Babe Ruth Baseball: Pittsfield 14s, 16s both improve to 2-0 at New England Regionals | Local Sports

AUGUSTA, Maine — Through 14 innings at the Babe Ruth Baseball New England Regional for 16-year-olds, no one scored off Pittsfield pitching.

Less than 24 hours after a perfect shutout against Rhode Island, the Pittsfield 16s got off to a second dominant start on the mound in a 5-0 win over host Augusta.

Saturday afternoon it was Cam Hillard’s turn to shine, as he threw six innings of one-hit work, striking out seven batters and walking four. His final frame was a 1-2-3 sixth inning, preserving Pittsfield’s 1-0 lead.

He battled Augusta’s River Fellus throughout, with the score remaining tied for two innings.

In the top of the fifth, Hillard was hit by a pitch as leadoff batter. Sam Glockner ran for him and was sacrificed to second by Goo Stannard. Sam Gyurjan then drew a walk. With runners on the corners, a passed ball scored Glockner to break the deadlock.

In the fifth inning, Hillard also hit a batter, but grounded out a double play to Connor Paronto at shortstop. Paronto threw to Stannard at second and the relay to John John Mullen at first to end the inning.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning that things started to get a little more comfortable for Pittsfield.

Augusta loaded the bases on two hits and an error with nobody out. Gyurjan drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder to third. Brendan Socie singled to keep the rally going and Eddie Ferris hit a two-run double to make it 5-0.

Hillard had a chance to play the game, but walked the first two batters he faced in the seventh inning, bringing the total to 98 pitches before manager Ben Stohr replaced Ferris.

Ferris struck out the first batter he faced and then helped turn a second inning-ending double play with Paronto to secure the win.

Pittsfield is 2-0, and so is Norwalk, Conn. Those two teams will meet in the pool finals on Sunday at 10 a.m.

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Pittsfield 000 010 4 — 5 3 0

Augusta 000 000 0 — 0 1 3

Pittsfield 14s defeat New Hampshire 5-4

NEWTOWN, Conn. — A seventh-inning run sent Pittsfield’s 14-year-olds through New Hampshire champion Keene to a bye at the New England Regional Saturday night.

Pittsfield has Sunday off after starting 2-0 at Connecticut and plays the winner of Sunday’s game between Keene and Central Vermont on Monday at 1 p.m.

If Keene wins, it will be looking for some revenge after Pittsfield snuck by it on Saturday. In the seventh inning of a 4-4 game, Sebastian Herrera hit a one-out single to left field. A ground out moved him to second with two outs before Justin Fields hit a clutch RBI single to center.

Keene put a runner on base against Herrera in the bottom of the seventh, but the Pittsfield reliever retired consecutive batters to end the game. Herrera threw only 1 1/3 innings, facing seven batters. He struck out four.

Brendan Merwin got the start and was outstanding, allowing one run on five hits in five innings. He struck out eight and gave up no hits. He left the field with a 4-1 lead, but Pittsfield ran into trouble in the sixth inning. Reliever Robbie Bazinet gave up two hits and hit a third to load the bases. Herrera came on in relief, but made two free throws to score runs before getting out of trouble with the score tied.

Pittsfield got an early lead, with Merwin leading off with a single. Eli Kristensen and Bazinet both also singled in the first inning, driving in three runs.

Bazinet was 2 for 3 with a double, a run and an RBI, while Gavin Maffuccio was 2 for 2 and scored a run in the fourth.

Pittsfield awaits its semifinal opponent, along with fellow 2-0 team Tri-County, Maine. Tri-County will play the winner of a Sunday quarterfinal at 10 a.m. Monday.

If Pittsfield wins Monday’s 1 p.m. game, it will play in the championship game at 4 p.m.

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Pittsfield 300 100 1 — 5 9 2

New Hampshire 010 003 0 — 4 5 2

Rhode Island 13s beat Pittsfield 20-4

WESTFIELD — A pair of big innings from North Providence-Smithfield powered Pittsfield to 13 runs Saturday at Bullens Field.

The Rhode Island champions scored nine times in the second inning, and after Pittsfield cut the lead to 10-4, they scored seven more in the fourth inning.

For Pittsfield, Kevin Sherman and Kydd Kearns both had two hits, while Bryce Hoff hit a two-run single in the third inning for four runs.

Pittsfield concludes pool play at the New England Regional on Sunday with a 1 p.m. matchup against Stamford, Conn. Both teams are winless and in the same bracket, so a Pittsfield win would likely extend the team’s stay in Westfield through the first games of bracket play on Monday.

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Rhode Island 190 73x x — 20 16 1

Pittsfield 004 00x x — 4 8 4