2015 Lakers Defeat Armadillos in Extras to Capture 35+ Title in Vermont
Vermont Senior Baseball League 35+ Division
Colchester Lakers 4, Williston Armadillos 3
‘Two Knocks in the Tenth Plate Winning Run’
Submitted by Art Dusablon, Lakers manager
On a spectacular day for baseball the Vermont Men’s Senior Baseball Championships went to extra innings to decide the champion. In a clean, competitive game the Colchester Lakers were able to score a run in the top of the 10th and with stellar relief pitching in the bottom of the inning won the Championship against the Williston Armadillos by a score of 4-3.
With Williston leading for most of the game Colchester persisted, scratching out two runs with key hits by Chris Coleman and Glenn Cioffi in the top of the eighth to knot the game at three apiece. Neither team was able to score again in regulation.
In the top of the tenth Chris Brosseau lead off with a double then went to third on a fielder’s choice. Williston had brought the infield in and Art Dusablon was able to crack a single up the middle to drive home the run, which turned into the game winner. Colchester had completed an impressive comeback victory.
The game was marked by top of the line pitching. Eric Muttilainen and Dana Perrotte shared mound duties for Colchester, who were both undefeated during the regular season, while Ken Freeman who has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the league for the past ten years went the distance for Williston. One hit worth noting was Nick Goodreau’s home run that traveled close to 400 feet, by far one of the farthest home runs ever hit in a championship game. Colchester finished with a 15-2 record and avenged a regular season loss to Williston.
Some of the highlights of the 2015 season were the two wins over former Major league pitcher Bill Lee, beating him twice, 7-0 during the regular season and 8-2 in the playoffs. Another highlight was getting a chance to play at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. It was a humbling experience to say the least. One of the most important qualities was the ability for our roster of 16 players to play as a team and do whatever it took for the benefit of the team to win games. Each player contributed at some point during the season which made us so dangerous. Opposing pitcher’s never got a break.
Although some of the people from the team were mentioned above for their contributions in the championship game, the road to get there and the ability to reach our goal would have never happened without Shawn Dusablon, Steve Lafar, John Martin, Jon Wheeler, Jansen Satterlee, Jason Sunowice, Brian Douglas, Steve Combs and Mark Digangi. They provided unselfishness, professionalism and contributed to do whatever it took for the benefit of the team throughout the year. 2015 Vermont State 35 & Older Champions has a nice ring to it !!!!!