Wednesday August 15, 2012

DUMMERSTON -- The Putney Fossils and the Brattleboro River Rats have a history of close, competitive games and Sunday was no exception. The Fossils avenged a 4-1 loss back in June with a 4-3 victory behind strong starting pitching from Travis "Magic" Watson.

Watson gave up two runs (one earned) in the first inning, but did not allow another in five innings of work, despite uncharacteristic wildness that resulted in two walks and three hit batsmen. Danny Lichtenfeld pitched the final four frames for the save.

Putney catcher Steve "Stanley Steamer" Stanley was the offensive star of the day, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles, and two RBIs. He finishes the regular season as the CRVBL batting champion with a very impressive average of .667. Sean O’Brien (RBI), Steve "Sticks" Kapral (two runs, two stolen bases), and Quinton Carr also had multiple hits.

Brattleboro player / coach Rob Eccleston crushed two doubles, while Caleb Record, Dan Trudeau, and Marty Vallender each had two hits. Shortstop Trudeau, first baseman Will Bissonette, and left fielder Abe Klein played great defense. Klein gunned down a potential run at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Keene 9, Saxtons River 8
(12 innings)

SAXTONS RIVER -- The Keene Black Dawgs jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the Saxtons River Pirates at Vermont Academy and appeared to be cruising along to an easy victory. But the Pirates slashed

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their way back into the game with three runs in the seventh inning, two in the eighth, and tied it up at 7-7 with two more in the ninth (after Keene had pushed across a single run in the top of the inning). The teams then exchanged runs in the 11th before Keene scored in the top of the 12th and hung on for the win.

Ironman Tim Santaw went the entire 12 innings for the Black Dawgs to earn the victory. He gave up 10 hits and only two earned runs while striking out six. He also went 3-for-5 at the plate and drove in a run.

Keene pounded out 17 hits led by Bruce Summers who had five base knocks including an RBI double and scored three runs, while Bryan Lantz, Seth McClean (double, two RBIs) and Marcus Harman had two hits apiece.

Pirates left fielder Josh Underwood had three hits including an RBI double. Andrew Robbins had two singles, scored twice, and drove in three and Chris Lundberg had two hits and an RBI.

Chester 8, Newport 2

CHESTER -- The Chester CRUSH wrapped up first place in the regular season with a victory over the Newport Polar Bears at Green Mountain Union High School. CRUSH hurlers Nick Wirkkala (6 IP, one run, one hit), Scott Renfro (2 IP, no hits), and Jamie Spence (no hits, one unearned run) combined for a one-hitter with Wirkkala taking home his sixth victory of the season.

Chuck Harriman went 3-for-3 with two RBIs while Wirkkala, Jesse Lane, and Eric "Louie" Anderson each had two hits.

Scott McNamara had the only hit for the Polar Bears.

The CRVBL playoff tournament starts Friday evening with games at Hadley Field (BFUHS) and Walpole, NH at 6:30 p.m., and Barnes Park (Claremont, NH) and Black River High School (Ludlow) at 7 p.m. Eight teams pair off in four best-of-three game series on Friday and Saturday. The four remaining teams will meet in two semi-finals on Sunday (11 a.m. at Walpole and Hadley Field), with the League championship game scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Walpole.

For the full playoff schedulevisit crvbl.org.