Published June 23, 2021
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
LYNNFIELD — Despite a valiant late-inning rally, the Lynnfield Pioneers baseball team fell short and was eliminated from the MIAA North Division 3 tournament in preliminary round action last Friday afternoon.
In a close match-up, No. 15-seeded Lynnfield fell seven runs behind visiting Bishop Fenwick before mounting a seventh-inning threat and closing to within three. Unfortunately, the Pioneers’ comeback ran out of steam.
With the 7-4 defeat, Lynnfield wrapped up the 2021 season with a respectable 7-9 overall record while No. 18 Fenwick (9-11) advanced to face No. 2-seed Brighton in the first round. Fenwick won that game 13-0 to set up a quarterfinal matchup against Watertown on Wednesday.
The glass half-full optimists would likely point out that the Lynnfield baseball team took advantage of an opportunity to play a full season with limited COVID-19 distractions, unlike some of the other high school athletic programs over the past year. The glass half-empty sort might say that it was a shame that such a talented group, having achieved noteworthy success, was dispatched from the playoffs so swiftly.
“Unfortunately, I think a lot of these kids were hurt by the fact that they didn’t get to play high school baseball last year,” said varsity head coach John O’Brien, moments after a prolonged wrap-up talk with his players and staff. “It’s tough to miss a year like that. Many of them played summer baseball but it’s not the same as playing with their high school teammates and in our system.”
Fenwick rendered early damage as leadoff man Alex Gonzalez lifted one to short center, stole second, and was soon across on an RBI-basehit from cleanup hitter Chris Faraca. Lynnfield limited the Crusaders with dependable defense behind starting pitcher Blake Peters, but there was concern as the senior tri-captain repeatedly fell behind in the counts.
“I’m very proud of him,” said O’Brien of his courageous senior ace. “Two weeks ago, he got hit in the face by a line drive that came back to the mound. Under the circumstances, his was an amazing effort today.”
While Peters labored in the afternoon heat, his counterpart was spinning a gem. Fenwick’s Anthony Marino fanned six batters and scattered seven hits, four of them in the seventh inning as fatigue took hold. Facing the sophomore hurler, Lynnfield hitters who managed to get on base were promptly stranded as Marino and the defense behind him came up with timely pop-ups or ground ball outs.
The Crusaders added a pair of runs in the third as Peters got into one-out trouble. He hit a batter and then yielded a triple and a double, back-to-back. Dan Reddick and Faraca each scored to make it 3-0.
In the bottom of the 4th, Lynnfield tri-captain Luke Martinho put a charge in one, ripping a one-out double along the third base line to give the Lynnfield faithful a ray of hope, but he was soon followed with a pair of inning-ending pop-ups.
Fenwick stretched the lead to 5-0 in the 5th which signaled the end of the afternoon for Peters. Timothy Pivero came on in relief but was unable to silence the Crusader bats. Three hits and a pair of runs in the sixth made it 7-0.
As Lynnfield came up to bat in the bottom of the 7th, Crusaders’ head coach Russ Steeves made the inexplicable choice to stay with his starter, despite obvious signs of wear. Perhaps he was preserving his pitching staff for later tournament contests and felt comfortable with the lead. Lynnfield nearly made him pay for the decision.
Spencer Riley started them with a one-out double but was followed with a ground ball out, leaving the Pioneers with none to give. Nicholas Razzaboni, with a clutch base hit, drove in Riley and soon occupied second base on a passed ball. Marino walked a patient Jack Bird and then hit Aidan Burke to load them. Peters drilled a heater to deep center, plating two of the three baserunners and slicing the deficit to 7-3. Devin Bolger’s ground rule double to right made it 7-4. With two men aboard and slugger Luke Martinho coming up representing the tying run, Fenwick Coach Steeves finally got the message and sent for relief. Sidearm throwing Brandon Bloom took the mound and quickly quieted the uprising, closing out Martinho and Lynnfield’s season with a strike out. “At some point, I thought there were a couple of mistakes that probably cost us,” said O’Brien. “To their credit, they battled to the end and I appreciate that. All-in-all, these kids gave it everything they had and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
