Pittsfield Little League 10-Year-Olds Survive in Sectional
PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Luca Bassi struck out four and allowed four hits in four innings Friday to lead the Pittsfield Little League 10-year-old All-Stars to an 11-1 win over Longmeadow in an elimination game in the Section 1 Tournament at Deming Park.
Bassi helped his cause by going 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of RBIs as Pittsfield stayed alive to advance to Saturday’s game at Holden, a 3-2 loser against Westfield on Friday night.
Bassi left a runner on third base in three of four innings in Friday’s complete-game effort. He left the bases loaded in the top of the third and had runners on second and third with one out trying to preserve a 10-run lead in the fourth.
Each time, Pittsfield’s pitcher and flawless defense kept the visitors off the scoreboard.
“He just bore down and threw strikes and challenged tonight,” Pittsfield coach Matt Stracuzzi said. “He was really set and taking his time.
“If it was MLB, he would have been penalized [by the pitch clock], but I give him a lot of credit, because he took control. And I loved it. It’s just what we needed.”
A day after using six arms in a sectional-opening loss to Westfield, Pittsfield was able to ride Bassi from start to finish.
“I only had to use one pitcher,” Stracuzzi said. “And I was worried about what we were going to do. We had to win today, so I would have used everybody if I had to.
“But [Bassi] bailed us out. What a great job. Proud of him.”
Longmeadow did get one infield hit and scratched out a run in the top of the first.
But Pittsfield answered with a pair in the bottom of the inning.
Caleb Tierney worked a leadoff walk and moved up on a couple of pitches to the backstop before Will Knauth’s RBI single with one out to tie the game, 1-1. Knauth went to second on a walk to Tayo LaFramboise and third when Jax Stodden bunted his way aboard.
Bassi then drove in Knauth with a single down the third base line to give Pittsfield a one-run lead.
After Bassi struck out two in the game’s only 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, Pittsfield batted around in the bottom of the frame, scoring nine runs to take control for good.
A hit batter and three walks got the inning started.
Then Tierney, Henry Chevalier, LaFramboise, Bassi and P.J. Garner each delivered an RBI hit to keep the line moving.
“They put the bat on the ball,” Stracuzzi said. “They made their pitchers work, which I loved. And they didn’t swing at bad pitches. I was proud of them. It was a good game plan. The coaches did a good job.”
A night after falling behind 7-0 in the first two innings in an eventual 9-5 loss, Pittsfield overcame an early 1-0 deficit to keep its post-season hopes alive.
“I was a little bit [concerned],” Stracuzzi said of Longmeadow’s early lead. “But our mindset was a little bit different tonight. I think we were more prepared.
“Like I said last night, we only played two games prior to that [in the District 1 tournament]. So we haven’t really been challenged. Now, we’re starting to get challenged, and these kids are starting to pick up their game. That’s what we talked about: We need to play up to our level. And today we showed it.”
