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 Little League Stays Alive at State Tournament

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
HOLDEN, Mass. – Less than 24 hours after committing three errors and allowing four earned runs in a 15-14 loss at the State Tournament, the Pittsfield Little League All-Stars returned to form.
 
Pittsfield was perfect in the field and got solid pitching and contributions up and down the lineup in a 7-2 win over Boxford to stay alive in the state’s “Final Four.”
 
On Saturday, Pittsfield gets a rematch against Bridgewater, which dropped a 5-2 decision to Roxbury’s Parkway in Friday’s late game.
 
The winner of Saturday morning’s game will face Parkway on Sunday for the right to represent Massachusetts at the New England Regional Championships and play for a trip to Williamsport, Pa.
 
“At the end of last night’s game, there were no hung heads,” Pittsfield coach Joe Skutnik said of the extra-inning loss in the tournament opener. “And they hit the ball [against Bridgewater], and they felt good about the way that the played.
 
“It was one bad inning that we could have put it away, but it didn’t happen. But they knew that. And today, they came out and kept hitting, and I like the way that we put the runs on at the end of the game.”
 
Pittsfield scored two runs in the bottom of the first and never trailed. It also answered both Boxford runs  in the fourth and fifth innings.
 
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