Tri-Town, Bethlehem again find themselves atop Tri-State League

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copyright Kevin Roberts Rep-American 7/3/24

The Bethlehem Plowboys and Tri-Town Trojans have been the last two teams standing in the Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League in each of the past two seasons. The Trojans won both World Series for the second and third parts of a three-peat. The Plowboys are undefeated so far this season (12-0) and are hoping for a different result in the World Series this time around.

“I think it’s going to be a competitive race again this season, but we’re here for it,” Bethlehem manager Rich Revere said. “We’re here for the long run. We want the championship. We want that trophy.” The Plowboys have scored the most runs (111) and given up the second-fewest (27). Bethlehem has strong pitching in Tyler Boisvert, Keegan Daigle and Jesse Darcy. Kyle Banche, Brett Wilkes and Austin Brown can also pitch. The staff begins with the right-hander Boisvert. “Ty did what Ty does. Ty is the ace for a reason. Never a doubt with Ty,” Revere said after Boisvert tossed a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 2-0 win over the Wolcott Scrappers on June 18. “I know when I hand him the ball, he’s going to go out there, he’s going to give me his all, and he’s going to pitch well.”

Offensively, the Plowboys are paced by reigning league MVP Greg Campbell. Campbell has plenty of support with Isaiah Johnson, Joe Rupe, Nate Cormier, Jon Wilson, Jesse Swartout, Ricky Descoteaux and Jon Conlon, just to name a few. Bethlehem has a big roster, and many of those players can swing the bat. “People see the success we have, and they want to be here,” Revere said. “That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to win some ball games, and they’re here to help us.” Bethlehem’s offense has gotten the attention of Tri-Town player/manager Danny McCarty, who wants to see more consistency from his offense. “If we want to be there again this year in the championship, we’ve got to start hitting better, that’s for sure,” McCarty said. “Bethlehem’s showing that they’re an offensive powerhouse.”

The Trojans (11-2) have scored the second-most runs in the league (103) and yielded the least (21). McCarty pointed out that 44 of those runs came in 22-0 wins against the Torrington Thunder and Amenia Monarchs. There was also a 13-2 win over the CT Sliders in the season opener for the Trojans. Offensively, the producers have included McCarty, Willy Yahn, Austin Swanson and Jon McNelis. Swanson and McNelis both homered in a 4-1 win over the Valley Kraken on June 27 in New Milford. Tri-Town has had issues scoring in some games. The Trojans put up three runs against the Valley Ducks (3-2 win on July 1), four against the Burlington Hunters (5-4 loss on June 20), two against the Naugatuck Scorpions (2-0 win on June 18), three against the Bethlehem Plowboys (3-2 loss on May 30) and one against the Kraken in their first meeting (1-0 win on June 8). McCarty wants to see less strikeouts and flyouts from his team. “I just think the consistency of our bats has been hurting us right now. Obviously, our pitching is still there,” McCarty said. Tri-Town is led on the mound by Miles Scribner and Bobby Chatfield. The Trojans have five shutouts on the season.

Burlington (10-2 and on a six-game winning streak) grabbed a huge win when it defeated Tri-Town, 5-4, on June 20. “You don’t see Burlington striking out a lot, and they had our number last game,” McCarty said. “They outplayed us, and they beat us, but you can’t win a game with three hits.” The Hunters had scored 95 runs through 11 games, good for third-best in the league. “We’ve really done a good job at the plate this year. Everyone on the team is hitting over .300, which is pretty impressive,” said Burlington player/manager Andrew Bunger. “Six guys are hitting over .400.” In particular, Bunger pointed out the efforts of Josue “Sway” Lopez, Tommaso Tollis, Chad Lavelle and George Zaruba. The Hunters entered Tuesday with eight home runs and 27 doubles on the season. On the mound, Burlington has relied on Ty Morin, Taylor Donofrio and Tim Krol.

Burlington was excited about its win over Tri-Town. “We never seem to put together a complete defensive game against them, but a few weeks ago we made all the plays,” Bunger said. “Chad Lavelle had two amazing diving stops at third base. “We have all the respect for those guys. Danny runs an amazing group of guys. They can all hit, they have some of the best arms in the league. It was a big win to get over that hump.” Bunger still sees Bethlehem and Tri-Town as the teams to beat. “Both are just solid up and down the roster,” Bunger said. “They both hit, both have some of the best pitching in the league, and they both make all the plays in the field.”

That doesn’t mean Burlington is satisfied with reaching the semifinal round again like it did last year. The Hunters would love to get to the World Series, but they know they will likely have to knock off either the Plowboys or Trojans to do so.