Saugus National baseball all-stars outlast Salem National

PEABODY – Sometimes the first game is always the hardest to win.For the Saugus National Little League all-star team, Monday’s District 16 opener at MacArthur Park versus Salem National proved that credo to a ‘T’.Leading 6-2 in the top of the sixth, the Nats watched as Salem fought back to tie the game on a 3-run double from Jeffrey Diaz. But Saugus rebounded and got a 7-6 walkoff win when Anthony Bono’s two-out fly to center was misplayed.”We found a way to get the job done,” Saugus manager Tom Trainor said. “We had some timely hitting and the defense played well.”Both teams found the friendly confines of MacArthur to their liking, combining for four home runs in a game that was pushed back a day because of weather.Salem got the scoring started in the top of the first when Ricardo Troncoso was hit by a pitch with two outs. He took second on a passed ball and scored on a Diaz single to left.Saugus got an unearned run back in the bottom of the inning when Blake Williamson singled and took second on an error. After being sacrificed to third by Jack Trainor, he scored on James Kebble’s base hit.The home run barrage began in earnest in the bottom of the second when Kyle Smith led off with a lined shot to give Saugus a 2-1 lead. Kyle Wood reached on an error and Marco DeFlorio followed with an opposite field homer to right for a 4-1 Nats lead.”The thing I didn’t expect was for us to hit three home runs,” Trainor said.Diaz got a run back for Salem in the top of the third when he drilled a two-out homer to right-center. But Kebble responded in turn for Saugus in the bottom half when he turned around a Colin Nye fastball to make it 5-2.Nye would depart an inning later following Joe Ghika’s one-out single. Pinch runner Williamson would later score on a two-out hit from Trainor to make it 6-2.Kebble faced his first real trouble spot in the top of the fifth as two singles and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases with one out. But Salem would come away empty as Kebble got two ground balls to end the inning.”Kebble really pitched well,” Trainor said. “He ran out of pitches there in the fifth and we had to go to the bullpen.”Pat McDonald took over for Saugus in the top of the sixth and was immediately thrown into the frying pan as one-out walks to Javier Robles and Nye were followed by a single from Guthrie Scrimgeour that cut the lead to 6-3.Troncoso followed with a walk and Trainor went to the bullpen again, calling Smith in from first to try to put the fire out. Diaz, though, greeted Smith with a double off the centerfield fence that cleared the bases and tied the game at 6-6.Smith would avoid further damage and then saw his team come away with the win when Bono’s two-out fly to center was dropped, scoring Williamson with the game-winning run.