The bats fell silent for the Lynnfield Little League 9-year-old All-Star team, which fell to Peabody West, 6-2, Thursday (Aug. 8) night in the championship game of the Wyoma Tournament.
The Pioneers mustered just two hits, but patience at the plate – resulting in eight walks – gave Lynnfield plenty of baserunners. Unfortunately, the Pioneers just couldn’t deliver timely hits when needed.
The team finished the season 11-2 with their only two losses coming at the hands of Peabody West. Despite the disappointing outcome in the final, head coach Mark O’Brien said the season was a huge success.
“Our Lynnfield 9-year-olds had a terrific run this summer and had so much fun playing together as a team,” he said. “Every game, they gave it their all while wearing a smile. Every one of our players contributed to our success and it was an absolute pleasure for our coaching staff to coach them. These players have a lot of success in their futures.”
Lynnfield’s only production came in the first and fourth innings. Brendan McMahon (2 BB) led off the first with a walk and scored on an error. In the fourth, Bruno Palumbo (1-for-2) singled and advanced all the way to home on passed balls. Matthew Shields (1-for-2) had Lynnfield’s only other hit. Paulie DeLeo (2 BB), Charlie O’Hara, Logan Garcia and Brock McKelvey reached base on walks.
Palumbo started and pitched 2 ⅔ innings, allowing six runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Justin Yunes pitched an inning of scoreless relief, allowing just one one hit and one walk. The game was called in the fourth inning due to inclement weather.
O’Brien gave credit to Peabody West for “always fielding terrific teams.”
“Peabody West took two out of three from us this summer,” he said. “They have a very, very good club.”
