MANCHESTER, N.H., Aug. 9, 2024 – Catcher Trevor Tanis had a successful bunt single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the West Hartford American Legion baseball team beat Portsmouth, N.H., 6-5 in a Northeast Region contest Friday morning at Gill Stadium.
West Hartford (27-5) remained alive in the tournament with their second straight elimination game victory. Post 96 trailed 3-0 and 4-1 in the game but rallied to remain alive. West Hartford will face either Hudson, Mass., or Cumberland, R.I. on Saturday at 11 a.m.
West Hartford had four consecutive elimination game victories to win their second straight Connecticut state championship a week ago.
Tied at 5-5, West Hartford’s Jack Kane singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning. After Kane moved to second on a successful sacrifice bunt from Brendan Grady, Portsmouth decided to intentionally walk Tristan Baron and Damien Witkor to load the bases with one out.
Tanis, who was 2-for-4, laid down a bunt that allowed Kane to scramble home from third with the game-winning run.
Baron pitched six innings in relief, scattering five hits and striking out two. But he allowed just two runs to secure the win.
Kane was 3-for-4 for West Hartford while Chase Hanawalt was 2-for-4 with one RBI. DeClan McCann was 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Portsmouth took a 3-0 lead thanks to a pair of walks and a double. West Hartford got a run back in the first inning when McCann scored on a wild pitch. Portsmouth extended their lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning thanks to a pair of errors from Post 96.
A two-out rally by West Hartford in the sixth inning gave Post 96 the lead for the first time.
West Hartford had runners on first and second base thanks to singles from Grady and Baron. A two-out single from Calvin Cianflone loaded the bases before McCann had a two-run single to left field to cut the Portsmouth lead to 4-3.
Santoro walked to load the bases. Cianflone tied the game on a passed ball and McCann gave West Hartford the lead, 5-4, on a RBI single to center field from Chase Hanwalt.
West Hartford 6, Portsmouth NH 5
At Manchester NH
Portsmouth 300 010 1 — 5-6-1
West Hartford (27-5) 100 004 1 — 6-12-2
Carlise, Minkler and Culliane; M Santoro, T. Baron (2) and T Tanis; WP: Baron; LP: Minkler; 2B: Avery (P)
2024 Northeast Regional baseball tournament
At Gill Stadium, Manchester, N.H.
Wednesday, August 7
Hudson, Mass. 6, Hampden, ME 5
Cumberland, RI 5, West Hartford, CT 4
Portsmouth, NH 4. South Burlington VT 0
Shrewsbury, MA 10, Sweeney, NH (host) 5
Thursday, August 8
South Burlington VT 5, Hamden ME 4, Hampden eliminated
West Hartford 11, Sweeney NH (host) 4, Sweeney eliminated
Hudson, MA 3, Portsmouth NH 2
Game 8: Cumberland RI 9, Shrewsbury MA 2
Friday, August 9
Game 9: West Hartford 6, Portsmouth NH 5, Portsmouth eliminated
Game 10: South Burlington VT vs. Shrewsbury, MA, 3:30 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 11: Hudson MA vs. Cumberland RI, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 10
Game 12: West Hartford vs. loser game 11, 1 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 13: Winner game 10 vs. winner game 11, 4 p.m.
Sunday, August 11
Game 14: Winner game 12 vs. winner game 13, 1 p.m.
Game 15: If necessary, 4 p.m.
Note 1: Pairings for Game 12 & 13 will not match previous opponents against each other unless absolutely necessary. (Tournament Director has further instructions).
Note 2: If three teams remain after Game 13, the winner of Game 11 automatically draws the Bye for Game 14.
Pairings and schedule subject to change.
