BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro's 12-year-old All-Star baseball team hosted Rutland on Sunday and treated the home crowd to a thrilling 9-8 comeback victory.
Rutland righties David Franzoni and Greg Olsen kept Brattleboro to three runs through four innings and the hosts were down 8-3. Brattleboro would come back in the bottom of the fifth inning on RBI hits from Alex McClelland, Evan Wright, and Hayden Avard. McClelland and Wright each finished the day with three hits and two RBI. Brattleboro also got hits from John Satterfield, Sam Bogart, and Mason North. Bogart was stellar again in center field and was called in from the bullpen to stop a Rutland rally. He shut the door and tossed two innings to earn the win.
Rutland put up a strong fight and got clutch RBI hits from Dylan Thomas, Aaron LeFrancois, and Quinn Velde.
The two teams will rematch on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Brattleboro Little League Field in a play-in game to face top-seeded Bennington. The winner of the elimination game will take on Bennington in a best-of-three series to determine the District 2 champion.
The 12's fell to Bennington 9-4 on Friday. Brattleboro got strong performances from several players including Sam Bogart, who made a diving catch in center field and then threw three solid innings out of the bullpen. John Satterfield scored two runs and played steady defense at second base. Catcher Alex McClelland was on base in all three plate appearances and scored a run. Asher Jackson hit a single and scored as part of a three-run rally in the fifth inning. Harper Cutler and Riley Morse each had base hits.
Brattleboro's 10-year-olds lost to Bennington 10-1 on Saturday and then 11-0 on Sunday, with Game 3 scheduled to take place in Bennington on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Brattleboro got a single from Lucas LaMorder in the first inning and a base hit from Silas Golding in the fourth inning in the opener. Starting pitcher Carlos Torres struck out six across three innings in the loss. Brattleboro struggled to score runs, but got fine defensive plays from second baseman Briar Cutting, right fielder Landon Zinn, and catcher Charlie O'Connell.
In the second game, Briar Cutting lined a double down the third base line for Brattleboro. Carlos Torres and Matt Satterfield each hit singles in the fourth. Right fielder Landon Zinn, catcher Charlie O'Connell, and first baseman Torres were the defensive standouts.
On Sunday, the Brattleboro 11's zipped Rutland 10-0. Sean Cozza, who threw a two-hit shutout, mixed his pitches and was able to find a consistent rhythm against a tough Rutland team. He struck out five batters and was very economical with his pitch count.
Gabe Alexander led the Brattleboro offense with a two-run single in the second inning and a two-run double in the fifth. Catcher Nick Fortier added two hits and two runs scored. Brattleboro also got a long triple from Ryder Leary and base hits from Noah Gagne, Donnevhan Hall, and Mark Richards.
