Concord Little League avenged losses in the New Hampshire District 2 tournament and the state championship, but finally ran into an opponent that was too strong to overcome.
Middleborough, Mass., defeated Concord for the second time in the New England Region Tournament with an 11-0 walk-off victory in five innings on Wednesday at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center in Bristol, Conn.
That loss is Concordโs second, officially ending the Granite Staters run in the modified double elimination tournament.
Massachusetts will play Bangor, Maine on Thursday at 5 p.m. for the New England crown and a berth at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Gavin Gillpatrick โย whose solo home run lifted the Massachusetts state champions to a 1-0 victory over Concord in the first round of the tourney โย tossed 10 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout, while also going 4-for-4 at the plate (double, four RBI, two runs) with a walk-off two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the fifth to put the 10-run mercy rule into effect.
Jayden Murphy (3-for-4, triple, double, two RBI, three runs) belted a home run over the left field wall in Middleboroughโs first at bat of the game for a quick 1-0 lead.
Mike Marzelli (3-for-3, double, three RBI, two runs) and Ayden Morris (1-for-3, RBI double) are in the top four of a formidable Mass. batting order along with Murphy and Gillpatrick.
โToday was a tough one,โ Concord head coach Jon Connor said. โIt was a tough one to swallow. We ran into a buzzsaw. Theyโre a solid team. Theyโre solid up and down the lineup. Itโs a testament to how good Henry Thresher was in that first one that he was able to strike out 13. Theyโve got big kids who can swing the bat.โย
Thresher and Finn Gfroerer had singles for Concord, while Wes Bailey reached on a walk.
Itโs certainly not the way Concord hoped to exit the tournament, but the 11 and 12 year-old Little League state champions had a remarkable run.
The club went 13-5, avenging a loss to Portsmouth to win District 2, a thrilling victory over Goffstown in the final game of a three-game series and made Concordโs first appearance at the New England Region Tournament since 1988.
Concord also did something that โ88 squad couldnโt achieve โย a victory.
Concord topped Brattleboro, Vt., 2-0, on Sunday.
The club also got to experience dorm life, playing on ESPN and competing in the sport the kids love with the best in the region.
โThe experience definitely outweighs the outcomes of the games,โ Concord head coach Jon Connor said. โThey decided they wanted to stay the last night (in Bristol). Theyโre in the pool now and theyโre having a blast and soaking it all in. Ten years from now they wonโt even remember the games. Theyโll remember the good times they had here. Iโm really proud of the group. They came together as a team. Big thank you to the Concord community as a whole for the support theyโve given us.โ