Pioneers offense explodes against Ipswich

LYNNFIELD – Needing to win four of its final five games to make the state tournament, the Lynnfield baseball team took the field with a purpose on Thursday against Ipswich.The Pioneers scored six times in the opening inning and never looked back as Mario Padovani held Ipswich to one run on six hits while driving home five runs in an 11-1 Lynnfield victory.”We desperately needed this,” Lynnfield coach John O’Brien said. “We’ve had some close games and to go out and get this win was nice.”Lynnfield (7-9) spotted the Tigers (5-11) a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and then proceeded to score the next 10 runs over three innings.”To come back and score the way we did was great,” O’Brien said.Padovani struggled in the top of the first, walking the first two hitters he faced. Chris Tollios then lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Alex Lampropoulos to give Ipswich a 1-0 lead.He then hit Matt Roberts and allowed a John Eldridge single to load the bases. But Padovani struck out Greg Doucette and Nate Bocko to end the inning.Lynnfield didn’t waste a lot of time in taking the lead right back. Ipswich starter Jimmy Cadogan allowed a leadoff single to John Caruso before walking Kurt Thomas and plunking Vin DiCesare to load the bases.Caruso scored on a Phil Perriello fielder’s choice to tie the game before Dan O’Donnell ripped a base hit that scored Thomas for a 2-1 lead.Dante Padovani walked before Brian Corcoran hit a sac fly to center that plated Perriello. Matt Connolly was plunked before Mario Padovani helped himself with a 2-run single to left that made it 5-1. Lynnfield added one more when Connolly stole home on a double steal.Ipswich left two in scoring position in the second before Caruso went yard against reliever Mike Puente to up the Pioneers’ lead to 7-1 after two.Connolly then flashed some leather in the top of the third, fielding Eldridge’s grounder to second and starting an unassisted double play.”Matt played great at second base,” O’Brien said. “That double play was a great play.”Lynnfield ended any notion of an Ipswich comeback in the bottom of the third with one swing of Mario Padovani’s bat. After Corcoran reached on an error and Connolly was hit with one out, Padovani launched a towering 3-run homer over the left-field fence to make it 10-1.”Mario has been our best player all year and he was again (Thursday),” O’Brien said.Padovani then settled down and shut down the Tigers the rest of the way, holding Ipswich to three hits over the final four innings.Lynnfield’s bench even got into the act, accounting for the game’s final run. Garrett McNeill singled with one out and moved up on a passed ball. Thomas brought him around with a double to center for the 11-1 final.