Bedford All-Stars Fall One-Win Short of Eastern Regional Final

They carried the New Hampshire championship banner to Rhode Island, and while they returned home with the same pride and accomplishment with which they left Bedford two weeks ago, Bedford's 9- and 10-year-old all-stars did so without a coveted second banner in tow.

Indeed, the locals dropped their first and final matchups at the Eastern Regionals in Coventry, RI, but garnered two impressive victories in between.

Playing against the top teams from around New England in the round robin tournament, the Granite State's representatives fell in their first contest, 11-2 to Southington South, Conn., but strung together 18 hits to plunk North Andover West, Mass., 21- 7, and then continued their onslaught with an 18-7 victory against Windham, ME.

In their final matchup, against Portsmouth, RI, on Thursday night, Bedford suffered a tough 8-5 loss. As it turned out, it was the earlier loss to Team Connecticut that ultimately kept Bedford out of the championship contest.

Bedford Patch wants to congratulate the following members of Bedford's all-star team on a fantastic summer run:

• Emet Baker
• TJ Crowley
• Andrew Douthart
• Nolan Ingemi
• Ryan Juliano
• Kyle Lavigne
• Alex Lobdell
• Michael Pratte
• TJ O'Connell
• Adam Roy
• Tommy Saltzman
• Ethan St. Hilaire
• Silas Forcier (alternate)

The team was managed by Jamie Saltzman and coached by Todd O'Connell, Mark St. Hilaire and Chris Roy.