Greater Keene 15U team opens Babe Ruth New England regional with wild, walk-off win

Jul. 23—Noah Parrelli stood on third base in a tie game in the bottom of the seventh inning, representing the winning run, and as soon as the pitch got past the catcher, he was dashing for the plate.

The wild pitch went all the way to the backstop at Alumni Field, and Parrelli scored easily, giving the Keene 15U baseball team the win in its first game of the Babe Ruth New England Regional, 7-6, over Waterford, Conn.

"I just heard coach Dave [Miller] yell, 'Go,' and I went," Parrelli said. "I try to stay blank. Helps a little bit.

"It was good, it was fun," Parrelli continued. "Without Torin [Dubriske], I'm not getting there anyway, so he was a big help."

A few batters after Parrelli, Dubriske put a ball in play to the Waterford second baseman in the bottom of the seventh inning, and by hustling down the line, forced an errant throw, which sent Parrelli from first base to third and eventually leading to the wild pitch walk-off.

Parrelli got on base on a fielder's choice.

Dubriske finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI. He also scored the game-tying run in the sixth inning.

Keene jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings but allowed Waterford to get right back into the game as the Connecticut state champions went on to score six unanswered runs (all unearned), to take a 6-4 lead after the top of the sixth inning.

Two crucial errors and a couple untimely walks quickly spoiled what early on looked like a dominating game for Keene. A couple of base-running blunders in the later inning didn't help a whole lot either.

"Offensively, the biggest thing we have to work on are the mistakes on the basepaths," said Keene coach Dave Miller. "We definitely have some room for improvement, but in the end, it was enough to win."

That it was.

Right after Waterford took the lead in the top of the sixth inning and seemed to grab the momentum, Keene responded quickly with a two-run bottom half, highlighted by Jake Hilliard's RBI double to score Dubriske and tie things up at six. Hilliard finished 2-for-3 on the night with two RBIs.

"They've got character, they've got mental toughness," Miller said. "They're never out of a game. These guys never feel like they're out of a game. If we play our game, we're tough to beat."

Fitch Hennessey got the start for Keene, throwing four innings and giving up two unearned runs on just one hit, before Kaden Smith threw 1.2 innings in relief. He gave up four runs, all unearned, on only three hits. Ollie Frowein finished the sixth inning and pitched a clean seventh to keep the game tied.

Then Parrelli got around the bases for the game-winner.

"He knew the situation," Miller said. "Good lead, good secondary. Ball went to the fence and we were going."

Along with Hillard and Dubriske, Zak Whitney (2-for-4) also had multiple hits. Keene finished with nine hits total.

The New England regional runs from Friday night to next Tuesday. Pool play goes from Friday to Sunday at Alumni Field, with the bracket playoff running on Monday and Tuesday at the Keene State College baseball field.

Keene moves to 1-0 in Group A pool play. Keene next plays North Providence-Smithfield, RI (0-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Alumni Field.

"It feels huge right now," Parrelli said of the win. "It puts us in a great spot in the tournament. As a team, it doesn't get much better than that. ... We're all psyched. This is what we live for. We all love baseball."

The Sentinel will continue to provide live updates throughout the weekend on SentinelSource.com. Sports reporter Chris Detwiler will also have live updates on Twitter. You can follow him at @Chris_Detwiler.

Other scores Friday

Sanford, Maine 8, North Providence- Smithfield, R.I. 0

Sanford, Maine, moved to 1-0 in pool play, taking the opening game of the 15U Babe Ruth New England regional against North Providence-Smithfield, RI, 8-0, Friday morning at Alumni Field.

Ben Gill had a team-high two RBIs for Sanford in a 1-for-3 effort with two runs scored. Tyler Brennan and Scott Long also had RBIs for Sanford.

Brady Adams was 2-for-5 for Sanford.

Gill also pitched the first 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and striking out seven. Elijah Greenleaf pitched the next 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit with two strikeouts, and Adams finished off the game with a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts.

Sanford had a 3-0 lead after the third inning which lasted until the seventh, when the Maine state champions scored five runs to add insurance.

Sanford moves to 1-0 in Group A pool play while North Providence-Smithfield drops to 0-1. Sanford next plays Waterford, Conn. Saturday at 4 p.m. while North Providence-Smithfield plays Keene Saturday at 7 p.m.

Lynn, Mass. 6, Three Corners, Vt. 5

Lynn, Mass. held on to win Game 2 of the Babe Ruth New England regional, 6-5, Friday afternoon at Alumni Field in Keene.

Seth Sullivan had two RBIs for Lynn, going 1-for-3 from the plate. Chris Marks and Shed Newhall also had RBIs.

Wyatt Mason and Boone Fahey both had two RBIs for Three Corners.

Fahey hit a two-run double in the third inning to cut the deficit to 4-3 at the time.

Lynn took a 4-0 lead in the first two innings, before Three Corners climbed back into it with a three-run third. That's as close as they would get, as Lynn scored twice in the fourth to make it 6-4.

Three Corners made it 6-5 in the seventh but couldn't get that last run across.

Josh Doney got the start for Lynn and pitched 3.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits.

Fahey pitched the first 3.1 innings for Three Corners, giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits with two strikeouts. Mason pitched the final 3.2 innings, giving up one run on no hits while striking out six. He walked five hitters.

Lynn moves to 1-0 in pool play and Three Corners falls to 0-1.

Lynn next plays Pittsfield, Mass. Saturday at 1 p.m. and Three Corners plays Rochester at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Pittsfield, Mass. 9, Rochester, N.H. 8

Pittsfield, Mass. prevailed in a game that came down to the final strike, defeating Rochester, 9-8, in the third game of the Babe Ruth New England regional at Alumni Field in Keene.

Pittsfield took the lead in the sixth on an RBI single from Jack Reed (1-for-3). Pittsfield added one more in the sixth to take a 9-7 lead heading into the final inning.

Rochester scored one in the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded with just one out, down by only one run. But Pittsfield's Jake Duquette struck out the final two batters to secure the win.

Pittsfield moves to 1-0 and Rochester falls to 0-1.

Pittsfield plays Lynn, Mass Saturday at 1 p.m. and Rochester plays Three Corners, Vt. at 10 a.m.

Chris Detwiler can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1411, or cdetwiler@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Detwiler.