Both Concord and Brattleboro needed to get their bats going after getting shut out in their openers. Both teams did, but Concord’s did more.
Will Simms pitched another gem, Finn Gfroerer had an RBI single, Tyler Peterson drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and Concord Little League staved off elimination at the New England Region Tournament with a 2-0 victory over Brattleboro, Vt., on Sunday in Bristol, Conn.
Concord will play Middleborough, Mass., on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Concord only had two hits in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Middleborough, while Brattleboro had no hits against Bangor in a 3-0 loss, but both teams got their bat on the ball in the first inning Sunday.
Brattleboro’s Ryan Peloso (1-for-1, two walks; five strikeouts, four walks, two runs, three hits allowed in four innings pitched) singled in the top of the first and Concord’s Drew Mercier (2-for-3, run) singled in the bottom of the opening frame, although it wasn’t until the fourth inning when any runs crossed the plate.
Mercier led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, followed by a Nolan Walsh walk. With two on and one out, Gfroerer singled a hard grounder to right field, bringing Mercier home for a 1-0 lead.
Walsh scored on the next at bat when Tyler Peterson hit a sacrifice fly to right to make it 2-0.
Brattleboro’s Briar Cutting singled in the top of the fifth and Simms walked Senji Kimura and Peloso to load the bases, but that was as close as Vermont would get to scoring a run, with Simms forcing a fly out to center to end the inning.
Facing Peloso – Vermont’s top hitter – Concord head coach Jon Connor trusted Simms to pitch to Peloso rather than intentionally walk him.
“Will is a guy that we’ve trusted all year long,” Connor said. “He’s been in big spots and he’s come through for us. He’s a kid I trust in big situations. I just told him (during the mound visit) to be careful, but we’ll take our chances (pitching to Peloso).”
Simms went 5⅓ innings on the mound, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out five before reaching the maximum pitch count.
Walsh was on the hill for the final two outs to earn the save.
Strong pitching and clean fielding has been the common thread between all three games in the New England Region Tournament thus far.
Bangor’s Jacob Harvey struck out 14 in 5 1/3 innings in a 3-0 no-hitter over Vermont, while Kimura fanned 12 batters in the loss. Henry Thresher struck out 13 in a losing effort to Middleborough, while Jayden Murphy struck out nine in the victory.
There has only been error committed between the three New England games (on the Concord infield in the victory over Vermont).
Despite pitching and fielding being the highlight, Concord showed improvement at the plate on Sunday, connecting for three hits, an improvement over the two the Granite State champs had against Massachusetts.
“We made some loud outs today,” Connor said. “We definitely put our bat on the ball better today. The (pitchers) we’re facing are good, but we’re going to keep grind and keep working but its good to see them put the bat on the ball.”
Concord has two days of rest before Wednesday’s game and a potential championship game on Thursday. You can be sure the team will be spending some time at the batting cages in addition to practice time alloted for each team.
“We will definitely be watching the Maine-Mass game and see who drops that one and who the next opponent will be,” Connor said. “All of the games have been tremendous down here. It’s good to come out on the other side of the scoreboard this time.”
At press time:
Bangor defeats Middleboro, 10-4