Game 1: Plowboys 4 Trojans 3 – Game 2 Municipal Stadium 2pm
Rally in ninth inning lifts Bethlehem past Tri-Town in finals opener
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Players from the Bethlehem Plowboys surround Ryan Reynolds and celebrate after his game-winning single in Friday night’s Tri-State League championship series game in Torrington. More game photos
TORRINGTON, August 15, 2025 – In the past three years, Game 1 of the Tri-State League championship series has not been a pleasant experience for the Bethlehem Plowboys. Each time, Tri-Town has captured the series opener by scores of 10-2, 5-1 and 10-1, respectively.
That changed Friday night.
The Plowboys made some key defensive plays, pitched out of some jams and got three hits in the bottom of the ninth inning off Tri-Town hurler Miles Scribner to beat Tri-Town on Friday night, 4-3, in game of the Tri-State League championship series at Fuessenich Park.
Ryan Reynolds’ single to right field with the bases loaded in the ninth inning snapped a 3-3 tie and gave Bethlehem a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 series. Game two is Saturday at 2 p.m. at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury. Game three, if necessary, will be Sunday at 2 p.m. at Municipal Stadium.
The Plowboys will send pitcher Austin Brown to the mound Saturday as they look for their first league championship since 2010. Tri-Town will send manager Bobby Chatfield as the Trojans try to keep their chances for an unprecedented fifth straight league championship alive.
Tri-Town (21-5) tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning thanks to a two-run double from Austin Patenaude. Danny McCarty had walked and Jon McNelis had singled and both scored on Patenaude’s hit.
Reliever Carson Donovan, who pitched for Holy Cross this spring and will attend St. Joseph in West Hartford in the fall, helped the Plowboys get out of a jam thanks to a sacrifice bunt and two ground ball outs.
In the ninth, Bethlehem’s Greg Campbell led off with a double to deep right field. DH Jesse Swartout singled to right field with Campbell racing to third base. Isaiah Johnson was intentionally walked to load the bases for Reynolds.
On his first pitch, he looped a single into right field for the game-winning hit.
“He’s been around the plate all day,” Reynolds said. “Everything was go with the pitch. How much sweeter was it when it hit the grass.”
The winner of the opening game of the league championship series has won the last 11 league titles. The last time a team won game two and three to win the title was the Litchfield Cowboys in 2012 with a 2-1 win over the Waterbury Wild.
“We needed this. It’s momentum,” Reynolds said. “This is big for the boys. This will carry us pretty hard.”
Thomaston’s Brett Davino slides into second base in Friday night’s Tri-State League championship series opener in Torrington as Tri-Town’s Matt Troy gets the throw. Bethlehem won, 4-3. More game photos
Tri-Town was disappointed but not crushed by the defeat.
“It’s about execution and playing mistake-free baseball,” Chatfield said. “We made a mistake early and gave them a few runs. And we didn’t execute late.
“We’ve lost the first game and won series before,” he added.
Tri-Town got their leadoff hitter, Matt Troy, on base in the top of the ninth inning thanks to a walk. Joe Grantmeyer tried to bunt but it was popped high enough into the air for Bethlehem third baseman Isaiah Johnson to make a diving catch down the third base line.
Tri-Town’s Willy Yahn came to the plate and hit a screaming line drive shot at Johnson, who ripped it out of his glove and fired to first base to get Troy, who had begun to run and was picked off for a double play that ended the inning.
“Our defense was excellent,” Bethlehem manager Rich Reeves said. “We pride ourselves on playing clean baseball. If we do that, things will happen and it did tonight.”
Yahn led off the game with a triple to center field and scored on a sacrifice fly from Owen Hibbard to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead after just four pitches. Tri-Town loaded the bases with singles from Coleby Bunnell, McNelis and Patenaude. But Bethlehem starter Kyle Banche got Casey McDonald to ground out to shortstop to end the threat.
Bethlehem (22-4) responded immediately. Nate Cormier reached on an error and scored on a RBI triple from Brett Davino, who scored on a sacrifice fly from Ryan Ponte for a 2-1 lead.
The Plowboys made it 3-1 in the second inning. Johnson reached on a one-out single to center field, moved to second on a single from Reynolds and to third base on a sacrifice fly from Chase Beloin. Johnson scored on a Reynold’s RBI single to left field.
Donovan pitched four innings of shutout relief, allowing one hit and striking out two. He walked three. Banche struck out four in 5 innings of work. Scribner struck out five for Tri-Town and walked just one.
Brett Davino was 3-for-4 with two triples and one RBI for Bethlehem while Reynolds was 2-for-3 with the game-winning RBI. McCarty was 2-for 3- for Tri-Town while Patenaude was 2-for-4 with a double.
Reynolds’ 9th inning hit sparks Bethlehem in Tri-State opener
copyright Rick Wilson August 16,2025
TORRINGTON – The Bethlehem Plowboys are well aware that it takes two wins to capture the Tri-State League championship. But as the giddy squad milled around the Fuessenich Park parking lot deep into a Torrington Friday night, they were soaking up the satisfaction of having one of the wins in the books.
The Plowboys pieced together three hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth inning capped off by Ryan Reynolds’ RBI-single to right center field to sneak past four-time defending champion Tri-Town, 4-3, in the opener of the best-of-three series.
The two teams face a quick turnaround and will meet Saturday at Municipal Stadium at 2 pm. If a Game 3 is necessary it will also be at Municipal Stadium Sunday at 2 p.m.
This is the fourth straight year the two teams have met in the finals with Tri-Town winning the previous three meetings. The Plowboys had lost the first game of every series. This was new territory and the importance was not lost on the team.
“(This win) has been four years coming and I don’t think this could be any bigger of a win,” Reynolds said. “We needed to win the first game and we have our ace (Austin Brown) locked in for tomorrow. We want to do this in two. One more and we got it.”
Greg Campbell got the winning rally going with a booming double to right center to start the inning. Jessie Swartout followed with a single to right moving Campbell to third and Isaiah Johnson was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Reynold then greeted pitcher Miles Scribner with a single to right to plate the winning run.
“(Scribner) threw me a fastball the first at-bat and only one other one after that. Everything else was slider, curveball,” Reynolds said. “I just figured anything her threw me just go with it. That was the only plan really.”
Tri-Town put itself in a position to score the go-ahead run several times but came up empty on this night. In both the seventh and eighth inning with the lead off run on, bunt attempts were popped up for outs.
The Trojans also stranded a runner on third base with one out in the sixth inning after plating two runs and rallying from a 3-1 deficit.
“I said before the series started it’s about executing and mistake-free baseball,” Tri-Town coach Bobby Chatfield said. “We made a couple of mistakes there early to give them a few runs and didn’t execute late.”
If Reynolds was the man of the moment, 18-year-old Carston Donovan may have been the man of the hour. The recent Holy Cross graduate came on for starter Kyle Banche in the sixth inning after two runs had scored on Austin Patenaude’s slashing double down the left field line. He stranded Patenaude on third base retiring Tom and Matt Troy on infield ground outs.
Donovan showed no nerves in stranding a runner on the seventh, leaving two runners on in the eighth and nobody on in the ninth inning.
“I know I had a great defense behind me and we proved it tonight,” Donovan said. “I was super comfortable out there. I was having a great time. Just throw strikes and see what happens.”
Tri-Town jumped out to 1-0 in the top of the first inning as Willy Yahn tripled and Owen Hibbard hit a sacrifice fly. The lead lasted as long as it took Bethlehem to bat.
Nate Cormier reached on an error and Brett Davino boomed a triple to right enter to tie the game. Ryan Ponte’s fly ball plated Davino. Joe Rupe made it 3-1 in the second inning with an RBI single.
Chatfield will match up with Brown on the mound today and felt his team would respond in a positive way.
“We’ve lost the first game in a series and come back and won,” Chatfield said. “Nothing changes. The plus side is that we get to hit last tomorrow.”
Jon McNellis and Dan McCarty had two hits apiece of the Trojans. Davino and Reynolds had two hits for the Plowboys.
The game was filled with defensive gems including one from Scribner on a ground ball back up the middle which he went to the ground and got and made the out at first base. Bethlehem’s left fielder Bret Davino made a fully outstretched diving catch of a rocket off Yahn’s bat. Jon Wilson went deep into the left center hole to take a hit away.
Expect more Saturday.