ATHOL — Russia wasn’t the only site of a come-from-behind victory Monday, as the Chuck Stone Little League All-Stars suffered a walk-off loss against Quabbin in District 3 pool play in pursuit of the Little League World Series.
After Chuck Stone (1-2) tied the game in the top of the sixth inning, Quabbin (2-1) had runners on first and third with one out in the bottom half of the frame. A wild pitch by Chuck Stone reliever Stephen Mack made its way to the backstop, which sent pinch runner Cody Flynn home on the play. Catcher Jeremy Vezina got to the ball quickly, forcing Flynn, who took third on a passed ball, into a rundown. After going back and forth several times, a throw to home by Jenna Bonenfant went over Vezina’s head, allowing Flynn to come home on the play, sending everyone from Quabbin’s dugout — and some from Chuck Stone’s too — onto the field in Quabbin’s 10-9 walk-off win at James H. Salevan Field.
“We practiced the pickle drill. The kids did it right,” said Chuck Stone assistant coach Tony Vitello. “Just, you know, a throw tipped off the glove there and that’s what happens. You want to make that play and that would be a big out in that situation, but it happened the way it happened, there’s nothing we could do about it to change it. Tough loss for us right now. Tough loss. We all thought we had this one.”
The call at the plate wasn’t clear at first either, sending fans from both teams cheering and jeering. After the initial safe call, Quabbin began to exit the dugout to cheer on Flynn as Chuck Stone cleared its dugout to shake hands with Quabbin. Chuck Stone then asked for help on the call, seemingly believing Flynn had not touched home plate, and sent Vezina, with the ball still in hand, to tag Flynn, who had already went to the dugout. Flynn came back out and tagged home and the umpires called him safe again.
“It’s a little disappointing how we lost this in a close game, thought the momentum was on our side there and it was a tough play,” said Vitello. “The kids fought and that’s what I’m most proud of. The kids fought to the end in this game.”
Chuck Stone rallied to four runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at nine. With one out and runners in scoring position, Vezina (3-for-4, three RBIs, two runs) sent a ball through the right part of the infield and into right field to score one, moving it to 9-6. With two outs, Marky Gauthier (2-for-4) send a first pitch fastball over the center field wall to tie the game at nine.
It was the second time Chuck Stone came back to tie the game. After three home runs put Quabbin up 5-1 in the bottom of the first inning, Chuck Stone scored three in the third inning and one in the fourth to tie the game at four.
“Our kids showed a lot of fight,” said Vitello. “They showed a lot of courage coming back. We were down four runs in the bottom of the ninth. We never gave up. We fell behind early too and we came charging back. The kids kept their heads and we made it happen.”
Quabbin came back in the bottom of the fourth with four runs to go up 9-5. They chased starting pitcher Jenna Bonenfant after 3 ⅔ innings. It was an unusual inauspicious start for Bonenfant, who gave up nine runs (six earned) on 13 hits while striking out seven. She gave up six extra-base hits, including three home runs.
Stephen Mack relieved Bonenfant, who came in and got Martin Stoddard stealing to end the fourth. Mack pitched 1 ⅔ innings, giving up one hit and one run.
Chuck Stone moves into fourth place in District 3 group play with the loss. The team is still slated to qualify for the single-elimination tournament following group play, but will almost certainly need to win one of its final two games to stay seated fourth. The team’s next game is on Thursday against Leominster National at 5:30 p.m. in Athol.
“We know we can compete in this,” said Vitello. “We’re not out of this. We know we have two games left here in pool play. We’re going to have to win one of the two to move on and that’s our focus now.”