Wyoma Little League hands Peabody West a rare tournament loss

SWAMPSCOTT – Two of the heavy hitters in District 16 put on a game worthy of being for a championship instead of a winner’s bracket quarterfinal on Saturday at the Forest Avenue Fields.For nearly three hours and nine innings, Wyoma and Peabody West counterpunched like heavyweight champions. In the end, it was the Westerners who blinked as Wyoma scored two unearned runs in the top of the ninth to take a pulsating 5-3 win and hand West its first district loss since 2008.”These kids worked really hard, and to beat a team like that is great for us,” Wyoma manager Steve Moccia said. “Both teams really dug in and didn’t quit. That was a great game.”It was a game that saw only four walks issued in 18 combined innings and saw the hurlers on both sides strike out 33 batters.”We just couldn’t get a big hit when we needed it,” Peabody West manager Frank Benea said.Wyoma led 3-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth with starter Herbie Newton in a groove. Newton got the leadoff batter before Anthony Iannuzzi doubled to center to give Peabody life.A passed ball was followed by a walk to Jake Doherty, who took second on the play. Nick LePore’s grounder to first got Iannuzzi home from third to tie the game and start the drama.The bullpens would become the story as Peabody’s Connor Corrigan, who took over for Zack Crawford in the fifth, and Wyoma’s Kyle Autiello slammed the door on both teams until the ninth.A one out single from Nick Peveri opened the door just a little bit and Wyoma went through running when Brendan Powicki’s double play ball to short was booted, keeping the inning alive. A strikeout was followed by an error that loaded the bases for Newton, who punched a single to center that scored Peveri and Powicki for a 5-3 lead.”Herbie came up with that big hit for us,” Moccia said. “It was only right because he had pitched such a great game.”Peabody would have a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth when Nick Palma singled with two outs but Autiello got Crawford to strike out for the fourth time in the game to end it.”I really thought Crawford might hit one there the way this game was going,” Benea said.Wyoma grabbed a 1-0 lead right off the bat as Powicki walked with one out and came around to score on an Autiello single and a passed ball. West took the lead in the second when Corrigan singled, took second on an error and raced home on an Iannuzzi single. An error would score a second run in the inning.It stayed 2-1 into the fifth when Powicki singled with one out and AUtiello powered a 2-run homer over the centerfield fence off Crawford.