Pittsfield, which cranked up its offense after being shutout in the first game of the regional on Friday.
"We had some offense, but we left 13 men on base," Pittsfield manager Bryon Sherman said.
The most frustrating moment for Pittsfield came in the top of the fourth. With a 5-1 lead, Pittsfield had the bases loaded, but it left all three men on base, missing an opportunity to break the game open.
Shane Bernardo, Zwinglestein and Zuccalo split time on the mound.
Pittsfield fell to 0-2 in pool play with one game left, Sunday at 11:30 a.m. against Keene, N.H.
13-year-old Tournament
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Pittsfield's 13-year-old All-Stars Saturday improved to 2-0 in pool play with an 11-1 win over Keene, N.H.,
Pittsfield Sunday at 5:30 p.m. wraps up pool play against Connecticut State Champion Milford. A win will give Pittsfield a bye in the first round of the six-team bracket play that gets underway on Monday.
