Little League Advances in Winners Bracket

The team won against Norton in the Cal Ripken State Tournament at Fitz Field in Chelmsford on Saturday. Chelmsford finished an evenly matched game with a score of 4-1.

The tournament is named for the shortstop and third basemen for the Baltimore Orioles, Cal Ripken, Jr., who is very involved in making baseball an enjoyable sport for little league players of all ages and abilities.  The Eastern Mass division is ranked in the top five largest state tournaments in the country for participation.

Chelmsford, Norton, and eight other little league teams are competing in the double elimination tournament; the Eastern Mass portion is set to wrap up next weekend.  Chelmsford qualified for the Eastern Mass after winning their district tournament last week. If they win this division, they will move onto the New England round of the tournament.

The sunny weather on Saturday was perfect for baseball, and the 12YO team, lead by Coaches Phil McCabe, Gary Levesque, and Rich Bartleman played incredibly tight defense.

The first four innings of the game were relatively uneventful, aside from a few singles hit by Chelmsford and Norton players. No runs were scored until the fifth inning, and both pitchers, Chelmsford’s Joey Levesque and Norton’s Aiden McLaughlin both threw great games.

In the fifth inning, Chelmsford pulled off a series of plays to score a run, and move the game along.  With two outs against the team, Mitchell Smith knocked a single in the infield. Devin Filicano’s single allowed Smith to advance to second, sliding onto the plate. With the bases loaded, Josh Roberge blasted a line drive into centerfield, hitting Steven Sweeney home.

After the inning, Coach McCabe congratulated the players, and encouraged them to keep chipping away, and continue to play strong defense.

Norton responded to Chelmsford’s strong inning by stealing bases, and scoring a run. Levesque regained control of the game by striking a batter out, and Sweeney caught a pop fly, stifling Norton’s attempt to pull ahead.

With the game tied up in the last inning, Andrew Thayer led Chelmsford to pull off an exciting win. After smashing a double against the back fence, to hit Levesque home, he stole third base. Matt Vignola followed suit hitting another double into the far outfield. Thayer and Nick Bartleman each scored a run to secure the win for Chelmsford.

Coach Bartleman was thrilled with the team’s effort, saying that the boys have been playing together for years, and every single member of the team played an extraordinary game.

Chelmsford will continue tournament play one game at a time, with hopes to advance to the New England round of competition later this month.