Saugus baseball squad ousts Brighton

BRIGHTON – Saugus starting pitcher Danny Groark’s name was all over the stat column Thursday as his complete-game performance on the mound, plus his hitting, propelled the Sachems past No. 15 Brighton, 8-2, in Division 3 North preliminary action.Groark allowed just two hits and an earned run, while striking out seven. Said coach Tom Gaeta, that is nothing new.”Danny has been great all year, and gives us a chance to win every time he takes the mound,” said Gaeta. “He doesn’t give anything away easily, which makes the other team really work. He is just a great competitor.”As if his performance on the mound wasn’t enough, Groark jump-started the offense on multiple occasions (1-2, three runs, triple, stolen base), the first of which came in the opening inning.Leading off the game, Groark was plunked by Bengals starter Chris Delouchrey, and then stole second base on the ensuing pitch. After a passed ball advanced Groark to third, Dom DiPesa brought him home on an RBI groundout.”Danny is a great leadoff hitter as well as a pitcher and you saw that today,” said Gaeta. “He can hit for power, lay down a bunt, and work a count? he can do it all.”Groark held Brighton in check through the first three innings, allowing just one batter to reach second. A bad break in the fourth led to the tying run for the Bengals.A one-out walk to Jonathan Marrero led to a steal of second shortly after. Delouchrey was induced into a popup for out No. 2. Then, a bizarre play led to the first run. Reynaldo Moreira popped a ball down the left field line that DiPesa (third base), Scott Enos (shortstop), and Dante DelTorto (left field) all chased. Enos tracked it down, with a highlight-reel sliding catch.The problem? Enos was in dead-ball territory, which, by rule, negated the catch. Moreira then ripped the next pitch through the left side, scoring Marrero.But the Sachems answered right back in the fifth, batting around and scoring six runs. Al Nahigian got the barrage started with a two-out, two-RBI ground rule double to right.Kory Dominick followed with a two-run single before a single from Tom Trainor and a walk to Steve Blaney loaded the bases once more. Enos delivered another two-run single before he was thrown out stealing second to end the inning.Saugus would tack on another run in the sixth on an RBI single from DelTorto, scoring Groark, who reached on an error. Brighton scored a run in the bottom of the seventh.Saugus plays Saturday at No. 2 Shawsheen with DiPesa taking the hill.