Tri-State race gets tighter after Crushers hand Plowboys first loss

copyright Kevin Roberts Rep-Am 7/12/24

The race for the top seed in the Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League playoffs became more defined this past week, and it happened because of the Canton Crushers.

Bethlehem’s first loss of the season after 13 straight wins came against Canton. The Crushers stunned the Plowboys, 3-2, on Tuesday evening at Mills Pond Park in Canton. Bowdoin Field, Canton’s usual home, is unavailable after lightning struck a tree, which then crashed through the metal backstop fence. That happened during a Collinsville River Rats game on June 30. The River Rats play in the Connecticut North Men’s Senior Baseball League. Collinsville got in the first game of a doubleheader against the Marlborough A’s, but the second one was postponed.

In Tri-State, Bethlehem’s loss brought second place Tri-Town (13-2) to within a half-game of first place. The Plowboys are scheduled to visit the Trojans on Saturday for an 11 a.m. game at Community Field, but that is in doubt due to wet weather that is being forecasted. There’s a flood watch in effect for Litchfield County.

Bethlehem won its first 13 games, but Canton made sure the 14th victory without a loss didn’t happen. The Crushers rode the arm and bat of Matt Rose, who threw a complete game and had the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The win was Canton’s second straight against one of the league’s top teams. The Crushers downed the Burlington Hunters, 8-3, last Sunday at Lewis Mills High School. Burlington (12-3) fell out of a second place tie with Tri-Town. Canton had lost seven straight games before posting back-to-back big wins. The Crusher victories moved them up to ninth in the standings (4-10), which is important with regard to the playoffs. There are 12 teams in the league, but 11 make the playoffs, which begin with wildcard games on Tuesday, July 30. The bottom six seeds will be matched up against each other in those wildcard games.