Lynnfield earns rematch with Swampscott in District 16 tourney

LYNN – Lynnfield manager Kevin Canty wanted another shot at Swampscott in the District 16 Little League tournament. And Canty’s team is going to get exactly that on Wednesday.Lynnfield took advantage of its chances on Monday at Volunteer Field, using four late runs to break open a close game and take a 7-1 win over Saugus American in an elimination game.Swampscott, meanwhile, beat Winthrop, 9-1, in another elimination game to give Canty his hoped-for rematch at Reinfuss Field on Wednesday (5:45).”I want that game bad,” Canty said. “That was a tough game that we lost to them ? We made a couple of mistakes that cost us.”When Lynnfield and Swampscott first played, it was Swampscott that prevailed, 6-4.On Monday, it was timely hitting and outstanding pitching that got the job done for Lynnfield.Pat Kearney, Jake Burt and John Festa combined on a 3-hitter while the offense pounded out 11 hits off American pitching. Kearney got the win, improving to 3-0 in this tournament and 5-0 overall in two years of district competition.”Pat was outstanding,” Canty said. “I’ll take that kid any day. He’s allowed only three runs all year.”Across the way, the Americans could only lament a bevy of missed opportunities as they left nine men on base, five of them in scoring position.”You can’t do that in a game like this,” Saugus manager Tom Wood said. “We just couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it.”Lynnfield didn’t waste a lot of time in getting started on Monday as it struck for two first-inning runs against Saugus starter Brandon Wladkowski.Jordan Roper started the game with a hard single to center. He moved to second on a passed ball and went to third on Festa’s base hit. Roper came home on a passed ball to make it 1-0 and Festa did the same to up the gap to 2-0.Burt singled and Pat Scanlon walked to load the bases with one out, but Wladkowski got the next two hitters to end the inning.The Americans came right back against Kearney, loading the bases with two outs on a Ryan McAuliffe double, a walk and a hit-by-pitch, but Wladkowski went down swinging to end the inning.Kearney worked out of more trouble in the second, stranding two more Saugus men on base, before his teammates increased their lead in the third.Wladkowski got the first two men before Burt went yard, launching a bomb over the left-center fence to make it 3-0.”Jake’s homer was big,” Canty said. “Our bats came alive again and we hit well for the second game in a row.”The Americans put two on in the bottom of the inning, but Kearney again wormed his way out of the jam by striking out Wladkowski and Jack Doherty. But that was nothing compared to the escape act he pulled in the fourth.Jonathan Constantine walked to begin the inning. Pinch-hitter Kyle Rizzo then hit a sinking liner to right that was ticketed for extra bases. But Andrew Crampe made a spectacular diving catch to save a run and extra bases.”That was a big play,” Wood said. “We could have had a run in and a man on second with no outs.”Constantine was erased at second on a John Morey fielder’s choice before McAuliffe singled to bring Shane Ripley to the plate as the tying run. But unlike Sunday, when Ripley homered against Saugus National to give his team the lead, Kearney got the Americans shortstop on a popup to first to end the inning.Lynnfield then called on its potent offense, and a little small ball, to deliver the knockout punch in the fifth.Roper walked and stole second to begin the inning. Festa doubled to the fence in right-center to score Roper and make it 4-0, Lynnfield.No. 3 hitter Steve Carangelo sacrificed Festa to third, and Burt brought him in with a base hit to left for a 5-0 lead. Wladkowski departed a batter later in favor of Mike Molina, who prevented further damage.”We have a good hitting team, but we’re not afraid to play small ball,” Canty said. “And we did a lot of that stuff (Monday).”Saugus got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Molina reached on an error and later scored on Mike Swans