With the euphoria of winning a state championship still fresh in their minds, the Wellesley South Little Leaguers now have a week to get ready for an even bigger stage, the New England Regional which kicks off for them a week from today in Bristol, CT. Wellesley Sports Blitz will be helping set the stage all week by previewing the regional beginning today with the full regional schedule. All games are held at Breen Field, 335 Mix Street in Bristol, and will be broadcast live on ESPN 3 unless noted otherwise. Here is the schedule!

Opening Round: 8-7

Game 1: Scarborough (Maine) vs. Brattleboro (Vermont) 1 pm

Game 2: Fairfield American (Connecticut) vs. Bedford (New Hampshire) 7 pm

Winners Bracket Semifinals: 8-8

Game 3: Warwick North (Rhode Island) vs. Winner Game 1 1 pm

Game 4: Wellesley South vs. Winner Game 2 7 pm

Elimination Bracket Quarterfinals: 8-9

Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 4 (elim.) 1 pm

Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3 (elim.) 7 pm

Winners Bracket Final: 8-10

Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 4 pm ( Winner to championship game)

Elimination Bracket Semifinal: 8-11

Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 (elim.) 1 pm ESPN

Elimination Bracket Final: 8-12

Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (elim.) 1 pm ESPN (Winner to championship game)

Championship Game: 8-13

Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 1 pm ESPN

As we enter the first week of August the summer travel season is winding down for most Wellesley teams except of course for Wellesley South who will make the trek to Bristol for the New England Regional starting a week from tomorrow. Now while there is only one game on the schedule this week that doesn’t mean there will be a lack of content as starting tomorrow I will be revealing the full New England Regional schedule and then previewing each of Wellesley’s potential opponents! Now here’s a look at the week ahead!

Monday 8-1

U12 South @ Medfield Blue (Metacomet) 7:30 pm

Tuesday 8-2

No Games

Wednesday 8-3

No Games

Thursday 8-4

No Games

Friday 8-5

No Games

Saturday 8-6

No Games

Sunday 8-7

No Games.

Today was the day the Wellesley South Little Leaguers had dreamed about all summer, as they took on Pittsfield for the Massachusetts State Championship and a trip to the regionals in Bristol, CT. Wellesley was looking for their first state title since 2012, and boy did they respond as they behind another strong offensive effort South took home a 9-3 victory. It started right out of the gate as Mark Heinsohn and Jack Toomey went back to back the first two batters of the game, before Heinsohn’s second homer a two run homer in the third put Wellesley up 4-0 early. Pittsfield tried to climb their way back in with 2 in the bottom of the 4th but a 3 run homer by Drew Renzella and a two run single by Charlie Delomme in the 5th gave Wellesley the cushion they needed as Pittsfield could only muster 1 more run in the 6th to cap the scoring. Matt Lussier went the distance on the mound for South and got help once again from his defense all game long. Wellesley South now moves on to the double elimination New England Regional in Bristol, where they will meet the winner of Fairfield CT/Bedford NH on Monday August 8th at 7 pm. Full schedule to come later!

Yesterday I posed the question of when the last time was before this past November that a Wellesley-Needham game was played at a neutral field and the answer is… 1976 when the game was played at Harvard Stadium to celebrate the BiCentennial! Congratulations to Isaac Blake who gave the correct answer and won this week’s Dunkin Gift Card!

It all came down to this, Wellesley South vs. Beverly in game 3 of the state final four pool play round. This game was a defacto semifinal game as to the winner would go a berth in the state championship game tomorrow. Every fan in attendance whether supporters of either team or a casual observer certainly got their money’s worth as both teams engaged a defensive battle for the ages with neither team able to break through for the first 2 innings. Finally in the top of the third it was Wellesley breaking through as Jack Toomey singled home Mark Heinsohn to give South a 1-0 lead. That’s all they would need as Chris Kenney shut down a potent Beverly offense for 5+ innings before giving way to Matt Lussier to close it out. It wasn’t a walk in the park though for Lussier as Beverly loaded the bases with two outs before a pop up back to Lussier sealed Wellesley South’s trip to the state finals, their appearance since winning the states back in 2012. South will face Pittsfield in the final, a team they beat just last night 12-1 in 5 innings. Game time is set for noon at Westwood!

Tonight was a must win for Wellesley South as they looked to bounce back from a tough opening night loss to Fairhaven/Acushnet and knock off Pittsfield South to stay alive for a shot at the state title. After only putting up 3 runs in the opener, Wellesley’s offense gave a grade a performance on this night, as they cruised to a 12-1 victory in 5 innings, behind 6 home runs, including two each by Mark Heinsohn and Matt Lussier one of which was a 3 run homer, along with a solo homer by David Blair and a grand slam by Drew Renzella. With the win Wellesley South now stands at 1-1, which coincidentally is the record of the other 3 teams in the final four, which means that tomorrows games, including Wellesley’s matchup with Beverly (3 pm) will be win or go home with the winners advancing to Sunday’s state championship game (Noon)!

Summer is zipping by as we have reached the last Friday in July and thus time for another edition of Raider Friday Trivia! This week we have another Dunkin Gift Card on the line for the correct answer. Today’s question is… prior to last November at Fenway Park, when was the last time a Wellesley Needham Thanksgiving Day football game was played at a neutral field? Answer tomorrow!

Tonight was a very big night for Williamsport South who opened up state final four play against Fairhaven/Acushnet in Westwood. Meanwhile over at Reidy there were two U10 games including one featuring two Wellesley teams facing off. Could Wellesley South pull out a win and how would the two Reidy games fare, let’s find out!

Results for 7-28-16

Fairhaven/Acushnet 8 Williamsport South 3

U10 South 17 U10 North Ahern 7

Needham Blue 16 U10 North Lee 0

Unlike last night tonight was a perfect night for baseball, as over at Reidy the U12 South team took to the field against Westwood. Would they come out on top, let’s find out!

Result for 7-26-16

Westwood 6 U12 South 5

Despite threats of storms throughout the evening any potential bad weather held off as two of the U10 teams took to the field at Reidy for the nightly doubleheader. Could both come out with wins on this night, let’s find out!

Results for 7-25-16

U10 South 10 Parkway 0

U10 North Ahern 4 Medfield 3