LYNN – The Lynn 14U Babe Ruth all-star team opened its bid for a state title with a resounding 11-0 victory over Raynham, with pitcher Katie Cuozzo tossing a no-hitter in the process.Cuozzo dominated throughout, striking out 10. Raynham had only one baserunner, Hannah Pereira, who reached when her popup to left glanced off Olivia DeJoie’s glove. However, DeJoie recovered quickly and threw Pereira out trying to turn it into a double.Lynn plays at 4 p.m. today against the winner of the Revere-Kingston matchup this morning. The finals of this 14U state tournament will be played Sunday at 12:30, with a second game, if necessary, immediately following.”We got good pitching, good defense, and our bats came alive,” said Lynn manager Wayne Kerrins. “Defense is our forte. We really work on it. And when we make a mistake, we recover ? like you saw in left field.”And Katie Cuozzo ? she dominated,” said Kerrins.The game started as if it would be a nifty pitchers’ duel between Cuozzo and Raynham’s Jackie Donohue. And it actually was until the sixth inning, when Donohue, who had pitched Raynham to victory over Winchester earlier in the day, started to tire.Lynn went ahead 1-0 in the second when courtesy runner Tatiana Doucette scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded; and increased the margin to 2-0 in the fourth on DeJoie’s RBI single.Lynn’s bats came alive in the sixth – a four-run inning highlighted by a two-run bloop single into no-man’s land by pinch-hitter Doucette. Catcher Paula Ottero and Katelyn Calif also knocked in runs in the inning as well.The floodgates really opened in the top of the seventh, however, as Lynn poured five runs across and batted around in the process.Danielle Moran opened the inning with a single and came all the way around on Brooke’ L’Abbe’s double. Calif’s single made it 8-0 before DeJoie knocked home two more runs, giving Lynn a 10-0 lead. The final run came on an error.Lynn won the states in this age bracket last year.The tournament resumes today with Revere and Kingston playing the first game at 9 a.m.Following that, Winchester, which lost to Raynham Friday, plays the loser of the Revere/Kingston game at 11:30; with Arlington facing Raynham at 2 p.m.Lynn and the Revere/Kingston winner wrap up the day’s activities at 4 p.m.
