Spence pitches, powers Chester over Keene

CHESTER - Chester Pirate southpaw Jamie Spence pitched an impressive seven innings, allowing only four hits and one run while fanning 8 to earn the win in his team's 11-2 triumph over the Keene Black Dawgs.  He was also the offensive star of the day, helping his own cause by blasting two home runs, a single, and driving in four.

The game was close early as neither team notched a hit until the fourth inning.  Chester then erupted for four runs and never looked back.  Chuck Harriman went 2-for-4 with a homer and 4 RBIs, and Scott Renfro scored twice and swiped three bases.

Keene's Matt Forrest went 2-for-2 with a triple and run scored.  Teammate Matt Gilbert made a great diving catch in center field.

Walpole 11, Newport 2

WALPOLE - Chris Ballou has earned a spot for himself on the Wild Blue pitching staff after going nine innings Saturday for the win against the Newport Polar Bears.  Ballou struck out 10 and gave up only two earned runs in the Wild Blue's 11-2 victory. It was a welcome relief for a team that has had bullpen struggles out of the gate this season.

Walpole bats also came back to life Saturday after a quiet day against Chester the previous week. Of note was Ballou, who helped his own cause by stroking three hits including a two-run bomb to deep left center. Catcher Adam Kobeski went 4-for-6 with two doubles and two RBIs. Matt Beam made his first appearance with the Wild Blue at first base and knocked off the rust with two hits and one RBI.

The Wild Blue looked solid in the field as well with an error-less performance behind Ballou's pitching, highlighted by an early-game circus catch by shortstop Gary Dennis as he ran back for a shallow left field blooper.  "Our pitching has started to come in, our defense is solid and we definitely have the bats," Dennis said. "When all three things come together, we chalk up a W."

Newport's Mike Batista had two hits and scored once.

Claremont 12, Putney 5 (11 innings)

DUMMERSTON - The Claremont Cardinals rallied to tie the game 5-5 in the 9th inning, then took advantage of a tired Putney Fossils defense to score 7 runs in the top of the 11th and go home with a 12-5 victory.

Claremont scored runs in the first and third innings to take a 2-1 lead. Putney pushed across two in the 5th on Steve Stanley's (3 hits) RBI single to go up 3-2.  Claremont tied it in the seventh when Andrew Sullivan doubled with two outs, then crossed the plate on consecutive singles by Bill Binder (2 hits) and Gerry Thompson (3-for-5, RBI). 

Things looked good for Putney when starting pitcher Richard Bissell (8 IP, 9 hits, walk, 2 earned runs, 9 K) drove in rookie Kyle Whitworth (2 hits, 2 stolen bases, 3 runs) with a double.  But Claremont tied it in the top of the 9th when Sullivan scored on a Josh Duford (3 hits, 2 runs, SB) single.  The teams traded runs in the 10th to make the score 5-5, then Claremont put it away for good with seven runs in the 11th.

Sullivan went all 11 innings on the mound for Claremont to earn the victory.  The big righty struck out 14.  Jon Ferraro and Nate Duford also had multiple hits for the Cards.  Putney's Steve Kapral went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.

This Sunday, Ludlow visits Putney at 10 AM in Dummerston, Saxtons River hosts Chester at 11 AM at Vermont Academy, Brattleboro travels to Walpole for an 11 AM game, and Keene meets Claremont at 11 AM at Barnes Park in Claremont.

May 6 CRVBL Results

Brattleboro 6, Ludlow 5

DUMMERSTON - A dramatic play at the plate ended Ludlow's comeback bid in the final frame of a Brattleboro River Rats 6-5 victory over the Ludlow Athletics.  Phil Chimbolo attempted to score on a short fly to right, but was tagged out on a very close play by Rats catcher Rob Eccleston.  Pitcher Greg Elbaum got the win and Kenny Sloat recorded the save.  Elbaum also led Brattleboro offensively going 2-for-2 with two RBIs.

Athletics veteran Howie Paul led his squad by going 2-for-4 with a double, run and RBI; Jamie Gallagher (run, RBI) and Rich Letourneau (RBI) also had two hits.

Chester 6, Walpole 1

CHESTER - The Chester CRUSH got back into the win column with a 6-1 drubbing of Walpole.  Starter Nick Wirkkala pitched an outstanding seven innings, allowing only four hits and one walk while fanning 10. Doug Roberts had two hits and drove in two while Ricky Bernard and Gary Graham smacked two hits apiece.

Walpole right fielder Doug Palmer went 3-for-3 with a double and scored the Wild Blue's only run and Brian Pickering was 3-for-4 with an RBI.  Ryan Kohler made a highlight reel diving stop at third base.

Newport 7, Claremont 5

CLAREMONT - The Newport Polar Bears are making a hard charge through the standings after taking advantage of one bad inning by the Cardinals to steal a 7-5 win in Claremont. The stands at Barnes Park were full for this first match-up between two fierce rivals.

For the first 6 innings, the game was all Claremont. The Cardinals chipped away at Newport starter Drew Davis to build a 4-0 lead. Claremont starting pitcher Mike Wells limited the Bears to only 3 base runners, one of whom was thrown out by left fielder Paul Felix while trying to stretch a single into two bases.

Wells tired in the 7th and had trouble finding the strike zone. Wells finally got two outs before he turned the ball over to Scott Christian, leaving the bases loaded with a 4-2 lead.  A wild pitch made it 4-3, then an error led to two more runs. Seven Newport runners crossed the plate in the inning and gave the visitors a 7-4 lead. The Cardinals scratched out another run to make it 7-5 in the 9th, but the rally fell short.

Brandon Stocker got the win in relief and Sean Lantas went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate for Newport.  Cardinals center fielder Josh Duford went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs and second baseman John Storti had two hits.

Putney 8, Saxtons River 7

DUMMERSTON - The Putney Fossils walked off with an 8-7 win over the Saxtons River Pirates.  The Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead with two runs in the 4th inning on consecutive RBI singles by Chris Lundberg and Alex Dross, then added another in the 5th.  Putney tied the game in the bottom of the 5th on Fossils first baseman Bruce O'Brien's 2-run single.

Saxtons River regained the lead with three more runs in the 6th, but Putney came right back on a 3-run double by Quinton Carr (3-for-4, double, run, 4 RBIs).  With the score knotted at seven in the bottom of the final frame, Carr singled to left to drive in Dave Guadalupe from second for the winning run.

Richard Bissell got the win in relief for the Fossils.  Keith Hazard doubled and scored twice.  Guadalupe made a sensational grab in the outfield, running down a deep shot to the power alley in left center.  Pirates sluggers Joey Parrott (run, RBI) and Andrew Robbins (2 runs) had two hits apiece.

All CRVBL games will be played on Saturday this week in honor of Mother's Day on Sunday.  Keene and Chester meet at GMUHS for an 11:00 AM game, while Newport travels to Walpole, also at 11:00.  In Dummerston, Saxtons River visits Brattleboro at 10:00 AM and Claremont takes on Putney at 1:00 PM.  For more information, visit www.crvbl.org.

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Sunday, May 6 Games

Ludlow at Brattleboro, 10 AM in Dummerston
Walpole at Chester, 11 AM at GMUHS in Chester
Newport at Claremont, 11 AM at Barnes Park in Claremont
Saxtons River at Putney, 1 PM in Dummerston
Saxtons River at Landmark College, 4 PM in Dummerston