Pittsfield Opens 10U Little League Tournament with a Win
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Caleb Tiereney and Braiden Coon each went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles Wednesday to lead the Pittsfield Little League 10U All-Stars to a 15-2 win over Adams-Cheshire in the first game of the District 1 Tournament at Deming Park.
Luca Bassi also doubled twice and threw three scoreless innings to earn the win in the five-inning game as the starter on the mound.
Pittsfield came out swinging and connecting.
Six of its first seven hitters reached base and five scored in the top of the first. The only one who did not was Terrell Davies, who was robbed of a sure hit by Adams-Cheshire shortstop Hudson Ziter’s play on a line drive.
Prestley Garner doubled in a run, and Tierney hit a two-run double during the rally, which left the designated visitors with a 5-0 lead.
“We’ve been doing that in the cage,” Pittsfield coach Matt Stracuzzi said. “I’m telling these guys, ‘Be aggressive. Swing at good pitches. Don’t get behind in the count.’ And tonight they did a good job of that. They really did.”
Adams-Cheshire starting pitcher Max Bialas stranded two runners in scoring position in a scoreless second inning. But Bassi and Tiereney each doubled in a three-run third to give Pittsfield an 8-0 lead.
Bialas, who walked no one in 3 and a third innings on the mound, left after throwing his 61st pitch in the fourth, but not before Bassi hit his second double to drive in a pair in a three-running that put Pittsfield up, 11-0.
Bassi, meanwhile, was dominant, allowing just two hits in his three innings and starting a double play on a line drive back to the mound in the bottom of the second.
Pittsfield got through the game – when its pitchers struck out just one – committing zero errors.
“[Adams-Cheshire] could have had some chances to score some runs,” Stracuzzi said. “But we made the plays. Like I told them: That’s what it takes to be a championship team. You’ve got to make your plays.”
Going to the bottom of the fourth, Adams-Cheshire faced the possibility of an early finish because of Pittsfield’s 11-run advantage.
But the designated-hosts rallied for two runs to keep the game going.
Ziter led off with a single and took second on a wild pitch. Abel Lysko’s ground ball moved Ziter to third, and Joey Milesi worked a walk to put runners at the corners.
Ziter and Milesi then executed a delayed double steal to give AC its first run. Milesi moved up on Ashton Akroman’s groundout and came home on Bialis’ single to left to make it 11-2, ensuring a fifth inning.
Pittsfield, which racked up 19 hits and got at least one hit from 11 of the 12 players in its lineup, put the game away with a four-run fifth.
Coon got things started with his second double of the game, and Jayden Klinger hit an RBI single in the rally.
Garner, who threw two innings of relief, delivered a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth to end it.
“For our first game – there are always jitters, and you’re not sure how good you are or good you can be, but that was a really good start,” Stracuzzi said. “I thought Luca [Bassi] settled us right into the game. He came out, he threw strikes. Three innings, 37 pitches, you can’t ask for anything better than that.”
Pittsfield continues the three-team tournament on Friday at 5:30 when it plays Dalton-Hinsdale. Adams-Cheshire plays its second and final pool play game on Sunday at 2 against DH.
Standings: 1. Pittsfield, 1-0; 2. Dalton-Hinsdale, 0-0; 3. Adams-Cheshire, 0-1.
