Peregrines Baseball Action

Up top here are brief summaries of the Peregrines' games in Cuba. Below that, you can find summaries of the games played by the Peregrines in their previous incarnation -- as the Connecticut Valley South Little League all-stars in the Vermont State Little League tournament.

CUBA GAMES

August 10 (Penalver)

The games were on a sandlot field at the Salesian Sisters‚ convent. No backstop. 3 big mango trees in left field. Ground uneven. Rules: No curveballs allowed. Ball hit high into mango tree = double. Ball hits tree down low is live. Not sure where high and low are, but it doesn’t come up during the games.

We played the Santos first‚ the team of older players (13 and 14) first. They hit two long homers in first inning. The Peregrines squeezed out some runs in first, too, but Santos kept piling them up as game goes on. We managed 4 innings before heat overtakes us. They win 16-5, but the Peregrines played with heart.

After lunch, and with temperatures even higher, we played a 2-inning game with the Mangos (10-12 years old). The Peregrines hammered the younger kids' pitching and scored at will, while our pitchers found the strike zone reduced to the size of a postage stamp, which allowed the Mangos to put some runs up via lots of walks. Nevertheless, the Peregrines prevailed, 15-8.

August 13 (Penalver)

Evan Greenwald pitches a masterpiece against the Santos. Peregrines score a few in first inning, and a couple more here and there along the way. The scorebook is hard to keep because size of the Santos‚ batting keeps changing‚ 10 batters first time through, then 9, then 7. Puzzling. Still, they cannot touch Greenwald. The Peregrines are up, 6-0 going into 7th inning. The Peregrines bullpen gives up a few walks and a grand slam, narrowing the lead to 6-4, but Matt Bach Lombardo comes in and retires the side. Peregrines win, 6-4.

August 14 (Penalver)

Another double-header, this time scheduled for 3 innings with Mangos, then 3 with Santos. The Peregrines go 3 with Mangos and don’t hit much, tied 3-3 after 3, then decide to play another a and we score 11 runs in 4th to finish the Mangos. In the second game, the Santos score a few in first, then coast to 6-0 win against silent Peregrine bats.

August 15 (Penalver)

The Peregrines square off against the Santos in the championship game of the Mango Cup series. The Peregrines score 3 runs in the first on a Joe Cravero walk, a Greenwald single, a Bach-Lombardo double, and a clutch single by Jesse Cutting – all with two outs. Then Cravero took the mound in the now-customary 95-degree heat, to protect the lead. Working without a curveball, against older opponents, and against a vanishingly small strike-zone, Cravero put on one of the great pitching performances in the history of international play. The Santos scored once in the fourth, and left men in scoring position almost every inning, but Cravero always shuts door, changing speeds but relying on an overpowering fastball when he needed it.

Post-game is a genuinely beautiful scene. The Santos players and coaches were gracious. Players exchange autographs and gifts of baseball equipment

August 16 (Havana)

The scene shifts and we play a select team from Municipio Playa, in Havana. These guys are very good, smooth, fluid fielders, clearly kids who play all year round. Also just a little older than the Peregrines, all 1995 birthdays. Playa hits Peregrine pitching hard in the first inning, scoring 5. But the Peregrines hit well the rest of the way, and the pitching and fielding comes alive. Peregrines lose 7-4, but make a very respectable showing.

August 18 (Havana)

Our last game in Cuba was in some ways a bonus, although it didn’t feel quite like it on the field. The Peregrines were supposed to fly home on August 18, but our flight was canceled due to Hurricane Fay, which did not hit Havana, but disrupted flights in and out of Miami. The Peregrines found themselves stranded in Cuba that morning, looking at weather good enough for baseball but evidently not good enough for flying. With their thoughts already turned toward home, they passed the time with a friendly rematch against the Playa select team, but their hearts and minds were already en route home. Final score, Playa 9-1.

VERMONT STATE TOURNAMENT

The CVSLL Peregrines finished second in the Vermont state tournament, losing in the last inning of the championship game on July 28 to a heroic team from Williston. The story was covered best by the Valley News, our local newspaper.

Click here to see the Valley News story from July 29.

Prior to their loss in the finals, the CVSLL Peregrines were a force of baseball nature. Here are game reports, in reverse order, of their run through the Vermont state tournament.

July 25

The CVSLL Peregrines have gone where no other CVSLL all-star team has gone before: to the finals of the Vermont State tournament. The Peregrines came from behind to defeat a very tough District 3 champion St. Albans 2 to 1. Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris started for CVSLL and pitched five-innings of gritty, determined baseball. After a lead-off triple and a passed ball put St. Albans up 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Rothwell-Ferraris shut down a very potent offense. Seven hits, a pair of walks, and a hit batter gave St. Albans plenty of opportunity to score, but Rothwell-Ferraris consistantly pitched tougher with baserunners, particularly with runners in scoring position, striking-out five, four with runners on second or third. CVSLL waited until the top of the sixth to take control of the game. Evan Greenwald blooped a one-out double into short right field and stole third while the St. Albans catcher disputted a call. Greenwald scored on Jesse Cutting's hard-hit fielder's choice. Cutting advanced to second when the first baseman threw home in a failed attempt to stop the speedy Greenwald from scoring. Pinch-runner Matt Bach-Lombardo plated the go-ahead run when the St. Albans third baseman bobbled Andrew Cawley's grounder and then overthrew first base. Joe Cravero lead off the top of the first for CVSLL with a drag bunt, moved to second on one Jordan Levin's two hits, and then reached third on a passed ball. First and third and no outs was closest CVSLL came to score until the final inning. Nathaniel Eastman and Levin's infield singles in the third were CVSLL's only other hits. In a gallant impersonation of Mariano Rivera, Levin (2-0) took over for Rothwell-Ferraris in the bottom sealing the win for CVSLL by striking out the side on an assortment of fastballs and off-speed pitches, the last two while the potential tie run stood on second base.

July 22

In the first game of the Vermont State championship, District 2 winner, the Connecticut Valley South Peregrines defeated District 4 winner, Lyndonville, 8-3. Joe Cravero pitched five-innings of one-hit, rain-soaked baseball for the Peregrines, striking out ten and walking three. With puddles filling the batter's box and the pitcher’s mound greasy with mud, Nathaniel Eastman and Jordan Levin closed out the sixth inning. The Peregrines scored early and often. In the top of the first, with two outs and the bases empty, Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris hit a long home run. Then Evan Greenwald reached on an error, stole two bases, and scored on a passed ball. In the fourth, Ben Herndon-Miller drew a walk, which turned into another run when pinch runner Andrew Cawley repeated Greenwald’s trick. Three more runs crossed the plate in the fifth on an Eastman walk, a couple of Lyndonville errors, and Levin's RBI single. In the sixth, Brandon Gray doubled and scored on an Eastman sac fly. Then Cravero closed out the Peregrine scoring with a screaming liner over the right field fence.

July 19

The CVSLL Peregrines won the Vermont District 2 championship for the second year in a row and third time in five years defeating Brattleboro 2-1 in a nail-biting, six-inning thriller. Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris mixed pitches and speeds and kept Brattleboro's potent offense off-balance for the six-inning complete game win. Rothwell-Ferraris, who gave up 5 singles, but only one walk, was aided by excellent defense and a knack for getting big outs when they counted most. With Brattleboro threatening in the top of the fourth inning with runners on second and third Rothwell-Ferraris recorded one of his 3 strikeouts and induced the next batter to ground weakly to second. The Peregrines plated both of their runs in the bottom of the first inning. Joe Cravero opened the game with a bunt single and crossed the plate on a line-drive double to right-center by Jordan Levin. Levin advanced to third on a fielder's choice and then scored on a Matthew Bach-Lombardo single. Nathaniel Eastman, Brandon Gray, and Levin chipped in singles later in the game, but no Peregrine base-runner advanced past first base.

July 17

Behind masterful, no-hit pitching of Joe Cravero, the CVSLL Peregrines remained undefeated, beating Brattleboro 9-1. Cravero kept Brattleboro's potent offense off balance with an assortment of sizzeling fastballs, change-ups, and, curve balls. Andrew Cawley closed the game for CVSLL, escaping a no-out bases -loaded jam unblemished. A soft liner to Jesse Cutting at first, sandwiched between a pair of grounders vacuumed up by Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris at short, sealed the win. Evan Greenwald did his best Reggie Jackson impersonation, driving in four runs with a double and a pair of long home runs. Jordan Levin contributed a double and single, while Cutting and Nathaniel Eastman chipped in run-scoring doubles, and Cravero, Ben Herdon-Miller, Sam Carey, and Matt Bach-Lombardo each singled in CVSLL ten-hit effort.

July 15

In the opening game of the play-down of the District 2 state tournament, the Peregrines remained unbeaten, defeating Long Trail 13-0. Pitchers Joe Cravero, Jordan Levin (1-0), and Evan Green Greenwald tossed a combined one-hitter, walking three, and striking out ten. Greenwald, who had homered earlier in the game, escaped a bases loaded no-out jam in the bottom of the sixth inning by striking out the side. CVSLL played crisp defense, including Cravero's unassisted double play at first base, and Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris's impeccable plays at third base. Besides Greenwald, hitting stars for CVSLL included Matt Bach-Lombardo, Levin, Cravero, and Andrew Cawley, who each pounded out a pair of hits. Cawley, Jesse Cutting, Cravero, and Levin had two RBIs apiece and Brandon Gray came off the bench and chipped in a timely, run-scoring single.

July 6

The Peregrines got back to work, three-hitting Randolph, 12-2 on dominant pitching from starter Cyrus Rothwell-Ferraris, with relief from Levin and Eastman. Rothwell-Ferraris helped himself out with two doubles and three runs scored, while Cravero scored three times, and Bach-Lombardo drove in four. The Peregrines advance next to the Vermont District 2 finals to be played in Randolph, Vermont.

July 5

The Peregrines opened tournament play with a decisive win in the first round of the Vermont District 2 play-offs, which the CVSLL hosted at Post Mills, Vermont. The team rode deep pitching and balanced offense to an 11-2 win. Six different hurlers – Jordy Levin, Matt Bach-Lombardo, Evan Greenwald, Andrew Cawley, Joe Cravero, and Nathaniel Eastman – combined to silence Central Vermont’s bats. Meanwhile, the host team put up big numbers early behind solid hitting and aggressive base-running from Levin, Bach-Lombardo, Cravero, Jesse Cutting, Matt Perry, Sam Carey, and Jake Farhnam. The offensive star, however, was rookie Brandon Gray, who jumped on a fastball in the fourth inning, taking it way over the center field fence and through the windshield of a Central Vermont fan who failed to appreciate how much power the Peregrines have, even deep in its order.