Holden Holds On, Tops Pittsfield in Sectional Opener
HOLDEN, Mass. – The Holden Little League 12-year-old All-Stars Tuesday built a four-run lead and held on for a 4-3 win over Pittsfield in the opening round of the Section 1 Tournament.
Ryder Froio hit a three-run homer for Pittsfield with two out in the top of the fifth inning, but Holden retired the next four hitters in order to end the game.
Pittsfield will play an elimination game on Wednesday at 5:30 at Deming Park against Leominster.
Holden advances in the winners’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament to meet Westfield, an 11-1 winner over Leominster in Tuesday’s opener.
Holden’s Andrew Surrette was dominant through four innings on Tuesday, allowing just one Pittsfield runner in the first trip through the 13-batter lineup.
Surrette, a southpaw, threw as hard as anyone Pittsfield saw in the district tournament and ended with five strikeouts against no walks through 4-plus innings of work. But Pittsfield coach Matt Mazzeo was happy with the way his team competed at the plate.
“We came here, we made contact, we got some hits,” Mazzeo said. “Ryder hit the three-home run to put us on the board. It was great.”
Pittsfield caught a break to start the fifth when leadoff man Mateo Herrera was hit by a pitch.
Shayne Clairmont then hit a chopper to the left side for his team’s first base hit of the game.
That ended the night for Surrette, as Holden turned to Cam Ginnity.
Pittsfield’s Will Nichols laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Herrera and Clairmont into scoring position and, with two out, Froio crushed a pitch to right field to clear the bases.
Ginnity got the next hitter to bounce back to the mound to keep it a one-run game and gave the ball to Bryce Makela with one out and nobody on in the sixth to close things out.
Holden got off to a fast start in the first inning, scoring a pair of runs to take the lead.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Colin Walsh, who delivered a two-run single with one out.
Another Holden hitter reached before Pittsfield starting pitcher Andrew Scalise closed the door with two fly ball outs.
A leadoff double by Holden’s Jacen Morales led to a run in the second to make it 3-0, and the home team added a run in the fourth after Walsh hit a leadoff single and eventually scored on a pitch that got to the backstop.
Scalise went four innings before Clairmont took over on the mound. Between them, they combined for four strikeouts against a pair of walks.
“Andrew [Scalise] pitched a phenomenal game,” Mazzeo said of Scalise. “He started off a little rough, and then he got his groove and was striking out kids. He did a great job. And then bringing in Shane [Clairmont] and throwing 13 pitches, that was good for us.
“I thought we were coming back. I really did.”
