The Fox Family Chips bats were active early and often in their match-up with Buck Construction to kick off the third week of Mapleton Little League action.
Savannah Rodriguez blasted a three-run home run over the fence in the first inning to get the ball rolling for Fox Family Chips, driving in Colby Buckley and Griffin Guerrette.
TJ Lovely, Max Bartley, Liam Woodworth, Gavin Akeley and Riley Roderick would all score in the first inning as Fox Family grabbed a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Buck Construction pushed across three runs across in the third inning and four in the fourth, as Cole Paterson, Jake Kinney, Ian Michaud, Brian Ellis and Emily Wheaton strung together hits to put their team on the board.
But in the end, Fox Family Chips offense proved too much as they cruised to the win. Guerrette and Buckley paced the offense, reaching and scoring every time up to the plate.
Buck Farms and Doyen Farms battled in week three’s second showdown. Buck Farms pushed a run across in the first as Will Bridges worked a bases-loaded walk, stole both second and third, and came in on a Dakota Morrow RBI single.
Doyen’s battled back in the home half of the inning. Torey Levesque smacked a double to start the rally, then came around on Jonah Hudson’s booming triple to the gap. Morrow’s fine defensive play on a ball off the bat of Jaren Winger helped minimize the damage, holding Doyen’s to a single run in the frame.
Winger and Morrow kept the bats at bay as the next two innings went by scoreless. Winger got some fine defensive support from Ellie Goheen at second base.
Buck Farms managed to take the lead again in the fourth. Erick Tompkins blasted a double to start the rally. After Ricky Goupille and Shaine Willette worked their way on base, Tompkins came in to score as Lexi Jutras picked up the RBI on a hit be pitch. Buck Farms was looking to break the game open, but a great stop by Doyen’s third baseman Connor DeMerchant squashed their hopes.
Buck Farms took a 4-1 lead in the fifth thanks to a two-run single from Goupille, driving in Bridges and Morrow. Doyen’s fought back in the bottom of the sixth, as Levesque reached first on an error to start the inning. Another Hudson extra base hit cut the lead to 4-2. Zack Fletcher’s single made it a one-run game as Hudson came around to score, but they would get no more as Buck Farms held on for the thrilling 4-3 win.
Adam Paterson’s inside-the-park two-run home run staked Buck Construction to the early lead in his team’s clash with Buck Farms. Thomas Patenaude scored in front of Paterson, having led the game off with a single.
Buck Farms’ Shaine Willette demonstrated patience at the plate and speed on the base paths to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the second. The duo of Patenaude and Paterson manufactured another run for Buck Construction in the bottom of the third, as each smacked doubles.
Dakota Morrow and Erick Tompkins answered with back-to-back doubles of their own in the top of the fourth for Buck Farms. Tompkins was called out on a bang-bang play at third, trying to stretch a double into a triple. The relay throw from Taylor Ellis to Jake Kinney to third baseman Cole Paterson got to the bag fractions of a second before a sliding Tompkins.
Buck Construction picked up two insurance runs in the home half of the fourth. Ian Michaud crushed a triple to lead off the inning, then came in on an Emily Wheaton RBI groundout. Caleb Wheaton also scored in the inning, racing home after a Tyler Farnham hit.
Buck Construction would tack on three more runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to hits from Patenaude, Adam Paterson, Kinney and Michaud for the 8-2 win.
