Springfield falls to BBA

Burr & Burton Academy is in the heat of the VPA Division 1 battle. As the regular season winds down, and with a shot at moving higher than their current No. 5 position, the Bulldogs weren't about to give anything to Springfield on its senior day.

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Springfield honored its senior baseball players Wednesday. Left to right are Jon Hildreth, Ben Tubbs, Kyle Weeks, Zack Tubbs and Zeb Reardon. (Photo by Lillianna Moore)

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2016-05-26 / Sports Springfield falls to BBA Springfield honored its senior baseball players Wednesday. Left to right are Jon Hildreth, Ben Tubbs, Kyle Weeks and Zeb Reardon. — COURTESY/LILLIANNA MOORE http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprBBSrs.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprBB-Veysey.jpg By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — Burr & Burton Academy is in the heat of the VPA Division 1 battle. As the regular season winds down, and with a shot at moving higher than their current No. 5 position, the Bulldogs weren't about to give anything to Springfield on its senior day. Using a combination of hits (12) and free passes (18 walks and hit batters), BBA rolled to a 16-3 victory over the Cosmos Wednesday. Much of that can be attributed to Springfield's use of several pitchers who haven't logged a lot of innings on the mound. “We started our starters,” said BBA coach Ed Lewicki. “We need every point we can [get]. We lost one Monday night to Brat [Brattleboro}, didn't play particularly well, and it kind of carried over to today. We didn't hit the ball very well. “We got solid pitching.” “We came in with no pitchers, so we took this as an opportunity to work some guys, get some looks, see what we have going into next week,” said Springfield coach Rich Saypack, “We had a couple guys that missed a few weeks. They got some innings in.” Defensively, the Cosmos didn't play bad — their two errors came against the first two batters of the game and neither scored. “I just told them there were some positives underneath,” Saypack said. “We hit the ball, kept the ball in play often. We made some defensive plays. They didn't really tear us up with their bats. At the same time we got some good looks with some guys that will help us starting Saturday.” After stuffing BBA in the top of the first, Springfield put two on in its half of the inning with two-out, back-to-back singles by seniors Ben Tubbs and Zeb Reardon, but left them stranded. BBA came back with three runs in the second on two walks, two hit batters and a base hit, then made it 4-0 when Scott Mooney walked, stole second, and came around on two wild pitches. Mooney was one of two Bulldogs with a multiple hit game. He had two Griff Stalcup had three. Stalcup's hits included a double and an RBI single during seven-run sixth that gave BBA a 14-1 cushion. Cody Roberts had the team's only other extra-base hit, a two-run double to the right-center field gap in the fourth to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 advantage. Springfield scored its initial run in the fourth. Ben Tubbs led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and reached third safely when the BBA pitcher hesitated to make a throw after fielding a grounder off the bat of Reardon. Matt Veysey brought him home with a ground ball to the second baseman, but the Bulldogs turned a double play on the ball. John Stafford followed with a single, but BBA ended the inning with the next batter. Springfield's other two runs came with two away in the sixth. Veysey crushed a solo home run to left center and Matt LaChapelle scored on a wild pitch. LaChapelle had worked a base on balls and moved to third when a low throw to first allowed Girard LeCouffee to reach safely. LaChapelle also had a single in the second. “Credit to these guys here too,” Lewicki said. “It's tough for them in the division that they're in, playing D-1 teams. Their kids never stopped battling. He threw a bunch of different arms out there. Some of them I don't know if they pitched very often. Give them credit for getting up there, swinging the bat. That young man [Veysey] hitting the home run like that just shows the kids here don't ever give up, so my hat's off to them.” The Cosmos (6-9) visit Windsor (6-8) Saturday at 11 a.m. to close out the regular season. http://www.vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/RH/20160526/SPORTS02/160529633 http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20160526/SPORTS02/160529633