Baseball roundup: Lynnfield loses in eight innings

Lynnfield senior Garrett McNeil threw the best game of his high school baseball career, but North Reading spoiled the day by scoring a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Pioneers, 2-1, at North Reading.”This was the best game Garrett pitched since he’s been playing high school baseball,” Lynnfield coach John O’Brien said. “He didn’t give up one walk. He threw strikes all day long and even if he fell behind in the count, he came back and pounded the strike zone.McNeil scattered seven hits, struck out two and allowed one earned run.Lynnfield drew first blood when Chris Grassi singled in the first inning, advanced on a Pete Franchi sacrifice bunt and scored on a single by shortstop Dante Padovani. The 1-0 lead held up until the sixth inning when North Reading banged out three singles with two outs to tie the game. The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth when, with two outs, North Reading got a single, stole a base and scored the game-winner on a single through the infield.”We had a couple of chances, but we couldn’t push the run across,” O’Brien said. “We played good defense and got great pitching. We need to put it all together.”Nick Roberts had a good game behind the plate and outfielder Grassi turned in a defensive gem when he threw a runner out at third in the eighth inning. Lynnfield is 2-3.Mystic Valley 12, Tech 8At Fraser Field, the Tigers (1-3) struggled defensively and Mystic Valley took advantage. Tech led 4-0 in the first inning, but Mystic Valley came back with five runs in the second. Mike Leone went four innings in the loss. The Tigers did have a couple of players with multiple hits. Mikey Lara had three hits, including a triple, and two RBI. Eric Guerrero had a two-run home run in the first inning and Anthony Grilla had three hits and two RBI.Winthrop 10, Watertown 9At Winthrop, Matt Moore hit a two-run homer and knocked in the game-winning RBI in the seventh. He also picked up the win on the mound, pitching a hitless seventh inning. The Vikings (1-1) were forced to come back three times.”I’m really proud of the kids to battle back like that,” Winthrop coach Frank DeMarco said. “This is the type of win we can build off of.”Paul Finn had a big day at the plate, picking up three hits and three RBI. Dan Ramos tied the game up at 9-9 in the sixth with a two-run double.