Essex Town returns to glory, captures first Little League baseball title since 1999

Essex Town saw its ace, near his pitch limit, exit in a one-run game in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Addison County was itching to pounce — bases loaded and two outs — and force a winner-take-all championship. Essex Town looked to avoid a return trip to Schifilliti Field.

"It was as intense as baseball can get," Essex Town manager Cory Pike said.

And when Addison County's Mason Forand lofted a pitch to left, Pike immediately feared the worst outcome for his side: Over the shortstop's head.

"Once I saw his feet stop moving, I knew he had the baseball," Pike said.

Max Smith back-pedaled to the outfield grass, secured the catch and set off a wild celebration for Essex Town, which held off Addison County 2-1 on Saturday to claim the 10- and 12-year-old Little League baseball state crown for the first time since 1999.

Title sealed. Drought dusted. Bristol booked.

"These kids have shown unbelievable work ethic. They’ve shown up, done their jobs day in and day out. They love the sport, they love the game — it makes them easy to coach," Pike said. "But it’s an even bigger picture than that. It is a complete effort in the entire organization. The kids got it done, but the background of everything involved has just been tremendous."

Essex Town will head to the New England regionals — more on that below — in Bristol, Connecticut. The regional tournament runs Aug. 8-14. Essex Town went 10-0 during district and state tournament play, outscoring opponents 67-16.

"(Essex Town) earned Bristol, but we wanted Bristol bad, the boys wanted Bristol bad," Addison County manager Randy Barnes said. "I’m very proud with how they played, extremely proud. This was a great summer."

District I champion Addison County couldn't solve Essex Town hurler Bryce Barber for a second straight game. Barber fanned 14 in last Saturday's state tournament game vs. Addison County, a 7-3 victory.

Saturday, Barber mowed down 11 batters while yielding four hits and one earned run. But Addison County opened the sixth with back-to-back hits from Cameron Castillo and Ryan Brouillard. After a fielder's choice for the first out, Stefan Johnson drilled a single up the middle to cut the Essex Town lead to 2-1.

Pike then called on Michael MacDougall to relief Barber, who stood at 83 pitches, two shy of the limit. MacDougall got a swinging strikeout on a 2-2 pitch, issued an intentional walk to the next batter, and then got Forand on the soft liner to Smith to end Addison County's comeback bid with the bases loaded.

For MacDougall, it was his third pressure-packed relief outing since district play. 

"I think two years ago, he would admit to you that he was an extremely nervous ballplayer. We went to him (in districts) when we really needed him and he shut the game down and it’s like a light switch flipped," Pike said of MacDougall. "Now, he’s a gamer and he comes in and he closed out three massive games for us. I have no concerns going to MacDougall — it’s unbelievable what he’s done."

Barnes, the Addison County manager, tipped his cap to Barber, the hard-throwing righty with a knee-buckling change-up.

"Bryce is one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen at this level in the state of Vermont," Barnes said. "They didn’t give in and I thought they would because they thought Bryce had their number. The life lesson out of all this is, never give up. Every out matters."

And like he's done all summer, Barber also led the way at the plate. He served up a two-run homer to right-center in the third inning, his fifth long ball of the all-star season. Kian Eklof added a 2-for-3 day for Essex Town.

"I don’t know how else to put it with (Barber). He’s the team leader, he’s the backbone of this team," Pike said. "He’s a great kid to coach. The future is very bright for him."

Castillo took the loss for Addison County, going three innings and yielding four hits and two runs while fanning five. Johnson tossed three scoreless frames in relief.

The state tournament was moved to Schifilliti Field late in the week after Bennington, the original host, exited due to COVID exposure. Addison County was slated to play Bennington on Friday in an elimination game before the District II champion's withdrawal.

Essex Town's 1999 title run capped a stretch of four crowns in five years.

Up next: New England regionals

While Essex Town ended a 22-year state title drought, the District III champion faces even greater odds at the New England regionals.

Only one Vermont team — South Burlington in 2001 — has made the New England championship game since Little League officials reconfigured its regional tournaments two decades ago.

Under previous formats, North Burlington in 1981 made the Eastern title game and lost, and the 1975 North Burlington squad captured the New England crown to reach the Eastern tournament but fell in the semifinals.

No team from Vermont has reached South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series.

But this year, the Little League World Series will not include international teams due to a range of contributing factors. The tournament will comprise of 16 American teams, two from each of the eight regions.

Essex Town is scheduled to play Rhode Island state champion North Providence on Sunday, Aug. 8 to open the double-elimination tournament. The 1 p.m. contest will be streamed on ESPN+.

"The fact that these kids and this team has gotten to this point, to me, everything moving forward is about the experience," Pike said. "And I cannot wait for the rest of it."

Disclosure: Free Press Staff Alex Abrami has a family member who plays for Essex Town.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

ESSEX TOWN'S SUMMER RUN

Districts

Essex Town 11, Lamoille 0 (4)

Essex Town 19, Missisquoi 4 (4)

Essex Town 1, Georgia 0

Essex Town 5, Browns River 1

Essex Town 4, Fairfax 1

Essex Town 4, Georgia 3 (8)

Essex Town 8, Fairfax 0 (D-III final)

State tournament

Essex Town 7, Addison County 3

Essex Town 6, Bennington 3

Essex Town 2, Addison County 1