PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- For the Pittsfield Babe Ruth All-Stars 14-year-old team, the number 15 is key.

 

Fifteen as in the number of players on the Pittsfield squad that Tuesday night advanced to the Babe Ruth World Series with a 12-2 win over Nipmuc at Deming Park.

 

“When they chant ‘One through 15,’ as a coach, that’s a dream. It’s not always like that,” Pittsfield coach Steve White said.

 

“That’s probably why they’re going to to the World Series, to be honest with you.”

 

The local all-stars punched their ticket to the Aug. 11-18 national tournament in Westfield by making short work of Nipmuc on Tuesday and winning the best-of-three district championship series, 2-0.

 

Christian Womble allowed five hits and one earned run in five innings of work, and Jake Harrington went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two run-scoring doubles. The second, to left-center field with two out in the bottom of the fifth, ended the game by plating Zach Zerbato and Jett Steinman to make it a 10-run margin after five innings of play.

 

Zerbato started the game-ending rally by dropping a single into left field. He moved up two batters later on a groundball out, and Steinman was hit by a pitch to put two men on for Harrington.

 

After he reached second and Steinman raced home, the Pittsfield dugout stormed the field to celebrate the win.

 

It was a victory that saw the team amass 13 hits in fewer than five innings. Ryan LaPierre went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Dylan Burke was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs.

 

Womble also helped his cause with a double and a run scored.

 

Pittsfield scored in each inning. It started, appropriately enough, in the first with Harrington’s RBI double to plate Nick Taylor.

 

In the field, meanwhile, Pittsfield committed just one error, a bad throw from the outfield on an attempt to catch a runner at first base.

 

“These kids are going to play hard,” White said. “They’re going to play aggressive. And we’re going to have to live with what they do and how they do it. And, you know what, I’m proud of every one of them.”

 

The 14-year-olds’ victory on Tuesday gave Pittsfield Babe Ruth Baseball a third team out of three age groups moving on to regional or World Series play. The 13-year-olds clinched their New England Regional spot on Monday. The 15-year-olds did not need to play a district tourney to reach New Englands in Lynn.

 

With Westfield hosting the 14-year-old World Series, the District 1 champ earns a spot in the big dance (host Westfield automatically is in the WS; and Nipmuc can still get in because, as runner-up, it gets District 1’s ticket to the New England Regional in Maine).

 

Pittsfield’s post-season success is fitting in a summer that saw the city lose coaching giant George “Buddy” Pellerin last week. The 14-year-old All-Stars, with no prompting from the coaching staff, dedicated their post-season run to Pellerin’s memory before the district tourney.

 

“Coach Pellerin was a mentor to me in many ways, not just baseball question-wise,” White said. “He always was there for me.

 

“I almost feel at times like Buddy’s with us. ...  Buddy’s touched everybody in this community. One way or another, if you’re in baseball for a long time, Coach Pellerin has been part of your life.”