Adams Police Goes 20-0 in Winning League Title
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Cooper O’Neill went 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBIs at the plate and struck out four on the mound Wednesday as the Police beat the Lions Club, 14-1, to complete a 2-0 sweep in the league’s championship series.
The win completed a 20-0 spring for the Police, which outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 52-6 in four playoff wins.
“I had 11 of them [last year], and they all came back,” coach Stephen Albareda said. “We drafted two of the new 9-year-olds, and they fit in perfectly. It was a full team contribution up and down the order.
“We fought to a 9-10 record [last year]. We got beat in a good playoff game, a Game 3. And they just love baseball, and knew we’d be back.”
After winning the first game of the title round, 8-1, on Monday, the Police wasted no time taking control in Wednesday’s Game 2, scoring six times in the top of the first inning.
O’Neill hit a two-run single to center field to make it 2-0, and Dan Collins drove in a run in the first-inning rally.
The Lions got a run back in the bottom of the inning on Colton Braman’s RBI single.
But O’Neill closed the door from there, getting a groundout to shortstop Lador Lawson and a strikeout to leave a runner on base and keep it a 6-1 lead.
The Police then put the game away with an eight-run second inning.
Parker Sullivan, Avry Decker and Dan Collins each doubled in the rally.
O’Neill shut down the Lions from there, following up a 15-strikeout performance by Lawson in Monday’s opener by holding the opposition to just two-hits in Wednesday’s four-inning win.
“They’re both fantastic,” Albareda said. “They both throw strikes. Our catcher is fantastic. Our defense is fantastic. We just teach them to throw strikes and rely on our defense.”
Colton Braman and Camden Murphy handled the pitching for Lions, combining to strike out five.
With the “house league” season in the books, Adams-Cheshire turns its attention to next week’s Don Gleason District 1 Tournament. Adams’ Beaver Bard Field will see squads from Dalton-Hinsdale, Great Barrington and Pittsfield come to town starting on Tuesday for 10-year-old and 12-year-old All-Star tournaments.
Albareda feels good about Adams-Cheshire’s chances of representing well in front of the home crowd.
“I’ve got four guys with me right now who can all play, Lions has some guys, Bedard has some guys, [Adams Community] Bank has some guys,” he said. “I feel really good about it. We’ve got some arms, and we’re going to be ready to play.”
