Pittsfield, Westfield Babe Ruth 16s Tied in First Game of Title Series

09:56PM / Wednesday, July 10, 2024Print Story | Email Story

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Pittsfield and Westfield 16-and-under Babe Ruth All-Stars Wednesday were tied, 1-1, after eight innings when darkness forced a suspension of their game in the Western Mass State Tournament.

Pittsfield and Westfield will play the conclusion of the game on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Deming Park and then play the regularly scheduled Game 2 of their best-of-three series.

On Wednesday, Connor Paronto hit a two-out single, stole second base, moved up on a passed ball and scored on Eddie Ferris’ single to give Pittsfield a 1-0 lead in the top of the third.

Westfield came back and scored a run in the bottom of the inning, and the teams stayed tied until darkness fell.

Cam Hillard went 6 and two-thirds innings on the mound for PIttsfield, striking out seven and not allowing an earned run.

Ferris finished the seventh inning and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth to keep the game tied.

13U Babe Ruth

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Ryan Aldrich went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs Wednesday to lead the Westfield Babe Ruth All-Stars to an 11-5 win over Pittsfield in the Western Massachusetts State Tournament at Deming Park.

Westfield broke a 1-1 tie with five runs in the top of the fifth and tacked on five more in the top of the sixth to go ahead, 11-5, in sweeping the tournament, 11-1.

Westfield won the teams’ first meeting, 5-4, on Monday at Bullens Field.

Despite the loss, PIttsfield moves on to the New England Regional Tournament next week. Westfield is the host for the regional; Pittsfield will take the Western Mass seed into the event, which gets underway on July 19.

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Wahconah Park Grandstand Cost Halved to $15M

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:23PM / Thursday, January 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The price tag for Wahconah Park's new grandstand has been cut in half, and planners are looking at a "less is more" approach that is sustainable for the future.

In 2023, the park's restoration committee recommended a $30.2 million overhaul of the historic grandstand that was condemned the previous year. Now, the city is considering an approximately $15 million, smaller design within the same footprint, along with a staged approach that allows baseball to be played before the project is complete.

"There's some real, practical changes that we're making, which we think will still meet the spirit and intent of what we're trying to do but also recognizing that, hey, you know, we've got to maintain this thing into the future, and it's got to be designed and constructed in such a way that we can do that,"
Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said.

The Historical Commission OKed the demolition of the grandstand on Monday. The plan is to demolish it in April and immediately make provisions to allow baseball on-site. The Pittsfield Suns will be back at the park this season after a two-year hiatus because of the grandstand.

There is no guarantee that the new grandstand will start to materialize in 2026, but the team is working swiftly to meet timelines.

McGrath described the 2023 proposal as an "all-in" design that met the robust needs of baseball players and the wider city. With some scaling down, material changes, and alterations to seating, it was shaved down to half of the original cost estimate.

A fair portion of the overall cost relates to site work, as the floodplain property is prone to flooding. The original civil engineer was not performing to expectations, and SK Design was brought in to take over the job.