Westfield 10-Year-Olds Top Pittsfield in Sectional

By Leland BarnesiBerkshires.com Sports
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hunter Werman threw four innings of shutout baseball as the Westfield 10-year-old Litte League All-Stars defeated Pittsfield, 9-5, in the Section 1 Tournament on Thursday.
 
In his strong outing, Werman recorded eight strikeouts.
 
Pittsfield used six different pitchers in the loss.
 
“We really just wanted to test our arms tonight,  and we learned a lot from what we called a 20/20 pitcher,” Pittsfield coach Matt Stracuzzi said.
 
“This means we put a new pitcher in every 20 pitches just to get to see how they perform and I was not disappointed despite the loss.”
 
Caleb Tierney of Pittsfield came up big offensive. He recorded a key RBI single in the fifth to spark his team’s energy late in the game.
 
Werman, who pitched 68 total pitches, led his team through the deeps of the game getting out of bases loaded trouble.
 
The Westfield crowd really came out to support their 10u on Thursday.
 
Meanwhile, Pittsfield had a very strong crowd as well. The players could feel both sides' energy and it propelled a strong first round game.
 
Colton Rowe had a single, double, and a triple as well as recording four runs had the bat for Westfield.
 
For Pittsfield, the production came with good at bats at the plate drawing full count walks late in the game.
 
“I’m not happy with the result but I am pleased with how the team responded late in the game,” Stracuzzi said.
 
“Being down 9-0 did not discourage the kids at all, they came out to play and just came up short. Not much we can do about it now, we just need to focus on our game on Friday.”
 
Despite this loss for Pittsfield in a double elimination tournament it has a chance to survive in a losers bracket. That road begins at home on Friday at 5:30 back at Deming Park.
 
On the flip side, Westfield continues in the winner’s bracket on Friday.
 

 

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Lenco Celebrates $5M in Capital Investments

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Executive Vice President Lenny Light says it's not the equipment but the staff that gives Lenco its competitive advantage. 
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Lenco Armored Vehicles has embarked on a $5 million capital investment project for faster, better manufacturing. 
 
A ribbon was cut on Monday in front of the company's new Trumpf TruLaser 3080, a machine designed to cut extra-large sheets of metal. This will increase the efficiency of building armored tactical vehicles, such as the BearCat, by about 40 percent. 
 
Executive Vice President Lenny Light recalled the Lenco's beginnings in 1981, when it operated out of 3,000 square feet on Merrill Road with 15 employees.  Today, Lenco has 170,000 square feet of manufacturing space and nearly 150 employees. 
 
"The work that we do here in Pittsfield contributes to millions of dollars being put back into our local economy. We're the largest commercial armored rescue vehicle manufacturer in the United States. We're one of the most respected brands locally. We also now own the largest fiber laser in the United States. It's the only one of its kind in the Northeast," he said, motioning to the massive, modern machinery. 
 
"But the equipment that we have is not our competitive advantage — our welders, our forklifts, our cranes — any company can buy this same exact equipment." 
 
Rather than the equipment, he said, it's the staff who shows up every day with a can-do attitude that gives Lenco its competitive advantage. 
 
Planning for the industrial cutter began 18 months ago, when the company needed to decide if it was the right equipment for the future. Trumpf, named for its founder, is a German-headquartered global manufacturer of high-end metal processing (computer numerical control) machines, including laser technology. The TruLaser 3080 uses a high-intensity laser beam to cut through metals with speed and accuracy.
 
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