One is good. Two is better.
This summer was a magical one for Lynnfield Little League, which saw its 10- and 11-year-old All-Star teams record District 16 victories during the same July weekend.
With managers Casey Paton (10s) and Chris Cavallo (11s) helming their squads, the 10s roped 14 hits and defeated Saugus, 16-1, via three-inning mercy rule. In similar fashion, the 11s delivered a four-inning, 10-0 smashing of Peabody West.
10s power through Saugus from the get-go
Bats were on fire at Duratti, Holmes, and Cerone Field in Swampscott.
The win was Lynnfield’s fifth in a row, after losing to Wyoma in game No. 2 of the tournament and being relegated to the losers’ bracket.
“After a hard-fought win yesterday (10-6 against Saugus to force an all-deciding game), we had momentum coming in today,” Paton said. “We wanted to start fast and we had a great top of the first inning and then, we were very disciplined at the plate. We got some good baserunning and big hits across the whole lineup. Having played six games before this really helped us. It’s tough to be in the losers’ bracket, but at the same time, the team really had a chance to gel, and positions and batting order got solidified.”
Every Lynnfield player reached base safely and scored at least one run. Eleven times Lynnfield had a batter at the plate with the bases loaded in the first two innings. Five players registered multiple hits.
While the offensive stats were off the charts, so was the pitching. Max Polansky got the start and didn’t disappoint. He twirled a two-hitter, allowing three walks and only two Saugus baserunners to touch third base. The only run Saugus scored was unearned.
And the defense? When was the last time you saw a 3-5 double play in Little League ball, let alone by 10-year olds?
First baseman Korbin O’Blenes and third baseman Maverick Ward pulled that off in the second inning, likely saving a run from scoring after Lynnfield had jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first.
This one happened so fast. Polansky needed only nine pitches to retire Saugus in order in the top of the first, sandwiching two strikeouts around a nice ground out to shortstop Justin Yunes.
In the bottom of the inning, eight of the first nine Lynnfield batters smacked base hits, including a three-run, bases-loaded double from Paul DeLeo and RBI singles from Yunes, Bryce Paton, and Charles O’Hara.
Lynnfield kept its foot on the gas in the second, batting around the order and making the most of five hits, as well as a couple of Saugus miscues, walks, and wild pitches to score nine runs and take a commanding 16-0 lead. All told, 13 batters went to the plate. Korbin O’Blenes had a two-run single, while Yunes, O’Hara, and DeLeo had one RBI single each in the rally.
In a sure sign that everything was going Lynnfield’s way, its final run scored when Will O’Brien got caught in a rundown between third and home after a wild pitch. O’Brien managed to beat the defense.
For Lynnfield, DeLeo had a monster game, finishing 2-for-2 with four RBI and one run scored, while Yunes (2-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI), O’Hara (2-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 R), O’Blenes (2-for-3, 2 RBI, R), Bruno Palumbo (1-for-2, 2 R), Matthew Shields (1-for-2, 2 R), Polansky (1-for-1, 2 R), Paton (1-for-2, RBI, R), Maverick Ward (1-for-2, R, RBI), O’Brien (2 BB, RBI, R), and Brendan McMahon (R) also made key offensive contributions.
11s rout Peabody West in four innings
Same field. Same dominance.
The Mandell Brothers, pitcher Nico and catcher Luca, were the ringleaders for Lynnfield in this one.
“They controlled the game,” Cavallo said. “You can tell they’ve played together for a long time. [Nico] is our best player and our best pitcher. He won four games.”
Nico faced a bit of difficulty in the first inning, when West loaded the bases with two outs before wigging free. From then on, he allowed only two baserunners. He fanned seven batters in four innings as well.
The offense got into the act in the third inning, when Lynnfield scored four runs off West starter Jaxson Ballatini – one of two pitchers Peabody used. Finn Charville led off by reaching on a hot shot to third, and Xander Maliawco followed with another base hit.
Matthew Cavallo got the third straight hit, scoring Charville with the first run. An error put runners on second and third, with John Kayola knocking them both in on the fourth base hit of the inning.
Kayola came home on another error.
The roof fell in on Peabody West in the fourth inning when Lynnfield scored six runs, with Maliawco coming home with the last one on a base hit by Kayola.
Cavallo enjoyed his team’s balance.
“Most teams will talk about their first four or five hitters,” he said, “but all our hitters can swing the bat and hit the ball. I think they do well.”
