Plowboys seek return trip, and possible rematch, in World Series

copyright Kevin Roberts Republican-American July 3, 2023

The Bethlehem Plowboys were the last team to have a chance to deny the Tri-Town Trojans a repeat championship in 2022. Bethlehem was swept by Tri-Town in last year’s World Series, and the Plowboys want to get back to that best-of-three and finish the job.

“In 2021, we had just lost a bunch of the past generation, and so we were just kind of building, trying to put out a competitive roster,” said Bethlehem center fielder Jon Wilson following his team’s 13-4 road win over the Valley Ducks on Thursday evening at Wolcott High School. “In 2022, we have this competitive roster full of young guys. What do we need is to get us to the World Series, to put us into that top class with Tri-Town and with Amenia, and we got some more guys.” The next step is to win the World Series, but Bethlehem must get past Tri-Town, which is looking for a three-peat. Others are also looking to challenge the Trojans. They include the Burlington Hunters (9-4) and Amenia Monarchs (8-6). “We’re rounding into shape. We have a lot of moving parts on this team. We have 16-17 guys that are going to get 10 starts this year, just with the way we’re set up,” Wilson said. “We’ve got people living out of state, we have four guys who are engaged, right now. It’s just a lot of stuff all over the place.”

Wilson works for Northeastern University’s athletics department and can make it to some games. Ricky Descoteaux is a police officer who works varying shifts, and he is also engaged. Matt Mancini works until 5 p.m. at his job, which makes it difficult to get to 5:45 games sometimes. Chase Belisle, who belted a three-run home run in the win over Valley, and Jesse Swartout both play for two teams. Manager/player Rich Revere is on vacation in the outer banks of North Carolina. “The regular season is about the depth you can bring on a consistent basis,” Wilson said. “The reality for a lot of teams is we work nights, we work weekends. They’re engaged, they have kids.” Wilson complimented Tri-Town for having players who show up to play every day. The regular season, however, is the regular season, and all 10 times make the playoffs. When the playoffs come, the best players will show up, and it could be anyone’s game. “Tri-Town, they’re on top. We’ve got to get to them,” Wilson said. “Someone’s got to do it. I hope it’s us, but getting there … We’ve got a long way till we think about them.”

Like Tri-Town, Bethlehem is off until July 6. The Plowboys face the Monarchs at 7 p.m. at Doc Bartlett Field in Amenia.