Published in the July 15, 2015 edition

LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Little League All-Stars officially concluded the District 16 tournament with a 2-2 record last week.

“Although the boys worked hard and gave their all, we are overall disappointed in the results of two wins and two losses,” said manager Steven Bond. “We really thought we had a better run in us but at the end of the day, we just could not get together enough big hits when we needed them to offset some plays that we failed to execute, while the teams we lost to, made more plays and took advantage of some plays when they needed to.”

Lynnfield’s leading hitter in the tournament was Clay Marengi, who battled .538. Jack Ford and Blake Peters each had a .385 batting average. Ford and Hayden Bond each hit two home runs over the course of four games. Marengi and Pat D’Amico each hit one home run.

 

Falls to Swampscott

The Pioneers concluded the 2015 District 16 tournament falling 6-5 to Swampscott on July 8.

Marengi got the start on the mound and gave up three runs against Swampscott. D’Amico pitched two innings in relief and gave up two runs.

Lynnfield finished with six hits against Swampscott, including a grand slam home run by Ford in the bottom of the fifth to give the Pioneers a 5-3 lead. Marengi, Peters, D’Amico, Joe Gizmunt and Jake DeBenidictis each had a single.

Down 5-3, Swampscott scored two runs on wild pitches in the sixth inning. The game went to nine innings and Swampscott scored the winning run off a wild pitch.

“It was a battle all night,” said Steven Bond. “(Swampscott’s) first pitcher used his curveball to keep us off balance and we only got six hits. During the game, Swampscott scored four runs on wild pitches and or passed balls. It is difficult to win when you give up that many runs that way. That being said, we felt like we were in good shape after the grand slam put us ahead. It just did not work out.”

 

Defeats Peabody White

The Pioneers defeated Peabody White 3-1 on July 6.

Hayden Bond pitched for 5 2/3 innings and finished with eight strikeouts while giving up only three hits. Margeni got the final out of the contest in relief after Hayden gave up a home run.

Margeni connected on a home run against Peabody White in the fifth inning and also had two singles. Ford connected on a double. D’Amico had a double and Peters had a single.

“Both teams battled but once we got a run in the first, Hayden really did a good job of keeping the other team from making any real threats,” said Steven Bond, who is Hayden’s father. “This was the old adage that good pitching wins baseball games and we did.”

 

Falls to Saugus American

The Pioneers fell 5-2 to Saugus American on June 30.

Marengi started on the mound and was credited with the loss to Saugus American.

Ford and Peters each had a double against Saugus American. D’Amico connected on a single. Jack Bird also had a single.

“Coming into the tournament, Saugus American had to be and still is one of the favorites to win our district,” said Steven Bond. “We knew we had to take advantage of all our opportunities offensively and we could not give them any extra outs if we were to beat them. Unfortunately, we did not do that. We loaded the bases with one out but did not score in the second, and that set us back as Saugus American scored a couple more runs the following inning to go up 3-0.

“We then had (runners on) first and third in the fourth inning but our runner strayed too far off third and was picked off. You cannot miss those chances against that team and want to win. We did battle all night, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth but fell short 5-2.”

 

Defeats Lynn Shore

The Pioneers opened the District 16 tournament defeating Lynn Shore 16-0 on June 27.

Hayden Bond shut out Lynn Shore for three innings and Peters pitched one inning in relief in the mercy-rule shortened contest.

The Pioneers connected on 13 hits against Lynn Shore. Hayden Bond connected on two home runs. Ford and D’Amico each connected on a home run as well. Trent Balian had two doubles.

“Our team combined for 13 hits as the Lynn Shore staff had no answers for our hitting,” said Steven Bond. “It was a good start and a good team win.”