More than 600 Participate in Steel Rail Races

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Matthew Ferraro was the first runner across the finish line at the MountainOne Steel Rail Marathon.
 
Ferraro clocked a time of 2 hours, 41 minutes flat on the Ashuwilticook Rail Trail course.
 
He finished a little more than five minutes ahead of runner-up Nick Reid (2:46:15).
 
Simone Veale won the race's women's division in a time of 3:18:42. She beat out Jill Hussain, who covered the course in 3:27:23.
 
The fastest marathoner on Sunday was Stephen Gulley, a hand cyclist, who clocked a time of 2:15:03.
 
The 26.2-mile circuit was covered by 150 finishers ranging in age from 18 (William Hanley in 14th place) to 72 (Ric Nudell, who finished in 6:04:47).
 
The day also featured a half-marathon and an 8-kilometer race.
 
Mark Rabasco won the half-marathon in 1:18:41, edging Vincent Gauthier (1:22:38).
 
Kat Morrissey placed third overall in 1:23:43 and first among women in the half-marathon, which had 213 finishers.
 
Abigail Chaloux was the fastest woman in the 8K, crossing the finish line in 35:52, six seconds ahead of Caroline Kessler; the two women were ninth and 10th, respectively, overall in a field of 171 finishers.
 
Peter Hale had the fastest 8K time, 27:42. Erik Kessler was second in 30:32.
 
More than 600 people registered for Sunday's races, a record for the Berkshire Running Foundation event. Runners from 24 different states signed up to run.
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Pittsfield 10s Outlast Dalton-Hinsdale in Championship Series Opener

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – After the Dalton-Hinsdale All-Stars stormed back to outscore Pittsfield, 4-0, over the last three innings, Pittsfield coach Matt Stracuzzi felt fortunate to escape with a 6-4 win in Game 1 of the best-of-three District 1 Championship Series on Thursday night.
 
“Thank God for the first couple of innings where Dalton gave up some runs, and thank God we took that, and that was our cushion,” Stracuzzi said. “Because we just … I thought we were prepared, but I guess it’s on me that we weren’t prepared, so I’ll take the blame for that.”
 
Pittsfield won despite committing four errors and collecting just five hits against three Dalton-Hinsdale pitchers.
 
Four of those hits came in the first three innings, when Pittsfield built a 6-0 lead.
 
After the designated home team scored five through the first two innings, it looked like Pittsfield might be on its way to another big win after outscoring its opponents by a combined 24-2 in the two round-robin games.
 
But Dalton-Hinsdale had other ideas.
 
Its coach said DH has made it a habit to respond to adversity in this tournament.
 
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