Braintree blanks Albany for another Northeast Region World Series title

The Albany A’s won three games and finished second in the AABC’s Stan Musial Northeast Regional World Series this wekend in Weymouth, Mass. (Liss Phillips photo courtesy Albany A’s)

WEYMOUTH, Mass., August 15, 2021 – Ian Fair, a senior first baseman at Northeastern University, hit a three-run home run and had a double to lead the Braintree (MA) White Sox to a 9-0 win over the Albany (NY) A’s and the 2021 AABC Stan Musial Northeast Region World Series championship at Libby Field in Weymouth on Sunday.

The White Sox (33-1) won their fourth straight Northeast Regional title and their sixth in the last eight years. The Tri-State League’s Terryville Black Sox finished third for the second consecutive tournament, losing in the consolation round final to the A’s on Saturday.

White Sox lefthander Nate Koneski, a former 19th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2012, tamed the Athletics striking out seven batters and yielding just two hits and a hit batsman.  Teammate Riley Sorensam was named pitcher of the tournament after beating the A’s in the 3rd round.

Braintree got out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a three-run double by Jared Sharkey and two-run single by Matt Foley. The White Sox collected three hits, two walks and a hit batsman in the inning off A’s starter Kyle Lambert.

Albany righthander Kevin Connolly started the second inning and yielded just four hits in 4.2 scoreless innings until Smith and Foley had their big hits with two outs in the sixth inning. Greg Sulz doubled in the game to lead off the fifth but the Athletics could not push him across to get on the board.

“We ran into a quality pitcher today and just couldn’t get anything going on offense,” said A’s Manager Joe Altieri.  “It’s tough when you get down early too but we battled and had good at bats. The middle part of the game was fun to watch with both teams making some spectacular defensive plays and the pitchers making good pitches, but we just couldn’t get sparked on offense.”

The A’s, coming off the first perfect season in Albany Twilight League history (28-0), finishes 38-4-1 overall.

“This was a special group of players and a special season, probably one of the top groups in all my years coaching that I’ve ever had,” said Altieri. “The chemistry and camaraderie was unbelievable. They came together to accomplish quite a bit this summer including an undefeated regular season and playoffs so I’m very proud of them.”

Braintree 9, Albany 0
At Weymouth, Mass.
Albany (38-4-1)          000  000  0  — 0-2-0
Braintree (33-1)          500  004  x  — 9-11-0
Kyle Lambert, Kevin Connolly (2) and Craig Mastroianni; Nate Koneski and Smith; WP: Koneski; LP: Lambert

2021 AABC Northeast Region World Series
At Weymouth, Mass.
Friday August 13
At Libby Field
Terryville (CT) Black Sox 9, ADSL-Boston, MA 0
Albany (NY) Athletics 8, Weymouth (MA) Shamrocks 0
Albany 2, Terryville 1 (8)
At Rockland Stadium
Braintree (MA) White Sox 9, Milford (CT) Hunters 1
Braintree 10, ADSL 0, ADSL eliminated
Milford 7, Weymouth 1, Weymouth eliminated

Saturday August 14
At Libby Field, Weymouth, Mass.
Braintree 7, Albany 2
Terryville def. Milford, Milford eliminated
Albany 4, Terryville 2, Terryville eliminated

Sunday August 15
At Libby Field, Weymouth, Mass.
Championship round
Final: Braintree 9, Albany 0

Recent AABC Northeast Region World Series championship finals
2021: Braintree (MA) White Sox 9, Albany (NY) Athletics 0
2020: No tournament, pandemic
2019: Braintree (MA) White Sox 3, Fedell’s Mechanics-Trumbull (CT) 0
2018: Braintree (MA) White Sox 11, Terryville (CT) Black Sox 1
2017: Braintree (MA) White Sox 8-5, North Halendon (NJ) Reds 1-4
2016: Albany (NY) Athletics 6-6, Watertown (CT) Blaze 2-5
2015: Braintree (MA) White Sox 8, Milford (CT) Hunters 0
2014: Braintree (MA) White Sox def. Milford (CT) Hunters