THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN presented proclamations and citations to the Little League 11-year-old All-Star team and its coaching staff on Monday. The All-Stars won the State Section 4 championship last month. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
Published in the August 23, 2017 edition
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — As the summer of 2017 draws to a close, the Board of Selectmen recognized the impressive accomplishments of the Little League 11-year-old All-Star team in front of a standing room only crowd on Monday.
The 11-year-old All-Stars won the State Section 4 championship last month. The victory clinched the town’s first Little League sectional state championship.
“I am very excited to acknowledge these fine young Lynnfield Pioneer legends in the making,” said Selectmen Chairman Chris Barrett. “They made all of us proud this summer. I know their coaches were proud to call them the ‘Boys of Summer’.”
Barrett said he and his fellow selectmen enjoyed following the All-Stars “every step of the way” en route to the team’s sectional championship.
“Being the proud Lynnfield Pioneer that I am, it was great seeing these fine young men get out on the playing field and do well,” said Barrett. “You guys really made Pioneer nation proud.”
After the selectmen, All-Stars and the meeting’s attendees watched a tribute video created by Kristen MacEachern, Barrett read a proclamation to the All-Stars.
“Congratulations for your splendid season and your Massachusetts Section 4 championship title,” said Barrett. “Your stirring come-from-behind win over Andover in the championship game will no doubt provide you with a wonderful memory of accomplishment. As the first Lynnfield team to play for a state Little League championship, your accomplishment will long be remembered.
“Just as the memory of this season and your victories will last a lifetime, so too will the lessons and habits you have learned on the ball field,” Barrett continued. “The ability to push yourself to the limits of your natural gifts, the willingness to accept positive instruction and correction, the necessity of integrating individual goals and ambitions into a team structure, and the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing a hard-won goal. As Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.’ On behalf of the town of Lynnfield, we offer congratulations on your championship season.”
Barrett presented each proclamation to Little League All-Stars Tyler Adamo, Daniel Dorman, Anthony Grabau, Nicholas Groussis, Cole Hawes, Nathan Lopez, Nicholas Lucich, Ryan MacEachern, Brendan Manoogian, Matthew Papagikos, Christian Rosa and Jarrett Scoppettuolo. He also presented proclamations to manager Matt Adamo and fellow coaches Glenn Grabau and Peter Groussis.
“I had the honor of playing with Matt Adamo on the diamond in Lynnfield, and I don’t think we ever came close to doing anything like this,” said Barrett.
The selectmen also presented a citation to the All-Stars.
“The Lynnfield Little League 11-year-old district team defeated the Salem team 8-0 to capture a district title for the second year in a row, extending the team’s record to 8-0 over a two-year period,” said Barrett while reading the citation. “The team’s epic 6-5 victory over Andover in the Section 16 title game featured a comeback from a 5-0 deficit in the thrilling and final sixth inning, in which Lynnfield scored six runs and shut out its opponent.
“This was the only third time in the history of Lynnfield Little League that a team won the district title at any age level, and as the majority of this team’s players were on the 10-year-old team that achieved this same feat in 2016,” Barrett continued. “This was the first time in Lynnfield league history that any team participated in a sectional championship game, or won a sectional championship game, or played for a state championship. Therefore we, the Board of Selectmen of the town of Lynnfield, do hereby offer our congratulations and those of the town for your athletic achievements and display of sportsmanship and teamwork.”
After the All-Stars and coaches were recognized by the selectmen, they were given a round of applause by the meeting’s attendees. The All-Stars also broke out into a spontaneous “let’s go Lynnfield” chant after receiving their proclamations and citations.
“We will see you guys next year,” said Barrett.
