Ben Ruddock gave up one run over seven innings and David White hit a bases-loaded double as part of a five-run second inning to help Teddy Bear Pools earn a 7-1 win over Wilbraham Funeral Home in a Tri-County League baseball game Monday night at Spec Pond in Wilbraham.
Teddy Bear scored four times with two outs in the second inning to support Ruddock, who did not give up a run until the sixth. The former Frontier Regional School hurler struck out seven and allowed just five hits and one walk in the complete-game victory. He also drew praise from his skipper afterwards.
“Ben Ruddock has pitched as well as any pitcher I’ve seen in this league this year,” Teddy Bear manager Harlan Bean said. “He was dynamite. He dealt with a tough strike zone but kept his cool. He was dealing.”
The Pool Men (8-4-1) opened the scoring with five runs in the second inning, helped out by a pair of errors, as Liam Datres de la Blotier and Drew Sadowski each led off the inning by reaching on miscues. Gabe Seaver then drove in a run with a groundout.
With two outs, Billy Barrington walked and Brad Bean hit an RBI single. Tom Malooly then singled to load the bases, and David White cleared the bases by crushing a pitch deep to the left-center-field gap for a three-run double.
“David’s swinging a hot bat for us,” Bean said. “His hitting has been very timely.”
White finished with two doubles and three RBIs. Sadowski belted a third-inning solo home, and Bean finished with two hits.
Harrison Paige struck out seven and walked two in six innings in the loss. Alex Lafayette singled and drove in the only Wilbraham (6-3) run.
Teddy Bear heads to Somers, Conn., Thursday at 5:45 to take on Dream Bats.
Greenfield 13, Ludlow 4 — Owen Phelps and Tyler Townsley each had three hits and three RBIs and Greenfield Post 81 improved to 11-0 with a 13-4 win over Ludlow Post 52 in an American Legion Baseball Junior Division game Monday night at Veterans Memorial Field in Greenfield.
Townsley tripled as part of his big day and Ben Arnold had three hits and two RBIs. Tionne Brown and Adam Hallenbeck each had two hits for Post 81. Colin Cloutier doubled.
Kyle Spencer struck out three in four innings to earn the victory. Eliot Mousseau struck out a pair in two innings of scoreless relief, and Tyler Miner struck out two in a scoreless seventh.
Greenfield heads to Spec Pond in Wilbraham today to take on second-place Wilbraham at 5:45.
Frontier 4, Wilbraham 1 — Matthew Gardner went the distance and struck out eight Monday night to lead Greg’s Auto Body/Polish American Citizens Club (Frontier) to a 4-1 win over Wilbraham in a NEYSA Sandy Koufax Baseball League Monday night at Headmaster’s Field on the campus of Deerfield Academy.
Corbin Blight continued his hot hitting with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored, and Ito McMillan singled, doubled, drove in a pair of runs and scored once. Shawn Telega, Bryan Baumann, Donovan Hoffman and Garrett DeForest each added a hit.
Greg’s/PACC improved to 7-4 with the victory and returns to Headmaster’s Field this evening at 5:45 to take on East Longmeadow.