Pittsfield National League All-Stars Win District Crown

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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DALTON, Mass. -- The Pittsfield Little League National League All-Stars Saturday used a handful of big hits, flawless defense and overpowering pitching from Tyler Gaudette to win the District 1 title and advance to the sectional tournament.
 
Gaudette struck out 11 and allowed just four hits to earn a 4-1, complete-game win over the Pittsfield American League in the final game of the Don Gleason District 1 12-year-old tournament.
 
The NL took its second must-win game in as many days after emerging from the losers bracket of the double-elimination tourney. Earlier in the tournament, the American League had earned an 11-4 win over its rivals.
 
“It definitely brings out the motivation of the team coming out of the losers bracket after losing, 11-4,” Gaudette said. “But you can’t really get down too hard on yourself because it’s going to take you out of the game.
 
“We just put our heads forward and kept going.”
 
Less than 24 hours after Matt Lee pitched a gem to force Saturday’s winner-take-all final, Gaudette was dominant, riding his plus-60 mph fastball in a performance whose only blemish was a one-out solo home run by Chase Racine with his team trailing by four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
 
The NL broke open a one-run game with three runs in the top of the sixth.
 
The first run of the nail-biter at Chamberlain Field came in the fourth when Nick Guachione led off with a double, stole second and came home on a sacrifice fly to left off the bat of Adam Lazits.
 
For a while, it looked like that was all the offense either Gaudette or AL starter Collin Merwin would allow.
 
But Guachione struck again to open the sixth with a solo homer to center field that made it 2-0.
 
After Merwin got a strikeout, Lazits doubled and came home when Lee stroked a two-run homer to right that gave Gaudette all the cushion he needed.
 
The AL had runners in scoring position in the third and fourth with a chance to take the lead and tie the game, respectively.
 
In the third, Nick Brindle (2-for-3) singled up the middle and moved up on a wild pitch with two out, but Gaudette got the third out on a swinging strike.
 
In the fourth, Brandon Mazzeo worked a one out walk and moved up on a Charlie Heimann sac bunt and Zach Pupo’s single to put runners at the corners with two out. But the AL popped up a bunt attempt, and Gaudette jumped off the mound to stab the fly and end the inning.
 
He then went on to fan five of the final six hitters, including striking out the side around Racine’s sixth-inning homer.
 
“We knew we had two aces,” NL coach Darren Lee said of Matt Lee and Gaudette said. “We needed them to do their job, and they did it. … And the big bats came through. Guachione again and Matt Lee came through today huge -- broke it open.
 
“We played good defense today. We focused on defense. And like I said yesterday, what we tried to avoid and focused on was the big inning. We didn’t give up the big inning today, and that was the difference for us.”
 
The Pittsfield NL is off until Wednesday when it will host the first game of the sectional tournament at Clapp Park.
 
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*BREAKING* Pittsfield Super Announces Resignation

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After 30 years with the district, Superintendent Joseph Curtis has decided to step down in June.

"Serving as your superintendent has been the honor of a lifetime," he said.

"Pittsfield Public Schools and the City of Pittsfield will forever hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this remarkable journey. I will carry this time in my life very close to my heart."

Curtis announced Wednesday he will step down from his position effective June 30. His comments came at the tail end of a three-hour School Committee meeting during the superintendent's report. 

He read an emotional message that explained his decision is "The right decision for me, for the district, and the community I care deeply about."

"It is with a profound mix of emotion and gratitude that I share my decision to step down as superintendent of the Pittsfield Public Schools effective June 30, 2025," he said.

"For those who know me, you understand that every decision I've made throughout my career has been guided by one unwavering principle: Doing what I believe is in the best interest of our students. Their well-being, growth, and success have always been at the center of my work, my heart, and my soul."

His tenure has been clouded in recent months over investigations into several administrators at Pittsfield High School, and the arrest of one on drug trafficking charges. The School Committee has contracted with an independent investigator to looks at policies and procedures at the high school. 

Curtis emphasized that he has not been asked to step down.

"This is a choice that I am making independently because I firmly believe it is the right time, the right decision for me, for the district and the community I deeply care about."

He noted that his career with the district began at Conte Community School more than 30 years ago.

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