Facing one of the top pitchers in western Massachusetts, Greenfield Post 81 didn’t want to waste any time getting to Brendan Philbin Tuesday night.
The Longmeadow ace, fresh off an outstanding high school season, ran into a hot lineup in the bottom of the first inning, as host Greenfield pushed across all of its runs in the frame to pick up a 6-3 victory in the opening round of the American Legion Baseball Senior Division playoffs at Veterans Memorial Field.
Post 81 advanced in Bracket A, and the squad will now play top-seeded Northampton Post 28 (17-1) in tonight’s second round. That game will be played at Arcanum Field in Florence at 5:30 p.m.
Greenfield (11-8) scored all six of its runs in the top of the first against Philbin. The hosts batted around in the inning, with Ben Arnold driving in Danny Szafran for a quick 1-0 lead to start things. Zach Mooney, who walked, really put some early pressure on Longmeadow (9-9-1), as he pushed the lead to 2-0 when he pulled off a straight steal of home.
Kyle Spencer drew a bases loaded walk to make it 3-0, while Owen Macphee (sacrifice fly) and Eliot Mousseau (infield single) added RBIs. Mousseau came around on an error to stake Greenfield to the commanding 6-0 advantage.
“We were putting pressure on (Longmeadow) with a couple bunts in the first inning and some steals,” said Post 81 coach Kyle Phelps. “The story of our season has been our speed and we managed to jump on them.”
That was all the offense for Greenfield, as the hosts managed just four hits against Philbin — all coming in that uncharacteristic first frame.
On the mound, stalwart hurler Adam Hallenbeck made the early advantage stand up. The right-hander tossed six solid innings, striking out six while walking three to pick up the victory. Arnold came on to pitch the seventh and lock down the opening-round win.
“Hallenbeck did a great job again,” Phelps lauded. “His control was right there, just like it has been all season. And Mooney called a great game behind the plate.”
Longmeadow’s offense managed one run in the fourth and two in the seventh. Philbin wound up going the distance in the loss, striking out five and walking a pair.
Post 81 will now play a Northampton team that has rolled through the regular season. The two teams met just once, in the season-opener, where Greenfield lost a tight 4-3 game in nine innings.
“We played right with them so I think our team is confident,” said Phelps. “All these kids have played in big games before, so I expect them to be ready. But we can’t score in just one inning against the top teams like Northampton. We need some guys to step up and drive in big runs.”
Teddy Bear 16, Everest Vodka 14 — Despite trailing at one point, 12-6, Teddy Bear Pools never gave up Tuesday night.
The host Poolmen rallied back behind a 19-hit offensive barrage, scoring the go-ahead runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to a wild 16-14 win over E.I.T.C. Everest Vodka in a Tri-County League amateur baseball game at Herlihy Park in Whately.
Teddy Bear (7-9), which outhit Everest by a 19-15 margin, took the lead in the sixth when Brad Bean tripled and scored on a Liam Datres de la Blotier RBI single to take a 15-14 advantage. Tim Capuano tacked on an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to score Datres de la Blotier for the 16-14 lead.
Relief pitcher Tyler Charbonneau shut the door, tossing two innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win.
“The guys really showed some battle tonight,” offered Teddy Bear manager Harlan Bean. “They were down big and it wasn’t a pretty game by any means, but they came back and won it.”
Charbonneau led the offense with four hits and four RBI, while Brad Bean, Seth Leslie and Chris Williams (three RBI) all had three hits in the slugfest. Andrew Sadowski had a hit and two RBI, while Datres de la Blotier smacked two hits and three RBI while Capuano added a hit and drove in four runs.
Teddy Bear travels to play at Wilbraham Funeral Home on Friday night.