Baseball: Mennino pitches Big Blue past Sachems

Thursday afternoon proved to be a bright spot in the season for the Swampscott baseball team. Behind strong starting pitching, the Big Blue defeated visiting Saugus 2-1 at Phillips Park. For Swampscott (4-12), Nick Mennino did not let up a run and limited the Sachems to five hits over 6.1 innings.Alex Patkin got things started for the Big Blue in the first inning with a solo home run. Swampscott scored its second run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Justin Massey reached on an error, allowing Matt Barbuzzi to score.Rob Thayer finished the game for Swampscott, pitching in the top of the seventh. Thayer inherited runners on second and third with one out and recorded two strikeouts to end the game. Saugus scored its lone run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning.”It was a really good game,” said Swampscott coach T.J. Baril. “The game was definitely a pitcher’s duel.”St. Mary’s 8, Tyngsboro 6At Tyngsboro, the Spartans (12-4, 7-4 Catholic Central League) trailed 2-0 after three innings and 6-3 after five, but they pulled away for good with four runs in the seventh.Nick Day (hit, 4 RBI) sparked the first comeback with a three-run homer in the top of the fourth, scoring Alex Fiste and Angelo Codispoti, who had both singled. Codispoti singled in Justin Sharkey in the sixth inning to make it 6-4. The Spartans put the game away in the seventh on back-to-back singles by Cam Mulvey, a bunt single by Alex Glover and clutch hits by Joe Kasper and Fiste.Matt Turmenne went 4 2/3 innings for St. Mary’s, allowing nine hits, four strikeouts, a walk and six runs. Fiste went the rest of the way.Fenwick 6, Austin Prep 2At LeLacheur Park, the Crusaders (14-5, 9-3 CCL/Large) clinched at least a share of the league title for the second straight year. Michael LaChance (6-1) was all business on the mound, allowing six hits, one earned run and striking out six in a complete-game win.”I’m proud we won it two years in a row,” Fenwick coach Russ Steeves said. “Last year it was mostly a senior team and this year it’s a young team.”This one was a battle, with Austin Prep scoring one in the top of the first and Fenwick scoring two in the bottom half. Dave Ruggiero (3-for-4) had an RBI double that inning and a two-run single in the second that put Fenwick up 4-1. Fenwick added two runs in the third on RBI singles by Joe Bona and Chris Renzulli.Salem 6, Classical 3At Fraser Field, the Witches (10-6, 9-5 Northeastern Conference) qualified for the state tournament. Sean Linehan went the distance, striking out six and not walking a batter. He was also 2-for-3 with three RBI. Raphy Medrando went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.The Rams (6-10) scored all three of their runs in the sixth inning with Eddie Terrero driving in Wilfredo Feliz on a sacrifice. Kyle Devin tripled in Kyle Gauthier (single) and then scored on a single by Tyler Gauthier. Ryan Powers took the loss with Greg Rybak going the final three innings.Lynnfield 10, Ham.-Wen. 0At Lynnfield, the Pioneers (7-9) were errorless in the field and pitchers Dante Padovani (5 innings, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts) and Ross Batchelder (2 innings, 1 hit, 3 strikeouts) got the job done on the mound.Lynnfield put two on the board in the first inning on an RBI single by Padovani and an RBI double by Pete Franchi. Chris Grassi clocked a three-run home run in the second to put Lynnfield up 5-0 and in the fourth Rick Beradino (RBI single) and Franchi (solo homer) made it 7-0. B.J. Neil (RBI single) and Nick Roberts (2-run single) took care of the rest of the run production.Gr. Lawrence 6, Tech 3At Fraser Field, starting pitcher Miguel Dias put together an overall strong performance but was let down by his defense. Dias pitched a complete game, striking out 10 and walking two. Greater Lawrence scored all six of its runs in the first inning, though five of the runs were unearned.For Tech (4-10), Elvis Aquino had two hits and drove in two runs, while Edgar Rosario added two hits and also pushed a run across the plate.Marblehead 9, Revere 0