Upper Valley ‘Rauders

09/10/2026

09/08/2026

It was not the greatest day at the office for the Rauders today, as both teams labored through their championship games, with the Underclass team falling, 10-1, to the CT Crush and the 18u squad losing, 7-0, to the CT Hurricanes to close out an otherwise successful and productive Firecracker Labor Day tournament.

in the first game, the Underclass team allowed seven runs in the first inning and never recovered, scoring its lone run in the third when Corbin Hough was hit by a pitch and scored on Max Smith’s well-struck double to the base of the fence in centerfield. Other highlights from the game include a double down the line in left from Carter Glines in the first inning, singles from Sebastian Garro and Duke Kelley, and two strong innings of relief from Owen McCarthy.

The team finished the weekend 3-1-1 and had five players hit over .400 in the tournament, led by Glines (.625) and Garro and Ethan Belchamber (.455).

Approximately 20 minutes later, things started similarly for the 18u’s, with the Hurricanes jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first and a 5-0 lead after two innings, with a combination of well-struck hits and defensive misfortune creating the early deficit.

One of the big swings in momentum occurred in the top of the second, when the ‘Rauders loaded the bases with one out for Carson Andrick. Following a pitch, the Hurricanes catcher attempted to back pick Chase Mears at third base with the ball striking Andrick’s bat, then helmet, before rolling near the backstop. The umpires, following a poor-executed deliberation, decided to rule interference on the play, declaring Andrick out and returning the runners to their original bases, despite essentially admitting they botched the call. (An unprompted, postgame text from the Hurricanes program director later confirmed the botched call.)

That call proved costly, as the Hurricanes extended its lead to 5-0 and then scored two more late runs to put the game away. Their starter fired a complete-game five-hitter and was in control throughout, receiving a well-deserved MVP award for his efforts. Mears was the offensive star of the game, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk, including a wall-scraping double in his final at bat. Ryan Peloso, Andrick and Miles Lawrence added the other hits.

The 18u team finished 4-1 on the weekend, with Cam Castillo leading the way offensively (.500), followed by Miles Desrosiers and Will Myers at .400. The pitching staff struck out 41 in 29 innings, holding opponents to a .226 batting average.

09/07/2026

Four lives remaining! Great two-player player, intense competitor and someone who clearly loves the game!

All you needed to have done is see how he performed yesterday - grinding great at bats, running the bases with aggressive abandon to give us the lead then closing out the game with some clutch relief pitching... before crushing a game-opening triple in the second game. All while smiling, cheering, and chatting about the game nonstop in the dugout and supporting his teammates relentlessly.

09/06/2026

The UV Rauders had a great day today, winning a pair of games at the 16u and 18u levels to advance to the championship game in their respective divisions tomorrow. The Underclass team rode the arms of Bryson Morgan in game one and Max Smith in game two on its way to 7-3 and 9-3 wins over the CT Hurricanes and BAA Hammerheads, respectively. The 18u team, meanwhile, fought back in extra innings to beat the RI Devils, 5-4, and then rallied from a 4-0 deficit to knock off the CT Hurricanes, 12-6 in the nightcap.

For the Underclass group, Morgan (6.1 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7K) was strong out of the gate, as the Rauders build a 7-1 lead, including three in the first inning, highlighted by Owen Daley's double and an RBI single from Carter Glines. Nursing a 3-1 lead into the fifth, Ethan Belchamber dumped a two-run single into right field, pushing the score to 5-1 and an inning later, Corbin Hough plated another with an RBI single and Owen McCarthy scored the final run.

Smith (5 IP, 3H, 1 R, 6 K) was just as good in game two, and another strong first inning (5 runs) gave UV a nice cushion. A bases-loaded walk to Daley, two-run single from Sebastian Garro and two-run double off Duke Kelley's bat - all with two outs - got the game started well. Another two runs in the fourth on Morgan and Collin Miller's back-to-back singles, pushed the lead to 7-1.

The 18u team, behind the strong pitching of Alex Trudel, built a 3-0 lead heading into the final inning but the Reds used a bloop, two-run single and an aggressive steal of third to tie the game with just one remaining. In extras, with a runner placed on second, Brayden Bull walked and Cam Castillo was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Abe Ready, who delivered a sacrifice fly to deep center to reclaim the lead, before Chase Mears crushed a double down the line in left to score Bull for a 5-3 lead.

The Rauders built their 3-0 advantage with single runs in the first (Castillo RBI double), third (Castillo RBI single), and fourth innings (Ryan Peloso triple, Will Myers double). Trudel (5.2 IP, 4H, 2R, 7K) was strong into the sixth and got relief help from Jacoby Dircranian, who struck out the final hitter of the sixth to end a rally and then shut things down in extras to earn the win.

In the nightcap, after a 1-2-3 top of the first, the Canes scored four unearned runs against starter Miles Lawrence, aided by a pair of infield errors. The Rauders finally broke through for their first run in the third (Bull RBI single) and then added sixth in the fourth, with Castillo opening the inning with a double before RBI hits from Ready, Carson Andrick, Myers (double) and Bull. The Canes closed the gap to 7-6 but a single run in the fourth (Peloso double) and then four more in in the fifth put the game away. Jack Fiengo started the rally with a one-out single and a two-run single from Bull and Dircranian RBI triple were the big hits.

Peloso pitched the final two innings, giving up one hit and striking out 5 to close things out. Castillo was 5-for-8 in the doubleheader, while Bull was 3-for-3 and drove in four in the second game. Myers had doubles in each game and reached base 6 times. Mears was a rock behind the plate, catching every inning while hitting safely in both as well.

Both teams play for the championship at RIC tomorrow, with the Underclass group facing the CT Crush at 11:15 and the 18u team squaring off with the 17U Hurricanes at 1:30.