One more win sends Middleboro to Williamsport for Little League World Series
Jason Snow
BRISTOL, CONN. – What's the phrase, big-time players make big-time plays?
Facing elimination in the New England Regionals tournament, the Middleboro Little League team needed it to be more fact than hearsay.
Both Jayden Murphy and Gavin Gillpatrick serve as evidence – when the team needed star power, they delivered, as Middleboro cruised by Concord, New Hampshire by an 11-0 final in five innings Wednesday afternoon to advance to the Regionals championship game against Bangor East on Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPN. The tournament champ moves on to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Aug. 17.
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Murphy, Middleboro's lead-off hitter, came out of the gates swinging with a blistering home-run blast that wasted little time escaping the yard over the left field fence. The shortstop finished just one single away from hitting for the cycle in a dazzling 3-for-4 day at the plate.
“It was amazing how I hit it out and then we all got pumped up," said Murphy, who made contact with each off the first five pitches of the opening at-bat. “Every time, I just kept fouling them off to make sure I got the one I liked the most.”
Murphy's homer sparked back-to-back singles by Mike Marzelli and Gavin Gillpatrick, bringing an encouraging start to the Middleboro lineup after it recorded just one hit through five innings in Monday's 10-4 loss to Bangor East (Middleboro scored three runs in the final inning to end that game).
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“Any time you start the game with a home run, it gets the team fired up," Middleboro manager Chad Gillpatrick said. "It gets the dugout going. We cruised from there, kind of. That was the starting point. It was awesome.”
As for Gavin Gillpatrick, he matched it with a two-run homer of his own – this one a no-doubter to center field – in the fifth inning to cap Middleboro's 14-hit day and end the game by mercy rule. It was his second home run of the tournament.
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Seven of the team's 12 players recorded a hit, and Gavin Gillpatrick led the way with four in as many at-bats. Team-wide, it was quite the turnaround from Monday's slump.
“It started yesterday at practice," Chad Gillpatrick said. "The focus was hitting the whole time. We had a good practice yesterday and this morning, we had a good workout too in the cages. The boys were mashing hard and I had a lot of confidence with the coaching staff going into this game.”
Chad Gillpatrick noted after Monday's loss that the emphasis would shift to putting the ball in play more often. In the two games prior, Concord's ace Henry Thresher controlled the Middleboro lineup in the tourney opener with 13 strikeouts and Bangor East right-hander Caden Karam collected 14 to hand Middleboro its second loss of the entire summer. On Wednesday, however, the lineup suffered just three strikeouts.
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“This is the first time since the state finals that we’ve had our backs to the wall. It was a positive message the last two days and we stayed positive," Chad Gillpatrick said. "We’re playing till the end. That was the talk. We were getting texts from a lot of people and the message was the same from past coaches and everybody. It was the same message we’ve been giving the boys in the dugout and in practice – get the bat on the ball, play the game glove-to-glove, know the situation and just have fun.
In the end, we had a blast today... I think,” Chad Gillpatrick laughed.
Ayden Morris (ground-rule double, 1 RBI), Cayden Ellis (1-for-2, 1 run), Luke Bolduc (1-for-3, 1 run) and Jacob Landers (1-for-2, 2 runs, 1 RBI) all joined the offensive rally with productive moments at the plate. Marzelli also finished with three hits, two runs and 3 RBIs.
“Today was a team win for sure, getting guys across the plate," said Chad Gillpatrick. "Everybody’s chipping in, so that’s what we’re going to need tomorrow. Hopefully we keep that train rolling, keep going through the lineup.”
As valuable as Gavin Gillpatrick's bat has been in crucial spots throughout this summer, Middleboro trusted him the mound and game ball with its memorable run in jeopardy.
He sat down 10 Concord batters by strikeout, relinquished two hits and one walk in five innings of work and 69 total pitches.
“He pitched lights-out today,” said Chad Gillpatrick, Gavin's father. “He had a ton of strikeouts today, didn’t walk many and right around that zone, just straight fastballs. It was nice to see.”
Now just one win away from Williamsport, these 12 local Little Leaguers are within arm's length of their achieving their fondest Little League dreams. Here's what Chad Gillpatrick said about the potential trip in mid-July, before the team claimed sectional and state titles. This group has certainly made its hometown proud.
“That's a far way off, but it’s our definite goal. These kids, they’re focused for it,” he said during a practice at Middleboro High School. “I think every kid’s dream is standing on TV (and we're) hoping to be there. If we can get there and make that dream come true, I think that’d be something special for everybody.”