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Article published Jul 29, 2009 BF falls short; Cannons win
BY Tom Haley STAFF WRITER
BARRE TOWN — Zach Whitcomb, Justin Spaulding, Justin Beebe and C.J. Hodsden played on the 2006 Bellows Falls Post 37 team that made it all the way to the American Legion Baseball Northeast Regional in Brockton, Mass.
They were on this year's edition of Post 37 baseball that made another strong run at the state title, but this time they came up short, losing 12-6 to the OEC Kings on Tuesday in the next-to-last game of the five-day, eight-team tournament.
Post 37 coach Bob Lockerby also piloted that 2006 team, but this year's club occupies as big a place in his heart.
"This team is special because I have been coaching a lot of them for about 10 years, right through high school, and have watched them grow up," Lockerby said.
"I am pretty emotional right now."
OEC went on to lose to Colchester 6-3 in the title game. Colchester will play the Rhode Island champion in Regional play on Aug. 6 at 9:30 in Manchester, N.H.'s Gill Stadium.
Bellows Falls led its game 5-4 after scoring two in the sixth, but the Kings took control by scoring five in the bottom of that inning. BF fueled the uprising by committing two errors and Dusty Carter had an RBI-triple and Jordan Poutre singled home another.
It was an ironman performance for winning pitcher Shane O'Donnell-Leach. The left-hander for Lyndon State College went all nine innings and threw 138 pitches.
"He has been our workhorse for three years," OEC coach Willy Kingsbury said. "He has a well-conditioned arm and we weren't worried about his pitch count."
Kingsbury said O'Donnell-Leach's ability to go the distance was critical in setting up his staff for the championship game later in the evening against Colchester.
O'Donnell-Leach scattered nine hits, struck out seven and walked four.
Quentin Young started and took the loss, leaving in the sixth. David Lockerby followed him and Spaulding pitched the final inning.
"I was asking a lot of Quentin after pitching 8.2 innings on Saturday against Rutland," coach Lockerby said.
Beebe made the defensive play of the game and maybe of the tournament or the season. OEC cleanup hitter Adam Farrar ripped a shot to deep center and Beebe caught it going away from the plate and diving from the momentum of being on a full sprint.
"That might be the best catch I've seen," Colchester Cannons coach Jeff Mongeon said from his spot behind the backstop.
Beebe also led Post 37 at the plate with four hits and Whitcomb added two. Brian Bashaw had a two-run double.
Leading the Kings' 16-hit attack was Cody Gage with three safeties and Brenden Parker with two doubles. Farrar had two hits, including a double, and Robert Trucott and Kyle Greenwood added two hits apiece.
It was a memorable season for Post 37 which started 13-0 (11-0 in the league) and then hit a snag, nearly missing the tournament. They finish 17-8 overall.
"We were the fourth seed (from the South) and we made it to the last day of a five-day tournament," coach Lockerby said.
He felt the the players gave a maximum effort and got everything they could out of themselves.
"The 2006 team had a few more big bats and some stronger arms on the hill," Post 37 manager Dick Forbush said.
"But this team had a lot of fight which is a coach Lockerby trademark.
"We knew we had a good team at the beginning of the season."
Three players from the Leland & Gray team that won the last two Division III state baseball championships were instrumental in the success. Chris Marcucci and catcher Tyler Russell hit 3-4 in the batting order, giving it plenty of pop. Zack Peterson, the other Rebel, is expected to play a much larger role next year and all three Leland & Gray players return.
"Some years, if it had not been for Leland & Gray, we would not have had enough players to put on the field," coach Lockerby said. "I am very committed to leaving a few slots for Leland & Gray kids each year. We had a great relationship.
"Russell and Marcucci have been huge for me the last two summers and Peterson will be a regular next year."
A strong nucleus returns, including Vermont Academy player Nick Gendron, who is only 16.
There's a lot to look forward to at Post 37.
And for the kids who just wound up their summer of baseball, a lot to look back on.
The all-tournament team and scholarship winners: Matt Goulet, Colchester, Most Valuable Player; Ryan Carter, Rutland, Sportsmanship Award; Chad Estey, Addison, catcher; Justin Bara, Colchester, first base; Corey Hurley, Colchester, second base; Zach Whitcomb, Bellows Falls, third base; Jordan Poutre, OEC Kings, shortstop; Rob Dorion, Rutland, outfield; Justin Beebe, Bellows Falls, outfield; Justin Spaulding, Bellows Falls, utility; Zak LaBarron, Bennington, utility; Greg Lutton Addison, utility.
Joe Rodolfy, Rutland, Bill Wright Scholarship; Dorion, Rutland, American Legion Scholarship; David Lockerby, Bellows Falls, National Scholarship; Brian Bashaw, Bellows Falls, Joe Patterson Scholarship.