Tri-State Notes: Trojans would love to add another title
copyright Kevin Roberts 8/16/24 Rep-American
The Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League World Series features a third straight matchup between the Tri-Town Trojans and Bethlehem Plowboys.
Tri-Town is playing for its fourth straight championship and sixth overall. It’s something that makes veteran player/manager Danny McCarty beam with pride.
“This run to the championship means a lot, especially to do it with this group of guys. I mean to go for our sixth championship as a franchise is awesome. It shows that we’ve been doing it for a long time and I’ve been able to be a part of all of them as a coach/player,” McCarty said. “As a coach, it feels great because I’m putting a winning formula together and it feels great to see these guys want it really bad. As a player, it’s almost bittersweet because me and some of the other guys are nearing the end of our career. We have a bunch of “old heads” on the team.”
On the other side, Bethlehem manager Rich Revere took over the Plowboys in 2019. Bethlehem has built a formidable team in its own right, but has come up short in the last two World Series against Tri-Town. The Plowboys want that first championship since 2010 (they beat the Trojans that year), and they want it bad.
“Something that has never changed with the Plowboys is the commitment to winning over self. The guys on this roster, as they always have, want to win the World Series,” Revere said. “The championship is much more important to these guys than their individual stats, and that has always been the case”
Tri-Town has experience with knowing what it takes to win, but Bethlehem has also been learning along the way.
“In the past two years, the team has been really young, lacking experience in these big spots. Many of the guys that will play this weekend have been around for the last two postseason runs. They know what it takes to get here and what it will take to bring home the trophy,” Revere said. “With the experience in the last two World Series, there is a certain level of comfort among the roster that comes with playing in a series that will be full of big pitches, big at-bats, and big moments.”
McCarty and the Trojans see themselves as underdogs against the Plowboys, who won both meetings in the regular season.
“Bethlehem and Rich want it really bad this year and they’re playing great baseball,” McCarty said. “I’m sure many people in the league, fans included, want to see a new champion, but we have no problem embracing the role as a “heel”. I know my guys and Trojans faithful don’t want this winning tradition to end.”
Another championship would mean a lot to Tri-Town, but it wouldn’t mean any less to Bethlehem.
“Guys show up every summer and commit to winning baseball games. It has been that way for decades. This team is no different in that regard,” Revere said. “They take Plowboy baseball seriously, despite having busy lives with work and family (and for captain Greg Campbell, wedding planning). After falling in the World Series the previous two years, it would be really special to see all of that finally come together with a championship for this generation of Bethlehem Plowboys.”
The series begins tonight in Torrington. By the end of the weekend, the Tri-State champion will be revealed.
Tri-Town, Bethlehem set to meet again in Tri-State World Series
Copyright Kevin Roberts 8/15/24 Rep-American
Two teams very familiar with one another will step on diamonds in Torrington and Waterbury this weekend to determine the next Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League champion.
The top-seeded Bethlehem Plowboys and second-seeded Tri-Town Trojans meet in the best-of-three World Series for the third straight postseason.
Bethlehem has been the top team in the league all season, but Tri-Town is the three-time defending champion. The last two titles have come at the Plowboys’ expense.
“We just have to play more loose. In years’ past, I think we have gotten ourselves wound up and put pressure on ourselves because it is such a big set of games,” Plowboy manager Rich Revere said. “We have played loose and had fun all season, and it has led to a lot of wins.”
Despite being the three-time defending champions, Tri-Town veteran player/manager Danny McCarty said the Trojans see themselves as underdogs.
“We’re not opposed to this role because we did it in 2018 and 2021 and came away with championship wins (over the Terryville Black Sox),” McCarty said. “Winning this would be awesome for our old guys because who knows if it will be the last one for some of us, and we would love to keep the momentum going for our younger guys.”
Pitching and defense are seen as big keys for both teams by the respective managers.
“Tri-Town hardly ever makes a mistake,” Revere said. “They do not help you out with poor at-bats. They walk very few people. The defense is nearly always clean. You are not going to beat the Trojans because of something they did wrong. You have to outplay them.”
McCarty looks at Bethlehem and sees an offense that scored 204 runs in the regular season.
“The Plowboys can hit. They can hit well. They’ve scored an abundance of runs this year, so neutralizing that strength is important,” McCarty said.
Game 1 is tonight at Torrington’s Fuessenich Park after the Hall of Fame ceremony, which is scheduled for seven p.m.
Games 2 and 3 are Saturday and Sunday at Waterbury’s Municipal Stadium. The Saturday game is at 1 p.m. and the Sunday game, if necessary, starts at 2
copyright Rick Wilson Litchfield County Sports 8/14/24
It is the Tri-State League championship series you expected and wanted to see. Three-time defending champion Tri-Town and Bethlehem, the team with the best regular season record.
The two teams have passionately butted heads the last three seasons with an already narrow gap separating them having seemingly closed a bit. Tri-Town won the championship series in 2022 in two games while last season Bethlehem forced a third game before falling short.
This season, Bethlehem rolled through the regular campaign with a 21-1 record (25-2 overall) with two of the wins coming against Tri-Town by 3-2 and 8-3 margins. Tri-Town posted a 19-3 mark (23-4 overall).
The two teams just simply are never very away from one another.
“I think Bethlehem and us are the most well-rounded teams,” Tri-Town manager Dan McCarty said. “We know what to expect from them and they know what to expect from us. We have picked up a couple of guys and can start 13 different guys. But it seems like we are getting older, and Bethlehem is getting younger. “
“We’re excited to be playing Tri-Town again,” countered Bethlehem manager Rich Revere. “They are the team to beat, and we took the season series, so we’d like another shot at them. It gives us more Confidence.”
Despite his team’s dynastic dominance (11th final in 14 years) with the shot at a fourth straight title which would tie the Trojans with Torrington for the league record, McCarty is not exactly sure about the team to beat thing.
“I think we’re going in as underdogs,” McCarty said. “We didn’t win the regular season; they did and beat us twice. On the other hand the only thing that matters to us is the playoffs. The first game we lost to them could have gone either way and in the second game they just outhit us.”
Both teams come in the series battle tested after tough opening round and semifinal series. Tri-Town was taken to three games by Winsted and then managed to outlast Burlington in a pair of close contests, 3-2 and 6-2.
Bethlehem was six outs away from seeing its season end before rallying past Wolcott, 3-2, in Game 3 of its opening series. The Plowboys then upended the Valley Ducks, 4-2, and 6-3.
“The two series showed us we have to play everybody and can’t just show up,” Revere said of the tough games. We were thinking too much about Tri-Town.”
“The top five or six teams in the league have gotten better,” McCarty.
Both teams rode great pitching leading up to the final series. Tri-Town got wins from future Hall of Famer Miles Scribner and Bobby Chatfield in the Burlington series. Bethlehem was led by sterling efforts from Tyler Boisvert, Austin Brown, Kyle Banche and Bret Wilkes.
The rotations are set for the finals. It will be Boisvert and Scribner for Game 1 and Brown and Chatfield in Game 2. Game 3, if necessary, will see Banche go against either Connor Gannon or Dan Livingston.
If there is a key to the series it may come from Tri-Town’s bats. Listen to McCarty.
“We have been really inconsistent hitting this season,” McCarty said. “We score 22 one game and one the next game. It has hurt us big-time. We have left too many people in scoring position and are averaging 7-12 strikeouts a game. The pitching and `D’ we’ll get. We need to hit.”
Tri-Town still offers up potent potential led by Coleby Bunel whose two-run single decided the decisive game against Burlington and Owen Hibbard. Bethlehem will answer with Greg Campbell, Jesse Swartout, who cracked two homeruns in the Valley Duck series,, Matt Mancini and Chase Belisle and Jon Wilson.
“It’s who will handle the pressure and make the big plays,” McCarty said.
“It’s who plays clean and gets the hit,” Mancini said.
Let the games begin.
Plowboys, Trojans complete sweeps; will meet for 3rd year in a row
copyright Kevin Roberts Sports on 69 8/11/24
Jesse Swartout homered for the Bethlehem Plowboys in the first game of their best-of-three Connecticut Tri-State Baseball League semifinal series Saturday against the Valley Ducks at Gallop Field in Bethlehem.
Swartout got a chance to jog around the bases again on Sunday, this time following a grand slam. He also drew a bases loaded walk and ended the day with five RBI in a 6-3 victory over Valley at Gallop. Jarrett Michaels drove in the other run with a sacrifice fly.
The Plowboys swept the series, 2-0. Bethlehem will play in the World Series for the third straight year, and for the third straight year, its opponent is the Tri-Town Trojans. Coleby Bunnell had a two-run single in the ninth inning to give Tri-Town a 3-2 win over the Burlington Hunters. The three-time defending champion Trojans also swept their series, 2-0.
Both winners once again got solid pitching in Game 2 of their respective series. Austin Brown went seven innings for Bethlehem and struck out 12. Brett Wilkes worked the final 1 ⅓ innings (three strikeouts) for the save. Brown’s strong start followed the one from Tyler Boisvert in Game 1, where he went eight innings.
For the second straight game, Valley tried to rally late. Ty Pelletier had an RBI single and Chris Oliwa tallied a two-run double in the eighth inning to get the Ducks to within 6-3, but they were unable to get closer.
Bobby Chatfield threw all nine innings for Tri-Town in its victory. Bunnell gave Chatfield and the Trojans the lead with his two-run single in the top of the ninth inning at Fuessenich Park in Torrington. Burlington again scored a pair of runs early in the game, but couldn’t build on it. Chatfield held the Hunters at bay the rest of the afternoon, and the Trojans rallied in the ninth.
Chatfield’s complete game was the second straight for Tri-Town, which got one from MIles Scribner in its 6-2 victory in Game 1.
The World Series begins this coming Friday at Fuessenich Park. Game 1 follows the Hall of Fame ceremony, which takes place at 7 p.m. Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) are at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury on Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug. 18. Both of those games are scheduled for 2 p.m.
Trojans, Plowboys back in World Series for 3rd year in a row
copyright Mike Bunger Republican-American 8/11/24
For the third straight season, the Bethlehem Plowboys and the Tri-State Trojans will meet in the Tri-State Baseball League World Series.
The top-seeded Plowboys advanced to the league finals Sunday with a 6-3 win over the Valley Ducks, clinching the best-of-three semifinals, 2-0.
The No. 2 Trojans edged Burlington, 3-2, on Sunday to reach their fourth straight final. They are the three-time defending champions.
Coleby Bunnell hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to give Tri-Town the victory. Bobby Chatfield struck out six in a complete-game effort.
Jesse Swartout led the Bethlehem charge with a grand slam in the eighth inning. He finished with five RBIs. Austin Brown struck out 12 in seven innings. Jarrett Michaels added a sacrifice fly in the third inning for the Plowboys, and Brett Wilkes struck out three in 11/3 innings of relief to seal the win. Chris Oliwa led the Ducks with a two-run double in the eighth. Ty Pelletier added an RBI single.
The best-of-three World Series will begin Friday at Fuessenich Park in Torrington at 7. Game 2 is Saturday at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury at 2 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, is Sunday back at Municipal at 2 p.m.