Pittsfield Little Leaguers Claim District 1 Crown
Pittsfield was every bit as good as expected in its first season since merging the city’s two Little League divisions.
But its coach was quick to point out that the tournament runners-up were far better than the final score indicated.
“Everything your coach said about you is spot on,” Pittsfield skipper Ty Perrault said during the postgame ceremony. “It was just a great effort. The positivity of the players and the coaches – I was just very impressed with it. I don’t know if I’ve seen that positive attitude carried all the way through.
“Dalton and Hinsdale are proud of you. I live in Hinsdale, and I’m proud of you.”
Of course, Perrault also loves his own team, which is back in the Section 1 tournament after falling to Adams-Cheshire, 2-1, in last year’s District 1 final.
This year, Pittsfield won all five of its games in the county tournament via the run rule.
They put away Thursday’s victory with an 11-run third inning that featured back-to-back homers from Weston Wigglesworth and Sawyer Layne.
After his team overcame a relatively slow start – just three runs in the first inning – Wigglesworth said the team is always in attack mode.
“It’s always the goal to jump on every team, no matter if its early or whenever it is in the game,” Wigglesworth said. “You always want to start hitting the ball and scoring runs. We did a good job this tournament.
“We’ve been putting a lot of runs on the board, so I knew we were gonna come around at some point in the game, and we definitely did that.”
Wigglesworth led off the game with a double and eventually scored on Jake Knauth’s two-run single. Knauth came home when Jeremiah Bullett grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Ressler then retired the side in order in the bottom of the first, setting the tone for the game.
He allowed just one base runner, on a hit-by-pitch in the second and struck out seven, including retiring the side in order in the third on strikes.
“He’s had a tough year because he hurt his [non-throwing] hand like five games into the year, so he wasn’t really able to hit much,” Perrault said of Ressler. “He kind of bunted all year. But he could throw, and he worked hard all year.
“We’re very confident when we put him on the mound. He does a great job.”
Pittsfield’s bats came alive in the second inning with six hits, including an RBI double by Ressler and a three-run bomb over the left field fence by Wigglesworth (3-for-3, five RBIs).
Pittsfield sent 16 batters to the plate in the third inning, when DH used three pitchers: starter Nate Dearborn and relievers Sully Duquette and Brayden Heath.
A solo homer by Layne (2-for-3) capped the rally after Wigglesorth’s two-run shot to make it 18-0.
Pittsfield averaged 18 runs per game on offense while allowing 1.4 runs per game. It ended three of its five games after three innings. Dalton-Hinsdale took Pittsfield to the fifth inning in pool play and the fourth inning in Wednesday’s Game 1 of the championship series.
“It was a long year after that loss to Adams,” Perrault said of the 2023 district final. “It’s good to be back. We combined leagues, so there were big expectations, obviously. Dalton-Hinsdale did a wonderful job. With a four-team league, they were competitive during inter-league play during the year and competitive in this.
“So, yeah, high expectations. But now we’re going to step it up a little bit.”
Pittsfield opens the four-team, double-elimination Section 1 tournament on Wednesday, July 17 at home against the winner of District 3.
