BURLINGTON — The Middlebury Little League baseball 10- and 11-year-old all-stars on Tuesday defeated South Burlington, 10-8, to claim the District I title.
The Middlebury team — consisting of players from Middlebury, Weybridge, Cornwall, Shoreham, Leicester and Bridport — earned a berth in this weekend’s state championship tournament in St. Johnsbury.
Middlebury had to defeat South Burlington twice to win the District I title; on Monday, the local nine knocked off SB, 8-1. SB had earlier defeated Middlebury in the double elimination round, putting Middlebury in the position of needing to win on both Monday and Tuesday.
Other teams in the District were Williston, Colchester and Shelburne. Middlebury went 3-1 in initial pool play, with the loss again to SB, before earning the title with a 4-1 mark in the double-elimination round.
Coach Charlie Messenger said the team used eight pitchers and played solid defense, turning six double plays and making most of the routine plays.
Messenger also credited co-coach Gabe Cameron’s work with the hitters for some of the team’s success.
“We averaged 10 runs a game,” he said. “We crushed the ball.”
And the entire team contributed, Messenger said.
“All the players are interchangeable in the field and at the plate, and everybody stepped up when we needed them,” he said.
The members of the Middlebury 11-year-old all-star team are Steddy Amory, Pierson Beatty, Ben Francoeur, Andrew Gleason, Oakley Gordon, Christopher Grier, Jack Hounchell, Therran Leggett, James Lincoln, Patrick Messenger, Liam Smith and Andrew Trombley.