Bedford Babe Ruth Hosts Eastern Massachusetts U10 & U12 State Softball Tournament

July 2, 2016
An exciting moment - Image (c) 2016 all rights reserved
An exciting moment – Image (c) 2016 all rights reserved

Submitted by Patty Carluccio, Paul Schuman and Kristin Rossi

A strong swing by Ellie Mitchell in a U12 tournament game - Image (c) John Mitchell, 2016 all rights reserved
A strong swing by Ellie Mitchell in a U12 tournament game – Image (c) John Mitchell, 2016 all rights reserved

Bedford Babe Ruth softball players continue to be a force to be reckoned with!  This group of strong, competitive young ladies competed last weekend in what was for many their second Eastern Massachusetts State Tournament, this time hosted at home in Bedford.

On June 24-26, Bedford Babe Ruth Baseball and Softball hosted the Eastern Massachusetts U10 & U12 Softball tournament. Twenty-two games were played over 3 days with participants from around Eastern Massachusetts.  Bedford teams were comprised of the Majors Spring League All Stars (10 and 11 year old girls) and Senior League spring players (11, 12 and 13 year old girls).  Bedford played very well amongst the tough competition.  The winners were U10 Burlington and U12 Raynham who will move on to the Regional Competition in a few weeks.  Unfortunately neither Bedford team made the regional tournament in NH after playing some hard fought games.

The tournament was a great experience and tons of fun for all involved.  Bedford DPW prepped the fields into excellent condition before the tournament began.  Dozens of Bedford Babe Ruth volunteers ensured that all was taken care of from prepping fields between games, score keeping, and general support throughout the weekend.  Concessions were handled by volunteers from the Bedford Boy Scouts and POMS.  Participants from all of the visiting teams were extremely complimentary of Bedford’s beautiful fields and town center complex.   The weekend was very well received in large part due to the great competition along with the convenience of Bedford’s fields complex and amenities.

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U12 Game Highlights

Bedford-U12-Babe-Ruth-Tournament-Team-2016
The U-12 2016 team photo – Image (c) 2016 all rights reserved

The U12 Bedford team earned the respect of all of their competitors.  Bedford played two very close ball games against a strong Revere team, the eventual second place team and Regional qualifier.

During pool play, Bedford played hard but came out just short in both games.  Sydney Daniels pitched 4 strong innings giving up only 5 runs and striking out 4 in the first contest against Revere.  Ava Venuti had a stellar game at second base contributing 5 of the outs.  Maggie Carluccio and Ellie Mitchell, team catchers, showed what catchers can do with strong performances all weekend.  Top hitters during pool play were Bella Fernald (4 for 5 scoring 2 runs), Ellie Mitchell (3 for 5 scoring 2 runs and driving in 1), Amber Hurley (1 for 2 scoring 2 runs), and Leila Heller (2 for 6 scoring 2 runs).

The single elimination game against Revere went into the bottom of the 6th inning with Bedford 2 and Revere 2.  Revere scored the walk-off winning run in the bottom of the 6th.  It was a very tough loss.  Gianna Mici had a strong performance on the mound throwing a 3 hitter and giving up 3 unearned runs.  Mici also struck out 9 hitters in six innings.  Isabella Fernald led Bedford in hitting going 2 for 2 with a home run.  Isabella’s game tying home run in the top half of the fourth inning brought Marina Greaney home from first base and made even some of the fans sitting on the outfield hill dive out of the way as the ball nearly hit them!  Bedford also showed some talented fielding as Narineh Gevorkian caught a fly ball in center field, Cassidy Schuman made two diving plays at second base and Jillian Mici made several putouts at first base.

Manager Paul Schuman was extremely proud of all of the girls. After the tough final loss to Revere Paul said, “This was a great game that neither team deserved to lose.  I could not be more proud of how tough our girls fought for this win.  The girls never gave up and played very competitive softball for 6 complete innings.  These girls can leave the tournament knowing they can hang with anyone in the State!”

  • Players:  Maggie Carluccio, Sydney Daniels, Bella Fernald, Narineh Gevorkian, Marina Greaney, Leila Heller, Amber Hurley, Gianna Mici, Jillian Mici, Ellie Mitchell, Cassidy Schuman, Ava Venuti. 
  • Manager, Paul Schuman
  • Coaches, Frank Baudanza, Christine Fernald and John Mici

U10 Game Highlights

Bedford's U10 Babe Ruth Softball team - Courtesy image (c) 2016 all rights reserved
Bedford’s U10 Babe Ruth Softball team – Courtesy image (c) 2016 all rights reserved

The U10 girls earned the number two seed after their strong performance in pool play.  Bedford earned a tough win against Raynham in game one then followed it up with another win in a game that started just thirty minutes later against Plymouth.  Strong performances during pool play were performed by Bedford’s pitchers, Kaylee Grace, Nicole Steele, and Lindsey Steele and catcher’s Laney Mead and Sydney Poor.  Gianna Missiti also made some key defensive plays in the field.

The semi-final game was a rematch of game one for Bedford.  The two teams were well matched and the game went back and forth throughout.  Bedford tied the game in the fifth inning 8-8 before Raynham got a couple of runs across in the sixth that the Bedford offense had no answer for.  Pitcher Kaylee Grace played a great game with 11 strikeouts and the team received some much needed offense from Sydney Cox including an impressive home run.

 

Coach Kristin Rossi said, “I am really proud of these girls.  They lost a tough game in the semi-finals but came back strong and tied it up in the fifth inning.  Every single one of them contributed this weekend and all had a great tournament experience in their own hometown.  They are emotional because they really wanted to win and that is a good thing for Bedford Softball.  The future is bright!”

  • Players:  Maya Billings, Sydney Cox, Danielle DiGangi, Kaylee Grace, Caitlin Lembo, Emma Limerick, Kate Marino, Laney Mead, Gianna Missiti, Sydney Poor, Coco Steele, Lulu Steele, Mia Woolums
  • Manager:  Kristin Rossi
  • Coaches:  Mike Cox, Dave DiGangi, and Chris Grace

Bedford Babe Ruth’s Softball program continues to grow with strong players and dedicated volunteer coaches.  The girls are having a lot of fun, making great friends and are strong competitors.  Most of the tournament players are playing in Babe Ruth’s summer leagues so stop by and watch some great softball.  You won’t be disappointed!!

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