Too many mistakes and missed opportunities were the kiss of death for the Lynnfield baseball team in the Elite Eight Saturday against upstart Salem.
The No. 24 Witches came into enemy territory and left with the biggest upset in the Division 4 tournament, defeating the top-seeded Pioneers 7-5 to keep their Cinderella season going. The win punched the Witches’ ticket to the Final Four where they will take on No. 4 seed and defending champion Seekonk at BC High on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
All this in spite of the fact that third baseman, Fordham University bound Anthony Grabau, had a game to remember. He was a perfect 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
The Pioneers have struggled at times this year coming up with timely hits with runners on base. Saturday was just more of the same with the Pioneers stranding 11 men. Twice they left the bases loaded. Truth be told, they had six at-bats with the bases full yet came up with only two singles.
“Salem made the plays in the field when they had to and when they needed a clutch hit, they got it,” Lynnfield coach John O’Brien said. “That was the difference today. Their pitcher threw strikes. We did hit the ball hard, but they made the plays. We left too many guys on base. We wasted too many at-bats. We made too many mistakes and it’s tough to come back and correct them. We walked too many kids and we hit too many kids. That killed us. I’d have to check the book, but I’m guessing that most of those guys scored. That’s just the game of baseball I guess.”
No doubt the surprise of the tournament, on paper the Witches (13-10) were a decided underdog, but they outplayed Lynnfield in every phase of the game in this one.
Trailing 7-3 and down to their last three outs, the Pioneers loaded the bases to start the seventh. Anthony Grabau got things started, legging out a tough grounder to third and scoring on a single from Dylan Damiani to cut the deficit to 7-4. Luke DiSilvio (1-for-2) made it a two-run game with a single up the middle, scoring David Tracy (1-for-2), on base with a single. Still, with the bases loaded and just one out, Witches’ reliever Julio Ortiz struck out the next batter and induced a routine grounder to shortstop Kevin Soto to end the Pioneers season.
The Pioneers came into the game riding a 16-game winning streak, allowing only 2.4 runs per game, and holding opponents to three or fewer runs in 17 games of the 22 games they had played.
However, the Witches did not buy into any of the Pioneers’ hype, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning and forcing the home team to play from behind for the first time this postseason. The damage could have been worse, but for an inning-ending 9-3-2 play at the plate, Nick Groussis to Tracy to Cole Hawes, erased Ortiz who was attempting to score from second on a single.
Lynnfield answered right back in its half. Madux Iovinelli (1-for-1, double, 2 BBs) led off with a long double to left field. Owen Mullin (2-for-4, 2 RBI, run) brought him home with a single, thanks to a crafty slide by Iovinelli to evade catcher Shea Cristel’s tag. Mullin then stole second and scored Cristel fielded a bunt by Damiani (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and tried to get Mullin at third only to throw it wide into left field with Damiani taking second.
The Pioneers got right back at it in the third. Grabau ripped a one-out double through the fence in right for a ground-rule double, got to third on Ivoinelli’s sac fly to center, and scored on a Mullin single to put the Pioneers on top, 3-1.
It all fell apart in the fifth when the Witches teed off in a big way. They batted through the order, plating four runs, to take a 5-3 lead, the big hits being back-to-back, two-run doubles.
Luke DiSilvio (2 IP, L, 1 H, BB, HBP) came on in relief of starter Ben Dahlstedt (5 IP, 7 H, 4 Ks, 2 HBP, BB) in the fifth. DiSilvio breezed through a 1-2-3 sixth, but a walk followed by a home run that bumped the Witches’ lead to 7-3 heading into the bottom of the inning put the Pioneers’ backs to the wall.
The Witches move on to play defending state champion and No. 4 seed Seekonk, which defeated No. 5 Northbridge 10-1 on Saturday.
As far as next year goes, O’Brien said it’s all about “following the lead of the guys who are going out the door. They took advantage of their opportunities as seniors did a great job. That’s what these young guys should be thinking of, that ‘I’d like to be like those guys.'”
O’Brien said it was a bittersweet way to end, especially for the seniors.
“They’ve done a fabulous job over four years,” he said. “Just a great group of leaders and I couldn’t be more proud of them for what they have done. They always kept the team up and did whatever had to happen to win. They gave me their best effort, every kid here. Unfortunately, today didn’t work out the way we wanted, but hopefully, the underclassmen can see what kind of a class act those kids are.”
