PITTSFIELD , Mass. — After a monster first inning for the Pittsfield Babe Ruth All-Stars 16-and-under team scoring 11 runs, it secured its spot in the next round of the Western Mass State Tournament with a 16-0 win over Southern Berkshire on Tuesday.

 

The four-inning, mercy rule win at Deming Park sends Pittsfield into a best-of-three championship series against Westfield that gets under way at Bullens Field on Wednesday.

 

Pittsfield had the Knights' number from the very first batter, gathering four walks in a row including a run scoring walk on a bases loaded opportunity for John Mullen.

 

Pitching was an undeniable struggle for the Knights, who used three pitchers to get through three innings and were not able to post a clean inning against Pittsfield.

 

One positive for the Knights was its plate discipline.

 

Cam Simmons and Caeden Thayer each had a hit for Southern Berkshire, which also picked up a walk from Tyler Giardina.

 

In a somewhat closer game than on paper the walks severely hurt the Knights.

 

Luke Ferguson went 2-for-2, and Mike Devylder was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs in a five-hit attack for Pittsfield.

 

On the mound Pittsfield (2-0), Ferguson and Mullen each threw two innings, combining to allow one walk while striking out three.

 

A one-out error and a walk in the top of the fourth gave Southern Berkshire a late threat to get on the scoreboard, but a strikeout from Mullen and a hard groundout ended the game.

 

Now Pittsfield turns its attention to perennial rival Westfield for a shot at the New England Regional.

 

"Going out there and winning 2 out of 3 games in a few days is going to drain you," Pittsfield coach Ben Stohr said.

 

Pittsfield beat Westfield, 4-0, in the first game of the tournament's round-robin phase on Saturday.

 

“We stayed in the game and hit a few too many pop ups in the first game that we fixed," Stohr said.