Published in the July 4, 2018 edition

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

JONATHAN LUDERS will continue to get plenty of more reps at shortstop for the 2018 Lynnfield Senior Babe Ruth team. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

LYNNFIELD — Nick Aslanian has had plenty of big moments on the mound at Lynnfield High School, but last week’s performance against Wakefield while playing for the Lynnfield Senior Babe Ruth team was one of his best.

“Duck” Aslanian, a 2017 LHS graduate, struck out nine in eight innings and came up with a clutch walk-off knock to right to score Christian Maney from second for a 3-2 Lynnfield victory.

Lynnfield struck first in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Matt Fiore to make it 1-0.

OLD FRIEND Nick Aslanian (LHS ‘17) returned to the mound at Lynnfield High School to pitch a complete game (8 IP, 7 H, 9 K) and come through in the bottom of the eighth with a walk-off double. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

Aslanian allowed four hits and two walks in the first five innings, but always came up with big outs and strikeouts to get out of trouble. Lynnfield put together another run in the fifth, to make it 2-0. Jonathan Luders started a two-out rally with an infield single, forcing a Wakefield pitching change. John Singer followed up a RBI base hit.

Wakefield tied it in the sixth with back-to-back RBI doubles. The visitors threatened again in the seventh after two walks and a hit batsmen loaded the bases, but “Duck” had a huge strikeout and a pop up to get out of it.

After failing to convert on a bases loaded no-out situation in the bottom of the seventh, Lynnfield’s defense helped out Aslanian in the top of the eighth on a double play, second baseman Brian Cardarelli to shortstop Luders to Singer at first, during what the umpires determined would be the last inning of the night.

So in the bottom of the eighth, playing for either a tie or a walk-off, Maney hit a bloop single to get on first. Tom Scudone executed a nice sacrifice bunt to put Maney in scoring position. Up stepped Aslanian, who pulled a rocket down the right field line, hit so hard that the right fielder didn’t bother running after it, as Lynnfield took a 3-2 win.

The victory was Lynnfield’s second of the year in the 2018 Middlesex Babe Ruth League. They beat Medford 13-6 to kick off the campaign. They fell to the Malden Bambinos, 6-2 on June 22, and again on June 27. Their next game is Monday, July 9 against the Arlington Pond Rats, 5:45 p.m. at LHS.