Babe Ruth 14s fall in final

LYNN – Time and again, baseball has a funny way of proving that the little things add up to big things in America’s pastime.On Thursday at Clancy Field, the Lynn 14-year-old Babe Ruth all-stars got a crash course in that lesson in the Eastern Mass state final.Lynn pitchers Brad Scuzzarella and Chris Lessard held Newton to three hits but could only watch as Newton’s Zeke Berg and Tommy Hodgson put the clamps on the most explosive lineup in the tourney en route to a nailbiting 3-2 win.”We just didn’t get the hits when we needed them,” Lynn manager Jeff Earp said. “And give credit to their pitchers. They threw strikes all game and made us go after some bad pitches.”Newton never trailed on Thursday as they ran out to a 3-0 lead after two and a half innings before having to hold off chance after chance by the host team.”The key was that we were able to come out and score first,” Newton manager Mike Freher said. “We made them play from behind and that was a big key for us.”Lynn had eaten into the lead with runs in the third and fifth innings against Berg and kept the charge coming in the bottom of the sixth.Bradley Dill led off with a double and Berg then hit Katie Burt on an attempted sacrifice to spell the end of his outing as Hodgdon trotted into a pressure cooker.Mike Ausiello’s sacrifice bunt was thrown away by Hodgdon but a fortuitous bounce prevented Dill from coming home. An even bigger play loomed ahead as Jordan Javier fouled off a bunt attempt with Dill charging home.The failed bunt proved to be big as Hodgdon got the next three batters to end what set up to be a big inning for Lynn.”Not getting that bunt down was a big play,” Earp said. “But give them credit, their pitchers really did pitch great.”Lessard, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, completed 4 2/3 innings of hitless relief with a perfect seventh but Hodgdon returned the favor in the bottom half, striking out Lessard looking to end the game.