Late comeback falls short for local nine in 7-5 heartbreaker against Salem

OWEN MULLIN follows through on his first of two RBI hits in Lynnfield’s State Tournament game against Salem on Saturday. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

LYNNFIELD — For a moment, it looked like Div. 4’s top-seeded Lynnfield Pioneers were destined to win it.

In a State Quarterfinal matchup between the Pioneers and No. 24 Salem on Saturday at Lynnfield High, the home team put up two runs in the bottom of the 7^th, putting the pressure on Salem closer Julian Ortiz after RBI singles from senior Dylan Damiani and sophomore Luke DiSilvio cut the Pioneer deficit to 7-5. With the bases still loaded and only one out, it felt like Lynnfield had a tidal wave of momentum ready to crash the shoreline of a Witches team that had shocked a full crowd after a 4-run 5^th turned a 3-1 Lynnfield lead into a 5-3 Salem advantage.

And then, Ortiz got a strikeout and a groundout to short, suddenly ending Lynnfield’s phenomenal 2024 season with an overall record of 20-3.

It turned out that Salem’s insurance runs in the top of the 7^th on a 2-run homer by Rocco Ryan were more than necessary. Leading 7-3, the visitors opted for Ortiz to finish it, pulling starter Riley Fenerty who was fantastic all day, surrendering just 1 earned run on 7 hits while walking just 2 and striking out 3 in 6 frames.

In the end, the Pioneers battled to the final out. It’s possible they just ran into destiny’s team as Salem advanced to a State Semifinal for the first time since 1990. The Witches met No. 4 Seekonk in the Final Four on Tuesday after press time.

Salem had the early juice in this one, breaking a stalemate in the 2^nd after an error in left brought in Fenerty to help his own cause.

The Pioneers regained the lead in the bottom of the 2^nd. Junior Madux Iovinelli led off with a double and senior captain Own Mullin hit an RBI single to tie it. A bunt by Damiani and an error on a throw to 3^rd allowed Mullin to come home, getting the home crowd going before Fenerty locked in to get out of trouble with a ground out and fly out.

Lynnfield starter, sophomore Ben Dahlstedt, was terrific through 4, allowing just that one run as his team went up 3-1 on Mullin’s second RBI knock of the day in the 3^rd inning.

An impressive strikeout on an offspeed pitch and a popout allowed Dahlstedt to work around a leadoff single in the 4^th. To this point, it appeared as though the upstart Witches were losing steam and getting discouraged but Fenerty refused to let the deficit grow, battling to keep his team within striking distance.

Salem’s bats came alive in the 5^th. Ryan’s clutch dinger in the 7^th was preceded by a key, 2-run double in the gap to tie the game at 3-3 in the 5^th. Salem wasn’t done there as the next batter, Kevin Soto, capitalized on the momentum by clearing the bags with a double of his own to make it 5-3.

Lynnfield loaded the bases in the 5^th but a groundout ended the threat.

DiSilvio entered the game for the Pioneers in the 6^th and sat the Witches down in order but the Pioneers couldn’t chip away in the bottom half as Fenerty put together his best inning of the day, striking out the first two batters before a fly out sent his team back to bat.

Ryan’s homer was a laser that caught the netting in left field and sent the Salem fans into a frenzy but DiSilvio did well to move on, getting two groundouts to keep his team in range.

Lynnfield’s 7^th-inning rally started with a leadoff single by senior captain Anthony Grabau. Senior captain David Tracy followed with a single and Iovinelli walked to load the bags. A strikeout was followed by Damiani and DiSilvio’s RBI hits before Ortiz finally ended a wildly entertaining state tourney battle.