Henry Veilleux gave his team a day off following its final game in District 1 play. The boys certainly earned it.

After a championship run in the 11- and 12-year-old Little League baseball tournament, Veilleux rewarded his team with a day to recuperate and prepare themselves for one more week of baseball – at least.

The Bedford all-stars knocked off Windham on consecutive days to win the district championship and earn the right to face Portsmouth in a best-of-three series. A spot in the regional tournament, including the best teams from other New England states and New York, is on the line.

On Sunday, July 19, Bedford secured a spot against perennial power Portsmouth with a 6-2 victory over winners’ bracket victor Windham.

Yet the championship game seemed anticlimactic following the first Bedford-Windham meeting on Saturday, July 18.

In that contest, Windham held an 8-3 lead in the fifth inning, but Bedford began to mount a comeback in the home half of the inning.

Nick Angelini started the charge harmlessly enough with a one-out bunt single. Then Aidan Wheeler walked, and Kyle Andersson knocked home a run with a single. Brett Veilleux and Brett Silva chipped in run-scoring singles soon after, and another scored when Kyle McDonald reached on an error. Matt Tierney tied the game with a clutch single.

In the bottom of the sixth, Kyle Andersson calmly dug into the batter’s box and, as he’s done throughout the tournament, propelled his team to victory, blasting a walk-off solo home run to set up the decisive second game.

Andersson then made sure his team’s season would continue, this time from the mound. He pitched 5 2/3 innings to earn the win and help his team move on to face Portsmouth.

“Saturday’s game was critical for us winning on Sunday. It made it so much easier,” said Henry Veilleux. “We are going to be behind as we move forward, and in this case we were very behind. Now when we’re down, the heads will stay up. It takes that – you have to be able to play from behind and win.”

During the second game against Windham, Andersson blasted a fourth-inning threerun home run to give Bedford a 5-2 lead, and the team cruised to victory.

Windham manager Jim Bail’s team had a week off between the final game of the winners’ bracket and its matchups with Bedford, something he said hurt his team.

“Bedford was sharp. They had been playing for their lives all week while we were practicing, just not at the same intensity,” said Bail. “We ran into a really good hitting team that was in the flow.”

Henry Veilleux described the scene after his team’s walkoff win as pandemonium, and said the day off the following Monday was critical after seeing how emotionally and physically tired his players were.

Following the respite, it was right back to practice for Bedford, which plays the series against Portsmouth in Windham beginning Saturday, July 25. First pitch is 4 p.m. A second game takes place Sunday, July 26. If necessary, a third game is set for Tuesday, July 28.

While winning the District 1 bracket was a big step for Henry Veilleux and his team, he and his players aren’t satisfied.

“Our goal has been to get to regionals and make a bid for the Little League World Series. They’ve been working towards that, and they really believe they have a shot to do that,” he said. “That would really make it a summer to remember for them.”