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Williamstown Cal Ripken Teams Compete in Vt. Tourney
03:08PM / Thursday, July 02, 2015
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BENNINGTON, Vt. -- Last weekend, Bennington hosted a tournament for 8-and-under baseball teams.
 
Williamstown Cal Ripken sent two teams to compete with neighboring North Adams, Bennington and Manchester, Vt.
 
The first two days saw each team play the other four, with the top four advancing to the playoffs. This was the second tournament this year for the Williamstown A team, coming off a successful trip a week earlier to Hoosick Falls where they placed first. It was the first for Williamstown B.
 
Friday was a mixed day for Williamstown, as was to be expected as their two teams faced off against each other, with Williamstown A beating B. Williamstown B lost their next two games and faced Manchester (1-2, with one game remaining against Williamstown A), needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
 
The start of the game looked to be a repeat of earlier outings as Manchester scored five runs in the top of the first, however, this time Williamstown B responded back with four to keep the game close.
 
The score stayed close through the next few innings, with Williamstown B nursing a small lead after five. In the top of the sixth, Lucas Hamilton ended the inning with a crucial out at second base, but not before Manchester took a one run lead.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Tre Harpin led off with a catcher's interference, followed by a single by Will Igoe and a force out a third off the bat of Evan Bleu. The first pitch to Jameson Bayliss went hard to left field for a double, scoring Igoe for the tying run. Liam Noyes then got the job done with a hit back to the pitcher scoring Bleu for the winning run.
 
Meanwhile Williamstown A lost a heartbreaker to Bennington, with the game tied after regulation, no score in the six, and then putting up three in the top of the eighth only to give up four in the bottom.
 
Williamstown A then beat North Adams and Manchester to claim the two seed to undefeated Bennington. The other three teams (Manchester, North Adams, and Williamstown B) not only all had one win apiece, but each beat one and lost to one of the other.
 
This circle of decisions forced the tournament to the third tiebreaker to determine which team would be odd one out; Williamstown B lost out on points allowed, giving up four more runs than Manchester.
 
Williamstown A won its rematch with Manchester while Bennington won theirs with North Adams, resulting in the teams meeting again in the championship. For the third time this summer the two teams battled it out in a close game. Up two after three innings, Williamstown gave up four in the fourth, and that was all Bennington needed to hold on and win, 4-3.
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