Rain halts Little League sectional with Wyoma trailing in the fourth

BEVERLY – Playing like a team used to being on the big stage, Peabody West came out of the gates flying on Friday at Harry Ball Field in their opening game of the Massachusetts Section 4 Tournament against District 16 champion WyomaUntil Mother Nature intervened.With Peabody leading 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning and Wyoma having the bases loaded and two outs, the umpires were forced to pull the teams off the field because of lighting. Heavy rain eventually moved in and the game was called at 9:25 p.m.THe two teams will return to Beverly this afternoon (1:30) to pick up the game. The winner will play Stoneham, a 9-1 winner over Billerica American in the opening game of the day, tonight at 7 while the loser will play at 4:30 in an elimination game.The short stint on the field Friday may have proven to be very costly to Wyoma as its ace, Cam O’Neil, left the game in the top of the first inning after feeling a pop in his pitching arm.O’Neil was taken to Beverly Hospital for x-rays and was awaiting further evaluation.Peabody West, the two-time defending champion of the Section 4 tourney, gave the ball to its best pitcher in Tyler Noe. And all he did was strike out seven in the first 3 2/3 innings.Noe began the game by retiring the top three in Wyoma’s potent lineup, O’Neil, Brendan Tobey and Chris Price, in the first and then began the bottom of the first with a rocket single to left.Travis Jacques’ sacrifice bunt moved Noe to second and Austin Batchelor’s grounder to third moved him up 60 feet. A wild pitch with Frank Lowry up scored Noe and saw O’Neil leave the game in pain with the elbow injury.Shortstop Lucas Harris took over on the hill and was rudely greeted by a Lowry single. Matt Hosman followed with a hit before Dave Cravotta popped to the mound to end the inning.Noe again overpowered the Wyoma lineup in the second, striking out Katey Burt and Dan Donovan in the process. West threatened score again in the bottom of the inning with Matt Correale and Noe in scoring position but Jacques grounded out to Burt at first for the third out.Wyoma threatened in the top of the third as Eric Brazell led off with a base on balls but was left at third when Noe struck out Ricky Swanson.Harris got Batchelor on strikes to begin the bottom of the third but hit Lowry and walked Hosman. Peabody manager Dave Batchelor then called on Ryan McManus to hit for Cravotta.The moved paid off in spades as McManus launched the first pitch he saw from Harris deep over the centerfield fence to make it 4-0.With dark clouds suddenly beginning to move in over the outfield, Noe got Brendan Tobey and Chris Price to begin the fourth. But then ran into control problems for the first time as he walked Burt, Harris and Kevin Dusablon to load the bases.But with Paul Halas up, a huge bolt of lighting appeared over center, forcing teams into the dugouts. Just under an hour later, the bottom finally fell out in terms of the rain and the game was called.