BRISTOL, Conn. — Best known for swinging a mighty bat, Grant Lavigne used his right arm to lift Bedford's 11- and 12-year-old all-stars within one win of its first regional championship in 19 years.

A trip to the Little League World Series is at stake.

“Two-zip, it's not a big number. But, for us, it was a pretty convincing win,” Bedford manager Kevin Lavigne said Thursday after third-seeded Bedford beat No. 2 Wellesley (Mass.) South, 2-0, in front of 689 fans at Breen Field.

Up next for Bedford is No. 1 Fairfield (Conn.) American, which also qualified for Saturday's ESPN-televised 6 p.m. final.

Bedford (10-2 overall, 3-2 N.E.) last reached the regional final in 1993. The '93 squad won the East Region — which expanded to New England and Mid-Atlantic regionals in 2001 — and rolled to the U.S. championship game in Williamsport, Pa., site of the World Series.

“This was a game that they had to believe in themselves,” said Bedford's manager, whose club carried a two-game losing streak into the 10 a.m. semifinal on NESN.

The skipper's son tossed an 86-minute, two-hit complete game. Patrick Harrington's second-inning infield single delivered Joey Barrett. In the fourth, Joseph Quintal added insurance, scoring on a wild pitch after belting a leadoff triple.

“I knew I had the 1-2-3 batters coming up (in the sixth),” Grant Lavigne said. “And I had to pitch my best inning ever. I just tried to get ahead in the count and get outs.”

Bedford's strike-firing stopper — unlike many of the pitchers at the regional — relied almost exclusively on his fastball. He only threw 74 pitches (52 strikes). He struck out only one batter.

Video: Bedford manager Kevin Lavigne, and players Grant Lavigne and Alec Burns:


Twice throwing fewer than nine pitches in an inning, he instead challenged hitters.

The defense, which committed six errors in Tuesday's 9-5 loss to Massachusetts, was sharp. Third baseman Alec Burns returned from a groin injury and was a part of five of the defensive outs.

“With Grant pitching, you might not get a lot of balls hit to you. But he just pitched strikes, they hit the ball, and we just made the plays,” Burns said of the 12 ground-ball outs his teammate induced.

Video: Marc Thaler's Thursday wrapup:


The nail-biter with Massachusetts (15-4, 2-3) also included a near-violation of Little League's mandatory substitution rule.

Without a plate appearance through 4 ½ frames, Bedford's Peyton Murray, slated to hit fourth, wasn't guaranteed a fifth-inning opportunity at the plate. Leading by two runs, Bedford wasn't scheduled to hit again. (Bedford was the home team, as determined by a coin flip; tourney seedings determined semifinal opponents only.)

“We coaches had a little communication issue on where we were going to sub,” Kevin Lavigne said. “Thankfully, it all worked out. A lot of things went through my head.”

Five batters hit in the critical fifth, nullifying the two-game suspension Kevin Lavigne stood to receive.

Bedford aims to become New Hampshire's fifth regional champ — and first program to twice reach the Little League World Series.

“If you told me seven days ago that we'd be playing in the championship game for a chance to go to Williamsport, I'd say, 'That's where I expect to be. That's where I want to be.'”

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Marc Thaler may be reached at mthaler@unionleader.com.