Bedford/Lexington Giants Capture Boys’ 13-15 Babe Ruth Championship

Submitted by Rick Wilson and Patty Carluccio

This year, the 13-15 year old Bedford boys combined with Lexington to form the Babe Ruth big diamond league.  The combined teams battled it out over the past few months which culminated in a championship game Saturday, June 20.

The Giants claimed the Babe Ruth title on Saturday afternoon by defeating the Red Sox in an epic 9 inning contest.  The team is headed by Rick Wilson (Lexington) and assistant coach, Steve Carluccio (Bedford).  MVP was Bedford’s very own, Matthew Carluccio.

Signs of the battle ahead began right from the start as the visiting Giants loaded the bases in the 1^st and were able to push across 2 runs behind the hitting of Max Deahr.  The Red Sox responded with one run in the bottom of the 1^st but Cam Wilson was able to escape danger by striking out the 2^nd and 3^rd outs.

A back in forth match found the teams tied at 5 apiece at the end of 3 innings.  The Red Sox erupted for 7 runs in the 4^th inning powered by timely hitting from the bottom of the order and capped by blasts from Dylan Steinkrauss, and Sean Sullivan.  Facing the strong arm of Madison Dina the prospects for the Giants were grim but with grit, determination, and some luck the Giants battled back to score 1 in the 5^th and then 4 more runs in the 6^th again behind the hitting of “Mad Max” Deahr.

Joey Rusnak came onto pitch for the Giants in the 5^th inning and was able to subdue the offense of the spirited Sox.  Down by 2 runs in the 7^th, the Giants clawed back to tie the game at 12 with Brendan Jones and Matt Harding scoring on some aggressive base running.  The bottom of the 7^th inning found the Sox with a runner on base who was thrown out at 1^st after a terrific catch and throw by the catcher Cam Wilson resulting in the double play.

The 8^th inning remained scoreless with the unflappable pitching efforts of Rusnak and  Sean Sullivan for the Red Sox.  The Giants got runners on base in the 9^th with Matthew Carluccio scoring the go-ahead run and Rusnick scoring to provide some cushion for the Giants to take a 2 run lead in the extra innings.  The Red Sox responded by putting their 1^st 2 batters on base but were stranded with fine catches by the Giants for the next 3 batters with the last out safely secured in the glove of right fielder Samedh Desai for a final score of 14-12.  This thrilling Babe Ruth title game will no doubt be talked about in sports circles in Bedford, Lexington and beyond for some years to come.