Saugus American defeats Wyoma on walkoff HR

Every Little Leaguer dreams of winning an all-star tournament baseball game with a walk-off home run with two outs in the last inning and his team trailing in a do-or-die situation.Robbie Shields of the Saugus Americans had that dream come true Tuesday at Revere when he smashed a 2-out walk-off home run to give his Saugus Americans an incredible come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the remarkable but now heartbroken Wyoma All-Stars.Click here for a photo gallery.Saugus American will face Lynnfield in Thursday’s district final.”We trailed all game, and when I came to the plate in the bottom of the last inning,” said Shields, “I thought of how awful it would be if I made the last out that would end our season.”Lynn led 4-1, needing only one more out to eliminate Saugus. But Mike Horvath drew a walk on four straight balls. Then Mike Watson chopped a double to center, making it 4-2.Shields was next. He dug in and zeroed in on the ball, swinging from the hips, and when bat met ball, it sounded like lightning had struck. Like a flash, the ball sped out of the park and bounced off an old tilted brown telephone pole beyond the low fence (185 feet away) at McMackin Field before ricocheting into what looked like a tall weedy cornfield from the movie “Field of Dreams.”Shields ran around the sacks a hero and was mobbed at the plate and carried off the diamond. Watson and Gennaro Cardoso picked up Shields again and lugged him (115 pounds) around the bases, to first, second, third and home again.Wyoma’s four-game win streak ended on one last-ditch swing.Indeed, Wyoma’s super team had made baseball history in the third inning of this wild game by scoring three runs on one passed ball!Dax Billingsley set it up with a walk. David Barnard, who hit a pair of home runs the day before, was wisely walked also. Tommy Cash, who pitched five extraordinary, gutsy innings yesterday, leaving the hill only because his 85-pitch limit ran out, loaded the bases for Wyoma by beating out a grounder.Optimistic Josh Johnson stepped in eagerly. The first pitch to him went past the catcher and bounced back to the receiver off the very close-by backstop, but was bobbled. It was amazing enough that Billingsley scored from third, but nobody ever dreamed that Barnard and Cash would score right behind him, all sliding in almost in unison, safe, safe, and safe! All in a huge cloud of dust.Wyoma’s Kyle Bernardini had hit a solo home run earlier in the inning, and it now stood 4-0 with Wyoma looking good to go.Making things worse for Saugus at that moment was Saugus standout Jimmy Alcott having to leave the game to get more medical help from his recent illness.Quietly, though, Saugus fireballer Hunter Kreis was shutting down future Wyoma threats.Manager Brian Pettenati’s players, Steve Pettenati, Jake Straticos, Noah Sabatula, Mike Mabee, Steve Wright, Mason Glocke, and Nick Dascoli kept producing hits and good plays – setting the stage for the dream hit by Robbie Shields.NOTES: A few fans seemed annoyed at some calls. One umpire even had to toss out a fan, who was way up in the top row of the very high stands, while the ump was near the mound.