Billerica 4
Lynnfield 0
Just one day after Lynnfield’s bats were on fire, they fell asleep against District 13 champion Billerica to fall to 1-1. Scoreless through the first three innings, Billerica scored twice in the top of the fourth then added two insurance runs in the top of the sixth to seal the win.
“We had great pitching again, but the timely hits just weren’t there,” said manager Chris Cavallo.
Lynnfield got off to a promising start in the bottom of the first. Luca Mandell (1-for-2) and Nico Cavallo (2-for-2) hit back-to-back singles with two outs. Each advanced into scoring position on stolen bases only to be stranded. In the fourth, Korbin O’Blenes (1-for-1) led off with a single and got to second on a single by John Kayola (1-for-2) with one out, but Billerica turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.
Trailing 2-0 in the fifth, Nico Cavallo led off with a single and was stranded. Down to its last two outs and down by four runs, Maverick Murphy was hit by a pitch and stole second to get into scoring position, but, you guessed it, he was stranded.
Alexander Maliawco (2 R, 5 H, 6 K, 2 BB) got the start and went 4 ⅔ innings. Nico Cavallo (2 R, 2 H, 2 K, 2 BB) pitched one-plus inning and Ben O’Hara (⅓ IP, 2 H) closed it out in the sixth.
Lynnfield 14
Peabody West 0
Lynnfield opened the tournament Friday with a bang, outhitting West (12-2) en route to a rout. Nico Mandell (RBI, R) led the attack with three hits, while Luca Mandell (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Finn Charville (2-for-3, R, RBI) had two hits each.
“We had great pitching and solid hitting throughout the lineup,” Chris Cavallo said.
Scoreless through the first two innings, Lynnfield piled it on in the top of the third, sending 12 batters to the plate, nine of whom scored to give Lynnfield a commanding 9-0 lead. Just for good measure, the Pioneers added five more in the sixth – the big hits being a two-run triple from Matt Cavallo (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and a two-run double from Nico Cavallo (1-for-4, 2 RBI). John Kayola (1-for-1, 2 R, RBI), Dylan Delory (1-for-1, RBI, R), Maverick Murphy (1-for-3, R, 2 RBI), Genaro Antonelli (1-for-2), and Korbin O’Blenes (1-for-2, R) also had hits.
Nico Mandell (2 IP, H, 3 K, 2 BB), O’Blenes (2 ⅔ IP, H, K) and Luca Mandell (1 1/3 IP, 3 K) combined for the win. Mandell closed out the game in style by striking out the side in the sixth.
“Lynnfield is a very good team and you can’t give them extra outs,” West manager Shaun Coburn said. “You have to play good defense and when you make mistakes, they make you pay. We have a lot of good hitters, but we have been struggling to get base hits. I give the Lynnfield players credit as their pitchers threw strikes and their fielders made the plays. We also had some defensive miscues that really cost us.”
