Sports: Cote, Chester dominate Westminster for Majors championship

By Greg Hart

Chester 5th Grader Dan Cote pitched a masterful one-hitter, with the Chester Reds winning by a score of 6-0 during the Valley Youth Baseball Majors Championship on Wednesday, June 27 at Greven Field in Cavendish.

Above, Dan Cote was the winning pitcher in the Chester Reds’ championship game against the Westminster Vikings.  ON THE COVER:  In the back, from left, Assistant Coach Steve Otis, Evan Otis, Garrett Delaney, Jeremy Fleming, Levi Clay, Ryan McSally, Head Coach Mark Bodin, Brian Anderson, Assistant Coach Rich Anderson and Pitcher Dan Cote.Front row from left, Jacob Pailley, Jonah Caum, Owen Massey, Chris Savage Kyle Monier and Josh Bodin./ Photos by Lee Lloyd

Cote took a no-hitter two outs into the the sixth and final inning, when it was broken up by his pitching counterpart, Westminster’s starter Jack Langeloh, with a sharp single up the middle. The game ended with Langeloh being thrown out attempting a steal of second base. Chester celebrated the championship for the 5th & 6th Grade team by swarming its ace on the mound.

Cote started the game with a walk to Viking’s leadoff hitter Aiden Smith. From there he quickly settled in and overpowered the Westminster lineup from top to bottom with 15 strikeouts and the Vikings only putting two balls into play before Langeloh’s single.

Chester got on the board early with two runs in the first inning. Powered by a leadoff double from catcher Ryan McSally, an RBI single from Jonah Caum and then Cote’s own RBI double, the Chester bats looked good early. But Westminster’s Langeloh squashed the Red’s rally, finishing the inning with two strikeouts.

In the bottom of the second, Westminster coach Tom Langeloh, pulled his starting pitcher in favor of tall righty Galen Kingston-Shaw. It was shaping up as a pitchers’ duel as Kingston-Shaw shut down the Reds on two strikeouts and a groundout, and Cote followed suit with three straight strikeouts in the top of the third.

Then came the pivotal bottom of the third by Chester. Kingston-Shaw started the inning with a strikeout, but ran into trouble. Key hits came again from McSally, Caum and Cote. Aided by a walk and a fielder’s choice, the Reds showed their speed on the basepaths with steals, taking advantage of passed balls and wild pitches, adding four runs in the inning for a 6-0 lead.

Vikings Coach Langeloh brought his starter, son Jack, back on to pitch the remainder and he finished strong, holding the Reds scoreless for two innings. But with a six-run lead, Cote continued his power pitching dominance the rest of the way, and in spite of the Vikings’ tenacious at-bats and never-give-up attitude, all they could manage was one hit.

Two classy, well-coached teams shook hands, received their medals and trophies and shared ice cream after the game.

Chester Coach Mark Bodin credited the hard work his team has put in since the season began and also noted that for the 6th Grade members of the team, it represented their third trip to the championship in four years, winning all three. Bodin was also quick to acknowledge his respect for the Vikings squad, a top-ranked foe that Chester hadn’t played during the regular season.

The Westminster team finished its season 7-1, rolling through in high-scoring style until meeting its match in the finals. Vikings Coach Langeloh tipped his cap to Chester and Cote after the game saying, “We’ve been scoring a lot of runs all season. We just haven’t faced a pitcher like Dan Cote.”

Red Minors take home the championship in extra innings

The Chester Reds Minors, with a regular season record of 7-1, took on the undefeated 8-0 Springfield Dodgers on Tuesday night, June 26, with the Reds winning a hard fought game in extra innings 12-7.   The game was tied at 6-6 after the regulation six innings. Chester then erupted for 6 runs in the decisive top half of the seventh, after Springfield had to pull its starter who had reached his regulated innings limit of six.

Springfield managed to score only once in the bottom half of the inning, resulting in the Dodgers only loss of the season  and Chester earning the championship title.
The game was a back-and-forth affair featuring two comebacks from the Chester squad during the first six innings, in what Reds’ Assistant Coach Russ Monier termed “a total team effort.”

Valley Youth Baseball League Majors Championship Game (5th & 6th Grades)

Chester Reds Roster
Head Coach Mark Bodin, Assistant Coaches Rich Anderson & Steve Otis
# name position
4 Ryan McSally C
6 Jonah Caum RF
48 Jeremy Fleming CF
13 Evan Otis 1B
41 Dan Cote P
10 Brian Anderson DH
25 Josh Bodin 2B
16 Kyle Monier SS
55 Jacob Pailley LF
17 Garrett Delaney 3B
Reserves
53 Chris Savage
5 Owen Massey
22 Levi Clay

Westminster Vikings Roster
Head Coach Tom Langeloh, Assistant Coach Jim Saunders
# name position
10 Aiden Smith CF
1 Lucas Saunders 1B
2 Jack Langeloh P
14 Galen Kingston-Shaw SS
16 Nolen Donovan 3B
6 John Donovan 2B
12 Gunnar Sawyer C
13 Nicolas Mitchell RF
4 Hyim Savel LF
Reserves
8 Owen Rounds
5 Conor Smith
7 Cooper Stafford