The Ray LeBel All-Stars weren’t ready to return home Sunday.

Joey Davis’ three-run double highlighted a five-run fifth inning rally as Manchester eliminated Bennington, Vt., 9-2 in a 13-year-old New England Babe Ruth Baseball Tournament losers’ bracket contest yesterday at Bullens Field in Westfield, Mass. Manchester will meet Warwick, R.I., today at 3 p.m.

Manchester lost the opening game to host Westfield, Mass., 14-4, in six innings over the weekend.

“We definitely responded after that loss to Westfield,” said Manchester manager Tony Doucet. “We still have a long road ahead of us that, as coaches, we’re not talking to the players in terms about having their backs to the wall. Our approach is basically telling them that if they win today, they get to play more baseball tomorrow. After what I saw against a good Vermont team, our kids are not ready to put their gloves away.”

Rain on Saturday suspended the game to Sunday with Manchester trailing 2-1 in the second inning.

But the LeBels exploded for five runs in the fifth inning. Pat Swanson started the rally with a double, remained there as Riley Denver walked and scored the tying run on a single by Nate Hall.

A one-out walk to Drew Merrick loaded the bases for Jason Derome, who was hit by a pitch, giving Manchester the lead for good, 3-2. After a fielders’ choice play at the plate for the second out of the inning, Davis jumped on a first pitch fastball and drilled it into the gap for three RBIs.

“Joey started his first game of the summer for us and he made the most of it,” said Doucet. “He pounded the ball in the fifth inning and defensively, he made five solid plays at third base.”

Manchester added two runs in the sixth inning. Swanson scored on a wild pitch while Hall bolted home on a single from Merrick. Brett Geddes scored the final run in the seventh inning on a groundout.

Cam Nowakowski pitched the first three innings for the LeBels while Swanson hurled four frames, allowing no runs and two hits. Hall paced Manchester’s 11-hit attack with four, while Swanson, Merrick and Derome each had two.

Doucet plans on starting Merrick on the mound today in hopes of sending Warwick back home.