Marblehead 10s win round two of Bay State Championship, reach final tournament

The Marblehead 10-year-old All-Stars continued their successful summer of baseball by winning their Round 2 Trophy Weekend Championship Game in the Bay State Tournament of Champions. To qualify for the trophy round, Marblehead faced a do-or-die game against Melrose. After Jackson Klein pitched a gritty couple of innings to keep the score tied at 3-3, Kyle Saulnier came in and shut Melrose down for the next three innings. Marblehead’s bats then came alive behind big hits from Klein, Dahlia Galante, Eric Gonzalez, Ben Brennan, Sebastian Fisichelli, Jack Bentley and T.J. Zagarri. Brennan pitched the final inning to secure the 8-3 win and a trip to Framingham for the Round 2 trophy weekend.On Saturday of trophy weekend, Marblehead played top-seeded Andover Blue in a pitching duel. In a scoreless game, Sean McCarthy got Marblehead going in the 4th inning with a textbook bunt and Galante brought home the first run of the game. That was all the offense Marblehead would need as Emmet Janney pitched a complete-game shutout while only walking one batter in six innings. Marblehead tacked on two runs for a 3-0 victory behind timely hitting and great baserunning from Zagarri, Bentley and McCarthy. Marblehead displayed great defense, which included gems from Loch Sheridan, Will Twadell, Gonzalez, Brennan, Bentley and McCarthy before Zagarri ended the game with a diving catch in centerfield to secure the win.The finals involved a nail-biter against Sudbury Red. Marblehead scored in the 1st inning when Klein singled and Fisichelli doubled him home. Fisichelli then controlled the game from the mound pitching 4 strong innings and leaving the game in a 1-1 tie. Saulnier relieved him and pitched two dominant innings, although Sudbury scored one run in the 6th inning to take a 2-1 lead. Marblehead was down to its final out when Zagarri came up to the plate and belted the first pitch for a clutch double to tie the game. As the game went into extra innings, Brennan took the mound and retired Sudbury’s best hitter to end the inning and keep the game tied. Klein started off the 7th inning with a sharp line drive to shortstop before advancing to second on an error. Fisichelli then came up to the plate and ended the game much like he started it, with a double off the left field fence, scoring Klein and launching Marblehead into a Round 2 Trophy weekend championship celebration.By winning the Round 1 and Round 2 Championships, Marblehead earned the 2nd overall seed in the Final Baystate Tournament of Champions involving the top 16 teams, which begins with home games at Gatchells Field on Aug. 8, 10 and 12 as Marblehead tries to qualify for the quarterfinals. The team is led by Manager Jac Bentley and Coaches Kevin Brennan and Ron Zagarri.